Rest in Peace, Tree.

On December 17, 2014, we lost a big presence on the Hope College campus. Its loss has changed the scenery and displaced many squirrels. Its vibrant colors added to the bright ambiance of the campus in the fall. As winter came, despite its change in appearance, it was a familiar sight on the hill beside Van Vleck.

I would like to dedicate this post to the Giant Tree.

I live in Van Vleck Hall so on the 17th, the day the tree was cut down, our Residence Director, Mary Cantor, posted on Facebook about mourning the loss of the giant tree. Mary was told there was a mold problem so the tree had to be cut down. Comments flooded the post about the sadness of losing such a great, old tree. It stood on Hope’s campus for 144 years! That’s just four years after the College’s founding.

Looking through my own photos from my first semester the Giant Tree made its way into my memories.

The Giant Tree’s branches are featured in this sunset picture I took from my window on Van Vleck’s 3rd floor.

On a snowy midnight stroll in November I took this picture of the Giant Tree in Hope’s winter wonderland

I took this picture at one of Mary’s apartment open house parties in the fall. This was the view from her porch with the Giant Tree

Mary posted some photos of the “graveyard’ after the tree was taken down.

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Then this weekend my friend and I ventured over to its stump. Even that slight remnant is huge – I couldn’t take a picture of the whole stump while standing on it.

Me on the Giant Tree’s stump.

It was so big I couldn’t take a picture of the whole thing while standing on it.

The tree was impressive. It’s sad to see it go, but maybe in the spring we can plant a new one. And in 144 years Hope’s campus will once again have a towering presence on the hill beside Van Vleck.

I hope you have a fabulous Friday!
~Erin

You can follow me @HopeErin18 on Twitter @e_delaney333 on Instagram for pictures and thoughts from my life at Hope. 🙂