OAK
To my dear Duchesne family, Spring has gloriously arrived on campus, complete with our expansive landscape overflowing with fragrance and lavish blooms. However, my eyes are drawn to the showpiece of our beautiful lawn...the new oak tree planted on February 17, exactly five months after the original oak fell during a rainstorm in September.
Reverend Mother Janet Erskine Stewart said, “Joy follows sorrow...as the flower breaks from the thorny branch not the branch from the flower.” That is truly the case here. As disappointing as the loss of the original oak was for our community, the planting of our new oak was an occasion of joy, hope and faith. Joy in the beginning of a new start, hope for the future and faith in our mission of Sacred Heart education.
Enjoy this edition of The Oak. It is a testament to the strength of Sacred Heart education at Duchesne and in Houston.
In faith,
Ms. Patricia Swenson Head of School
The OriginA
Al OAK Tree
Longtime Duchesne security guard Allen McCan remembers driving past what would become the Duchesne campus with his parents in the 1950s and seeing an oak tree out in the middle of the lawn. When Duchesne was founded in 1960, the oak tree that Allen saw from his parents’ car beame the heart of the campus named after the St. Rose Philippine Duchesne whose surname means “heart of oak.”
The post oak was approximately 75 years old in 1959 when the Religious of the Sacred Heart bought the Bering Family property for their new school. From the very beginning the tree was the center of the new campus, providing a place to gather for assemblies, prayer services, Masses, and graduation. Fifty graduating classes walked under it as it witnessed each graduate curtsey before receiving her diploma.
During the school year, the tree was shade for classes held outside and for nursery and
extended day classes that played on the White House lawn. Students worked under it in the days of pencil and paper and most recently through the use of laptops and tablets today. It was the subject for budding artists and drawing classes. It also gave shelter and a sense of peace during days of stress. No other school in Houston had such a tree at the center of their campus, loved and enjoyed by generations of students, parents, faculty and staff.
On SepTember 17, 2014...
...after several days of rain, the original oak tree gently laid itself down on the lawn, ending a lifetime of being at the center of our school.
Because of the rain, the lawn around the oak tree was free of the students who would normally be crossing campus under the tree or sitting near it while they studied or caught up with classmates during a free period. Mary Carter, Middle School Dean of Students, was walking down the hallway on the first floor when she saw the tree falling. “Lance Veazey and Sara Hoegen were walking towards me and we just looked at each other in disbelief. I then ran to tell Ms. Swenson that the tree was down.”
When Ms. Swenson heard the news, she was confused...what tree? Then she walked down the hallway at Mrs. Carter’s urging and saw the beloved tree lying on the ground. Within minutes, the news spread through the school and on social media. Students and faculty who did not have a class stood in
the hallway overlooking the White House lawn, surprised by the event.
The Duchesne oak was a post oak tree, which, according to the arborist who had been taking care of it, “…was one of the oldest and healthiest specimens” he had ever seen. In recent years, the tree had suffered, beginning with the loss of several major limbs during Hurricane Ike, followed by the extended drought and day after day of over 100 degree heat. On the advice of the arborist, the iron plants surrounding the base of the oak were removed as they were holding in moisture at the base of the tree and causing a fungus to grow. Since hand watering was allowed for specific times during the day, Lower School students took on the task of watering the oak tree during their break period each day.
In the end nature and the basic limitations of the post oak variety spelled the end of a long life for our beloved oak tree. After the tree fell, it was quickly discovered that the
center of the base of the tree had been rotting for quite some time and was hollow for approximately ten feet into the center of the tree. The roots at the base of the tree had also weakened and rotted. All it took to bring it down was an extended period of rain, which caused the tree to gently fall to the ground.
News of the oak tree’s loss spread quickly in the city and several stories about our loss appeared in many media outlets. Over the following days, alumnae came on campus to see the tree. Students, faculty and staff would walk out to look at it lying on the ground. On September 22, 2014, the entire Duchesne community came together to honor the old oak one last time. Each person was given a leaf from the tree for a keepsake. Sr. Ann Caire spoke eloquently about the tree which had stood at the heart of our campus and Fr. Brendan Cahill blessed the tree and those gathered around it as we said farewell.
...On FebruAry 17, 2015
... exactly five months to the day, after the original oak fell, a new oak tree was planted on the White House lawn. Located just to the west of the original oak tree, the new oak was welcomed by students, faculty, staff, parents, former parents and alumnae as it was lowered into it’s new home.
The preparation for the new oak started almost immediately after fall of the original oak. Two things were clear from the beginning. The new oak had to be a variety that would live for hundreds of years in Houston’s climate. It had to be a sizable tree...one with a presence.
The type of tree was decided early on. The new oak is a live oak, a tree variety known for its longevity. There are live oak trees in the south, including along the Texas coast that are hundreds of years old. The Building and Grounds Committee, together with the help of Tom Womack, Duchesne’s Director of Operations, started working to find just the right tree and the right company to plant it. They
OAK Tree FAcTS
The Original Oak
Variety: post Oak or Quercus Stellata
Size: From 50 to 60 feet tall and 26 to 46 feet wide
Root system: can have a deep tap root, but most roots develop above underlying clay horizons. The root system of a post oak tree is especially susceptible to root rot in houston.
Maximum Life span: Over 100 years
The New Oak
Variety: live Oak or Quercus Virginiana
Size: up to 60 feet tall and up to 80 feet wide
Root system: Deep tap root that anchors tree when it is young and develops into an extensive root system.
