Germantown neighbors pay tribute to a historic tree for the last time
On a dreary day in October, a small group of despondent neighbors gathered in the rear yard at the home of attorney A. Luke Smith, 131 West Walnut Lane, Germantown, to pay their respects to a venerable Ash tree lamentably scheduled to be felled the following day. Advanced age and infestation by the notoriously destructive Emerald Ash Borer had taken their toll.
The tree had stood sentinel, not only over dozens of Memorial Day neighborhood picnics, but over several generations of the prominent Samuel B. Morris family of Germantown. Neighbor Luke Russell read a moving tribute to the tree and Karen Stevens, whose property on Tulpehocken abuts the Smith’s property, told tales of her ancestors in the Morris-Rhoads clan, whose roots date back to the late 17th century. A memorial booklet from the ceremony is in the planning stages.
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