Century
Old Elm
When white settlers reached northeast Iowa, they were
greeted by lush, green, old growth forests of oaks
(white, red, black), hickories, hard and soft maples,
butternut, black walnut, hackberry, ash (white, green,
and black), cottonwood, poplar, basswood, birches,
willows, elms, honey locus, mulberry, ironwood, box
elder, wild plum, wild cherry (choke cherry), crab apple,
thorn apple, white juniper, red cedar, and eastern white
pine. There were also a variety of shrubs and brambles
including hazel, sumac, gooseberry, raspberry,
blackberry, and wild grapes.
The tree species varied by location and quantity of
moisture. On the top of hills where there was a dryer
habitat, a prevalence of shade-intolerant oaks and
hickories, especially white oak, red oak, and shagbark
hickory dominated. On the steeper rocky slopes, a mixture
of sugar maple, basswood, red oak, black oak, and white
oak dominated. In some areas, a coniferous-deciduous
forest occurred with mixed stands of eastern white pine,
juniper, and red cedar intermixed with hardwoods.
Along the flood plains and deltas formed as streams
entered the Mississippi River such as Wexford Creek,
willows and silver maple dominated. Along the stream
banks, basswood, cottonwood, red elm, and walnut
dominated. Where Native Americans had opened up areas,
box elder, Siberian elm, American elm, white ash, walnut,
butternut hickory, and black cherry dominated the early
colonization period.
The early pioneers carefully planted trees for shelter
from the frigid winds of winter and the scorching heat of
summer as well as to enhance the scenic beauty and
increase the value of their farms. The settlers also
planted hardy varieties of fruit trees, ornamental shade
trees and shrubs, such as apple, pear, cherry, grape,
currants, chestnut, buckeye, mountain ash, larch, spruce,
arbor-vitae, and many other European varieties.
D.W. Adams established a nursery in Waukon in 1856, and
through years of trial and error by casting aside as
worthless varieties of winter killed trees and
propagating only acclimated varieties, he succeeded in
establishing some of the best apple varieties in the
country that can be easily grown in this region.
When pioneers in northeast Iowa planned new towns, the
expansion and growth of these cities included careful
planting of shade trees for beauty along the streets and
in homeowners' yards. The most popular and preferred
trees used by most new towns were the tall, graceful
American elms. These wonderful shade trees grow quickly
into large, attractive, vase-shaped trees. In time, the
elm limbs extend across the street and two trees on
opposite sides of the street will provide a shaded canopy
which bridges across the road. The elm crowns would span
across large areas in parks and cover whole sides of
houses.
The downfall of the American elm was the Dutch elm
disease, a fungal pathogen - Ophiostoma ulmi, that
arrived in the 1930's. The elm bark beetle carried the
fungal pathogen from tree to tree causing a rapid series
of infection in a short period of time. The disease
clogged the food and water pathways causing tree death in
only a few years. Waukon, Lansing, New Albin, and other
cities and towns across the country lost the battle and
millions of American elms had to be removed. Where the
beautiful shady elms once stood, there are vast expanses
of open area.
An interesting fact about the elms is that when they
started to show symptoms of the disease, such as
"upper branches losing leaves", the fungal
delicacy morel mushrooms can often be found at the base
of the dying trees. The small, delicious mushroom has a
distinctive rough and rumpled surface with a blackish
color while the larger morels have a rough surface with a
light tan color. The morel mushroom is sought after as an
expensive delicacy across the country and definitely a
delightful treat.
When the first settlers at Wexford picked the location
for the first log church, a number of American elms grew
along the bottomland near where the small fountain of the
Wexford shrine is located. The largest of these was a
large vase-shaped tree approximately 50 years old that
provided wonderful shade. Many of the early churchgoers
used this elm and other trees to tie off their horses
during church services. They would tie the horse's halter
to a branch allowing the horse to feed in a circle around
the tie-off.
There was one bright Sunday morning when Father Laffan
came storming out of the back of the Wexford church with
his white vestments flying and yelled to the tardy church
members who were smoking clay pipes and gossiping in the
shade of the century-old elm. Father Laffan yelled,
"Put out your clay pipes, stop gabbing, and come to
church; God is waiting on you!" The lollygaggers
slunk into church and Father gave an inspiring sermon on
the virtues of punctuality and disgrace of tardiness.
Some people were so taken by the grandeur of the elm that
they wrote a poem to celebrate this giant of elms. It is
published below:
The Wexford Elm
written by John Joyce in July 1904 for the Wexford
Fourth of July celebration
A century plant is that grand old tree
That grows in beauty in Allamakee,
Where the people meet on the Fourth of July
In the Wexford valley beneath the sky,
And celebrate ever the natal day
Of our Republic's imperial sway.
Here, Father and Mother, Daughter and Son
With lovers and Sweethearts when day is done,
Dance by the light of the moon and stars
And think of the life over those golden bars,
That flash o'er the world at early dawn
And light up the rolling hills and the lawn.
The spreading crown of the beautiful elm
Is monarch of all in its emerald realm,
And throws its arms to the sun and the breeze
The great Grand Father of the surrounding
trees,
While it shades the leaping trout in the
stream
And glorifies all like a blissful dream.
Old Wexford Church with its memories dear
To this glorious tree is very near,
While the green graveyard with its precious
dust
Holds many a pioneer faith in trust,
While God in his infinite mercy must
Reward the deeds of the brave and the just.
Brave Mission Fathers in the days of yore
Led by the faithful and generous Hoar,
Assembled their flock beneath the spreading
tree
And there to their God bent the willing knee,
To the power that rules the land and the sea
Imploring the joys of Eternity!!
And so, as the gathering years go by
Under the sun and the bright starry sky,
The devoted people of Allamakee
Will continue to worship and bend the knee,
As they come from the hills, the vales, and
the lea
In the land of the brave and the home of the
free!
I remember a large stand of elm trees that surrounded
the base of the cemetery on the north side between the
church and the Wexford Creek. These tall, shady trees
were the chosen spot for road maintenance crews to take
their dinner break. On a couple of occasions, the crew
was there enjoying the shade at 10 a.m. as I passed by
and then 2 p.m. when I returned home they were still hard
at work under the shady trees. Some people really have a
hard life. They make up for summer rest in the winter
months, especially when driving snowplows through the
night trying to keep the roads open.
The giant Wexford elm was a victim of Dutch elm disease.
Removal of the tree resulted in a gigantic stump that
required a number of grown men holding hands in a circle
to match the circumference of this tree. There was enough
firewood cut up from this tree to last through one winter
and half the next. Red elm makes good fire wood that
burns hot, giving off a lot of heat while burning for a
couple of hours.
It is a shame that the elms have fallen to Dutch elm
disease. The giant elms that once grew along the Wexford
Creek and throughout northeast Iowa are sorely missed.
There is an effort to reestablish the elm trees. A Johnny
Elmseed program is trying to plant a tolerant variety of
the American elm that seems to better resist the Dutch
elm disease. Good luck to this group.
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