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Articles about saving the Maltby Oak in
Palatka, FL
Full Pardon
Work Begins
Stay of Execution
New Life for Old Tree
Rooted in Tradition
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Maltby Oak gets a 'full pardon and
clemency'
By MARCIA LANE
Correspondent
The St. Augustine Record
Feb. 23, 2005
| Putnam
County's 150-year-old Maltby Oak isn't coming down.
County commissioners Tuesday night not only gave
the tree a reprieve but a "full pardon and clemency"
in the words of attorney Tim Keyser.
Keyser was one of those fighting to keep the tree
from being chopped down after concerns about its
stability and the county's liability were raised.
It was the expert testimony of certified arborist
Chuck Lippi of St. Augustine that clinched the
argument.
Lippi explained by taking recommended steps that
the county would be "doing the best we can." He said
that translated to better management practices,
which is a "reliever of liability."
Until that point it appeared at least some
commissioners still favored removing the historic
tree. Commissioner Brad Purcell said while he
"shared in the emotional response to the tree" it
was the board's responsibility to consider liability
and he questioned the tree's structural integrity.
Lippi said removing some dead and dying limbs
would immediately help the situation. Other
solutions include demossing, vertical mulching and
root crown excavation. Lippi proposed removing the
grass beneath the tree to help root growth. Fencing
around the tree to protect in case of falling limbs
was suggested.
"I would call it a moderate risk right now. I
think we can bring that down to a small risk," Lippi
said.
Lippi, who offered to oversee work on the tree
for free, estimated within a couple of weeks spring
foliage will begin to appear.
The tree's countywide appeal was evident when two
Interlachen High School juniors spoke. "People came
up to me wanting to preserve the tree," said Mari
Hoadley, holding up the six pages of petitions
signed by students at the west Putnam school. She
and classmate Heather Johnson asked that the tree be
kept.
"Since when did history become an eyesore? Since
when did people kill things before trying other
measures? I'm standing here today pleading for you
to not cut down this tree, not just for me, but also
for the people of Putnam County," Hoadley said.
Several others spoke in favor of retaining the
tree, as did two who questioned letting it stay.
Pomona Park resident Stella Wells, who first brought
up the tree's health, noted negative reports on the
tree made by foresters and extension agents. In
2005, Putnam County Forester Seth Ward sent a letter
to the county that the tree "is dying due to its age
There is nothing that can be done for this tree to
keep it alive, it should be removed before it
becomes a threat to safety, i.e. falling limbs."
Sammy Morgan, a local tree surgeon, said the tree
was diseased and needed to come down. Morgan had
offered to take down the tree for free if he was
allowed to keep the wood from it.
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Work begins on Maltby Oak
By MARCIA LANE
Correspondent
The St. Augustine Record
March 10, 2005
PALATKA -- When he
was a boy, Sammy Morgan always wanted to climb the Maltby Oak.
It's taken him nearly 30 years, but he finally got his wish
Wednesday as he went from one branch to another on the mammoth
live oak, pruning limbs in an effort to save the tree that is at
least 150 years old.
"You can see a lot of Palatka from here," said Morgan,
straddling a tree limb more than 25 feet off the ground. "It
looks pretty good."
"He's had a good time. He's been all over the tree," said
Bill Futch, who heads up Putnam County's maintenance department
and whose crews are responsible for the oak on the Putnam County
Courthouse lawn.
County commissioners had planned to cut down the tree because
of concerns about safety until St. Augustine arborist Chuck
Lippi and Interlachen attorney Tim Keyser interceded.
Lippi said he thought the tree could be saved by removing
moss, pruning limbs and aerating the roots. He predicted it
could be around for another 50 years.
Commissioners, who had been swamped with phone calls and
e-mails from people wanting the tree to stay, decided to give
the tree a chance.
Morgan, who had offered to cut the tree down for free, took
Lippi up on an offer to do needed pruning. It could be two years
before the tree experts know if their work has been a success.
"There was a little more dead wood than we thought," Lippi
said as he watched Morgan on Wednesday afternoon. "We're taking
out about 20 percent of the tree."
Work crews from the Department of Corrections and three of
Futch's staff spent most of Wednesday hauling off moss and
limbs. Workers removed some cables and realigned stanchions
propping up limbs. For one low hanging branch, it took nine men
pushing and straining to lift it high enough for the prop to be
shoved back straight.
Lippi said hurricanes last year had stripped leaves off,
leaving the tree bare. "Then we didn't get another growth
flash."
Bud balls are now visible and Lippi predicts leaves will be
coming out soon.
"I think the tree will look a lot better in a few weeks," he
said.
Work will continue on the tree Thursday, including excavation
of grass and dirt over the roots. In about a month Lippi will be
back to do more excavation, selectively prune some of the roots
and place mulch around the tree. A regular maintenance schedule
is being put in place.
County Administrator Rick Leary noted Morgan had already
taken down a large rotten elm at the courthouse for free last
week. Lippi also is donating his services.
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Letting go of a beloved landmark can be tough.
Admirers of the sprawling but sickly Maltby Oak on the Putnam County
Courthouse lawn in Palatka won a reprieve this week when the county
commission reversed course and allowed an arborist to try and save it.
The 150-year-old live oak sprouted before the Civil War. In its better
years, as a Times-Union story noted, people gravitated to it for fish fries,
weddings, class pictures, political rallies and more.
