KJT'S Magestic Old Oak Is Hopefully On The Mend

The large oak tree located in the courtyard of the KJT Home Office has been declining in beauty for the past several years, but in the past year the tree had become greatly stressed. A number of tree experts were called to examine the tree, but no one had a definite answer or cause.

State President Elo J. Goerig was told to contact a certified arborist to examine the tree and on Friday, August 25, 2006, Don Gardner, a consulting arborist of Austin, examined the tree. Gardner’s credentials include being the Arborist for the Texas Governor’s Mansion since 1986. It is estimated that the tree is between 200 and 300 years old and is 55 inches in diameter.

After his examination, he reported that he felt that the tree could be restored if immediate steps were taken. And State President Goerig immediately began the steps to mend the magestic oak.

The cause for the decline was that when the Home Office was built in 1973 the trunk base, root crown and root system were buried under fill soil. He stated that the fill soil must be completely removed off the base and root crown and organic compost applied to the entire grass area. While removing the soil, several items were found, namely a horseshoe and railroad spike – “only if this tree could talk, it would probably be a very interesting history lesson.”

Gardner stated that the restoration work should promote and produce new shoots and sprouts throughout the tree.

Pruning was recently performed by Black Forest Tree Service of Austin who were recommended by Arborist Gardner.

We now all await the growth of new branches on the majestic historic oak.