Post by alienbeing on Nov 23, 2010 13:59:11 GMT 10
Stumped — the mystery in an old church tree
BRISTOL — On July 21, a tornado passed through four Connecticut towns, including Bristol. The local touchdown encompassed an area 25 yards wide and went a mile and a half through the Federal Hill area with winds reaching between 80-90 miles an hour.
Among the debris left in the twister's wake was large tree branch which fell at the front of the First Congregational Church.
A tree surgeon was brought in to check out the large maple from which the branch was ripped, recalls longtime church member Tim Rohner.
“It was diseased,” said Rohner, “and the tree was taken down.”
Volunteers then began to cut up the felled tree and to remove the remains to save the church money.
“This would have been an expensive ordeal,” he said.
The volunteer cleanup crew included Rohner, a Burlington resident; his brother Paul; a friend Chris Maurice; and Rick Paradis, all Bristol residents.
The group sliced the felled tree into sections for a number of days until chain saw blades began to break or wear out. The tree contained an object much harder than wood.
“We saw something inside the tree and thought it might have been a grave stone or something like that,” said Rohner.
When this writer got there and saw Mike and Tim looking at the remaining section of the tree with a post-like cement object reinforced with metal bars that was still in it and with an obelisk-like section removed, I was amazed.
What was this object in the tree and how did it get there? I’m baffled and knew I’d need some help on this one.
I remembered that Gerry Thompson, building chairman of the Bristol Historical Society, recently told me about trees being filled with cement when they were “Y” shaped because leaves falling into groves could eventually rot them away. Cement was used to fill the open portion to prevent damage to the tree.
Another idea was that it may have been a cemetery stone and Ellen Zoppo was called in as chairwoman of Bristol’s Cemetery Commission and she in turn, passed along this mystery by commission members for their thoughts.
“It’s intriguing,” said Zoppo. “We have heard of this sort of thing bracing a tree, but this seems to go beyond it. There are similar posts (seen in the church tree) seen in cemeteries.”
Zoppo went on to say that a gravestone in a local cemetery was overgown by a tree sapling from many years ago.
According to Tom Angels, a longtime local tree enthusiast and history buff, the tree, a sugar maple, was split at one time and concrete was poured into it to stop rotting.
There were 50-pound sections of concrete pulled from the tree by Rohner and friends the past week. Engels said he thinks the decorative areas seen on the ‘obelisk’ came about because of what was seen on the outside of the tree — poured cement.
“Cement is poured in slowly,” said Engels. “It fills the cavity and any part of the results which shows on the outside of the tree is sometimes decorated (as brick-like). And, because it was church grounds, especially, it was dressed up as such. They probably wanted the tree to remain looking nice.”
When this was done remains a mystery. The tree, according to experts, is approximately 130 years old.
Others have the thought that because the current church’s structure is the third in it’s history on the property, the piece found in the tree, approximately six feet or more in length, may have been a corner stone of one of the previous church buildings.
In closing, Carson, Zoppo’s youngest son, a grade school student, think’s it came from the heavens.
“It’s from a meteorite,” he said..
However, Tom Engels likely hit it on the nail.
“I’m going with Tom Angels thoughts,” said Montgomery. “That seems to make sense.
It’s an interesting find and a lot of people have had a good, yet confusing, time looking into this.”
www.bristolpress.com/articles/2010/11/22/news/doc4ce892367a9af485756208.txt
BRISTOL — On July 21, a tornado passed through four Connecticut towns, including Bristol. The local touchdown encompassed an area 25 yards wide and went a mile and a half through the Federal Hill area with winds reaching between 80-90 miles an hour.
Among the debris left in the twister's wake was large tree branch which fell at the front of the First Congregational Church.
A tree surgeon was brought in to check out the large maple from which the branch was ripped, recalls longtime church member Tim Rohner.
“It was diseased,” said Rohner, “and the tree was taken down.”
Volunteers then began to cut up the felled tree and to remove the remains to save the church money.
“This would have been an expensive ordeal,” he said.
The volunteer cleanup crew included Rohner, a Burlington resident; his brother Paul; a friend Chris Maurice; and Rick Paradis, all Bristol residents.
The group sliced the felled tree into sections for a number of days until chain saw blades began to break or wear out. The tree contained an object much harder than wood.
“We saw something inside the tree and thought it might have been a grave stone or something like that,” said Rohner.
When this writer got there and saw Mike and Tim looking at the remaining section of the tree with a post-like cement object reinforced with metal bars that was still in it and with an obelisk-like section removed, I was amazed.
What was this object in the tree and how did it get there? I’m baffled and knew I’d need some help on this one.
I remembered that Gerry Thompson, building chairman of the Bristol Historical Society, recently told me about trees being filled with cement when they were “Y” shaped because leaves falling into groves could eventually rot them away. Cement was used to fill the open portion to prevent damage to the tree.
Another idea was that it may have been a cemetery stone and Ellen Zoppo was called in as chairwoman of Bristol’s Cemetery Commission and she in turn, passed along this mystery by commission members for their thoughts.
“It’s intriguing,” said Zoppo. “We have heard of this sort of thing bracing a tree, but this seems to go beyond it. There are similar posts (seen in the church tree) seen in cemeteries.”
Zoppo went on to say that a gravestone in a local cemetery was overgown by a tree sapling from many years ago.
According to Tom Angels, a longtime local tree enthusiast and history buff, the tree, a sugar maple, was split at one time and concrete was poured into it to stop rotting.
There were 50-pound sections of concrete pulled from the tree by Rohner and friends the past week. Engels said he thinks the decorative areas seen on the ‘obelisk’ came about because of what was seen on the outside of the tree — poured cement.
“Cement is poured in slowly,” said Engels. “It fills the cavity and any part of the results which shows on the outside of the tree is sometimes decorated (as brick-like). And, because it was church grounds, especially, it was dressed up as such. They probably wanted the tree to remain looking nice.”
When this was done remains a mystery. The tree, according to experts, is approximately 130 years old.
Others have the thought that because the current church’s structure is the third in it’s history on the property, the piece found in the tree, approximately six feet or more in length, may have been a corner stone of one of the previous church buildings.
In closing, Carson, Zoppo’s youngest son, a grade school student, think’s it came from the heavens.
“It’s from a meteorite,” he said..
However, Tom Engels likely hit it on the nail.
“I’m going with Tom Angels thoughts,” said Montgomery. “That seems to make sense.
It’s an interesting find and a lot of people have had a good, yet confusing, time looking into this.”
www.bristolpress.com/articles/2010/11/22/news/doc4ce892367a9af485756208.txt