Today, metal crutches support its branches, Spanish moss replaces many of
the leaves and rot has made a home in parts of the trunk.
In that condition, county commissioners are concerned about potential
liability to the county. But arborist Chuck Lippi thinks he might be able to
save its life.
We're rooting for him.
Old charmers like the Maltby Oak are unique and can't be replaced.
Such landmarks endear themselves to communities and are reminiscent of a
rural Florida fast deferring to the latest highway or strip mall.
There's still hope for the old tree. But even if it falters, Putnam
County leaders and residents can take pride in knowing they did all they
could to preserve it
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A tree specialist from St. Augustine thinks he can save the
150-year-old Maltby Oak whose limbs are propped up and covered in
Spanish moss.
WILL DICKEY/The Times-Union |
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February 24, 2005
Putnam gives Maltby Oak
second chance to
survive
By KEN LEWIS
The Times-Union
PALATKA -- The Maltby Oak is old and battered. Its sprawling branches
are supported by metal crutches. Its leaves are mostly gone or choked by
Spanish moss, and its trunk is rotting in parts.
The 150-year-old live oak beside the Putnam County Courthouse poses a
liability to the county, its commissioners say. Others seek to preserve
what was once a magnificent tree.
"It was the center focus of everything," said Sam Deputy, owner of a
print shop and member of the Putnam County Historic Society. "High school
pictures were taken there. Club pictures were taken there. People have
been married under there."
But with death creeping into the branches and legal risks mounting,
county commissioners voted this month to chop down the tree. Tuesday
night, they changed their mind. An arborist from St. Augustine vowed to
save the tree.
Arborist Chuck Lippi saw the thinning canopy, the damaged trunk and
ruthlessly competitive grass beneath decrepit limbs. He also saw reason
for hope. With modern tree science, surgery and mulch, he hopes to
revitalize the tree for many years of continued survival. He crafted a
five-step plan to save this oak that predates the Civil War. The
soon-to-come growing season should help as well, he said.
"Where there are bare twigs, there are going to be leaves in a couple
weeks," Lippi said.
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The historic Maltby Oak has been the site of weddings, fish fries,
political rallies and class photos. Though it's dying, the community
wants to save it.
WILL DICKEY/The Times-Union
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Once a bustling river town, Palatka slowed down and deteriorated in
recent decades. But change is coming. Florida 207, leading east to St.
Augustine, and Florida 20, leading west to Gainesville, are undergoing
million-dollar expansions that will open up Putnam County.
For now, the historic downtown remains sleepy and still. Residents fret
about a possible 600-unit condo that could be built on the riverfront.
They worry about their tree. A team of high school students even appeared
at the commission meeting, begging the government to give the tree a
chance.
Lynda Crabill, a real estate agent who grew up in Palatka, memorialized
the Maltby Oak on this year's T-shirts for the 17th annual Blue Crab
Festival. The festival draws thousands of visitors Memorial Day weekend.
She walked into Deputy's print shop downtown Wednesday with the image:
trademarked, googly eyed blue crabs with the Maltby Oak in the middle.
Crabill and Deputy recalled when old men idled on benches under the
tree. Years before that, people tethered their horses to the branches.
"When I was growing up, political rallies were held there," Crabill
said. "And fish fries."
The oak was named after Hubert Maltby, a longtime county agent and
leading light. The Palatka Rotary Club set up a shrine to the man in 1979,
saying the tree thrived because of his love and care. Jacksonville boasts
a similarly beloved tree, the Treaty Oak near the Southbank.
Inside the Putnam County Courthouse, Chief Deputy Clerk of Courts Kenny
Downs can still recall the days when the fire department hung lights on
the oak for holiday festivals.
"That was when the downtown area was in full bloom," Downs said.
According to Lippi, every tree can pose a hazard, and some trees suffer
problems that can't be fixed. If the Maltby Oak is beyond help, at least
the residents will know an attempt was made to save it. If it can't
survive, everyone will know in a year or two, Lippi said.
People are rooting for him.
"We're a Southern town, and the courthouse tree means a lot," Deputy
said. "If it's savable, I think everybody in the county will try to save
it."
ken.lewis jacksonville.com,
(904) 819-3546
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150-year-old Maltby Oak
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By First Coast News
PUTNAM COUNTY, FL -- No executioner's song for the 150 year old Maltby Oak
that sits in front of the Putnam County Courthouse.
In a unanimous vote, the County Commission is allowing St. Augustine
arborist Chuck Lippi to use all the science, experience, and skills at his
disposal to save the oak.
Originally the Commission considered the oak a liability and decided to do
away with it. When word broke that the historic tree would be ripped down,
a furor broke out and people rose to save the Maltby Oak.
Chuck Lippi doesn't offer any 100 % guarantees that he can save the tree,
but he promises to do everything possible. He says among other things the
moss needs to be cleared away, the grass around the tree needs to have
mulch put over it, and the roots need oxygen, saying "We want to treat the
symptoms, not the cause of the problem, and the cause is down below where
we're standing."
Lippi hopes to get to work rescuing the Maltby Oak sometime next week. He
says he expects to see some improvement in the near future, but it could
be 2 or 3 years before anyone finds out if his efforts pay off.
If not, Lippi says the Maltby Oak may end up on the chopping block once
again. He admits its a possibility, but says at least if that happens
he'll know everything's been done to save the landmark tree.
First Coast News
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Maltby Oak (click here to download file)
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