An Impromptu Funeral Cortege For Newtown’s Largest Ash Tree

By Andrew Gorosko

Workmen last Friday, August 4, dragged a massive ten-ton section of white ash tree across town roads from its former home on Borough Lane to the town’s tree stump dump at the landfill.

Escorted by two police cars with lights flashing, a log skidder dragged the hardwood tree section about two miles, down Queen Street to Mile Hill Road, then up Mile Hill Road to Mile Hill Road South, and then down Mile Hill Road South to Turkey Hill Road and the stump dump.

Friction created by the massive piece of wood being dragged down the roads caused the tree to smoke, resulting in a potent fragrance that smelled like a thousand wood-burning pencils at work.

The dragged tree left broad white scuff marks behind it on the asphalt.

The town had decided that the dead 80-foot tall ash, estimated to be 250 to 300 years old, posed a falling hazard to passers-by and a nearby home. So it called in Total Landscaping and Tree Service to take down the ash.

Percy Ferris, head of the firm, said it took a crew of five a whole day to get to the point where the base of the tree could be dragged away. The ash had a circumference of about 23 feet at breast height, making it more than seven feet in diameter.

“It’s all of ten tons,” he said of the massive tree section dragged away from Borough Lane.

The tree was cut down in the interest of safety, Mr Ferris explained. The ash had had a 30-inch diameter dead leader limb outstretched over a house, he noted.

The ash, which was believed to be the biggest ash tree in town, had grown out of a stone wall on the south side of Borough Lane, near Queen Street.

The ash is the biggest tree that the company has taken down this year, Mr Ferris said.

Much of the cut tree will be used for firewood. The large tree section dragged to the town landfill will be chopped up and discarded.

 Ash wood is used for making baseball bats, polo mallets, hockey sticks, oars, and tool handles.