Maximum life span: can live to be hundreds of years old. The big Oak near rockport, Texas is estimated to be over 500 years old. A live oak in georgia is estimated to be 900 years old.
hired Environmental Design, the company that planted the mature trees at the 911 Memorial in New York City, and an expert in moving and planting mature trees.
With their help, Duchesne partnered with the Conservation Initiative and found a suitable tree in Katy, Texas that is approximately 30-35 feet tall. The tree is one of several planted approximately 25 years ago by a Boy Scout troop in Nottingham Country Park, but was earmarked for removal to prevent overcrowding.
On-site preparations for the new oak began the week before the planting as utility lines were marked and the area roped off. The weekend before February 17, Environmental Design crews began the work of actually preparing the site, digging a 17 x 17 foot hole and laying down wooden mats to support the weight of a crane and other equipment.
On Tuesday morning, Fat Tuesday, the crane arrived and was moved into position on the White House lawn. Shortly after, the tree arrived on a trailer pulled by a semi-truck. At 12:30 pm, the Duchesne community gathered in the roped off safe zone near the chapel as festive Mardi Gras jazz music was
played in honor of the Fat Tuesday planting date. Then the first step of raising the tree into an upright position took place. Quickly the crew switched the rigging on the crane and the tree took to the air and was placed on the ground near the crane in preparation for the semi-truck to relocate.
Before the tree was moved into its final spot, Ms. Swenson, Head of School, spoke to those gathered about the original oak and the new
oak which now graces the heart of our campus. She then introduced Fr. Fulton, Principal of St. Thomas High School, who, after a reading from Genesis, spoke to the girls about the Tree of Knowledge planted by God in the Garden of Eden and how appropriate it is that we once again have a tree at the heart of our campus to remind us that wise freedom is about making wise choices.
Following a prayer and with the help of Ms. Swenson; Peggy Hennessy, Board of Trustees Chair; Linda Powell, Chair of the Building and Grounds Committee; Tom Womack, Director of Operations; and Srs. Ann Caire and Sharon Karam, Fr. Fulton blessed the new tree.
To the cheers of those assembled on the lawn, the tree was lifted and gently set into its new home. As the Duchesne community moved to the Schuhmacher-GodfreyDining Hall to continue the celebration with a Mardi Gras goûter of King Cake, kindly brought from New Orleans by the George Gsell family, the crew continued to work to ensure that the new tree would be off to the best start, leveling the tree and backfilling in the hole. By Thursday, the job was complete...one that had started minutes after the original oak fell.
The ArT OF The
As soon as the oak tree fell, the Duchesne community used art as part of the healing process and to embed our memories with visions of the original tree. Middle School religion teacher, Terry McCutcheon, began the process with her students drawing the oak tree on the day the tree fell. It was a way for the girls to express their emotions on the loss and to memorialize the beloved tree. The students’ work hangs on a wall in the Middle School.
One of the first questions asked was what would become of the fallen oak tree. Suggestions came from all segments of the community for the best way to use the wood from the tree. The one consensus was the wood must be used in a way that honored the tree. Ultimately, the task of deciding what should be done was given to the Building and Grounds Committee. They sifted through the myriad suggestions looking for the right way to honor the tree, which had stood at the center of the lawn.
What emerged from the committee’s deliberations was not a single way to remember the tree, but several. The first step was to interview artists to create a largescale work with the wood. After weighing the different options, the committee members chose Duchesne alumna Claire Cusack ’75 to create the first artwork that would commemorate the tree.
A second commission is in the planning stages with another artist for artwork that will hang in the reception area of the school. The remaining wood salvaged from the oak is currently stored in a climate-controlled facility where it is curing naturally in preparation for future projects.
The OAK
Turning The OAK inTO ArT
“The Big Oak” is the sculpture commissioned by Duchesne to celebrate the life and fall of the original oak. The large, wall mounted 3-dimensional piece framed in plexiglass is made from wood taken from the original tree by Duchesne alumna Claire Cusack ’75.
When Claire was first approached by Duchesne’s Building and Grounds Committee to present options for an artwork commemorating the old oak tree, she was thrilled. Claire was even more thrilled when she was told she had the commission. It was a perfect match. As an alumna with fond memories of the tree and a noted artist whose work focuses on transforming ‘trash’ into unexpected and meaningful works of art, the project was a perfect fit. Who better to transform the pieces of the fallen
A crOSS OF OlD OAK
For Extravaganza 2015, Duchesne commissioned Annamarie of Wildvine Carvings to create hand crosses carved from the original oak to give to those generous donors who contributed to Paddles Up in order to cover the cost of purchasing and planting the new oak.
oak into a work that captures the essence of what the tree meant to the Duchesne community?
Before turning to art as her life’s work, Claire worked in the corporate world for some of Houston’s most fashion forward retailers and for Barney’s New York as a buyer and manager. But a day came when she felt the call to do something more with her life: To become an artist. She quit her job and started creating unexpected and exquisite sculptures and artwork with found objects. She first became known for sculptures of crosses made from bundles of barbed wire and charred chunks of campfire wood pierced by shards of crystal. She now spends her days living in a world inspired by the ordinary objects she finds at flea markets, estate sales, antique shops and on City of Houston heavy trash
days. Cusack’s work has been most recently been featured in shows at the Koelsch Gallery and at the Lumberyard in Marfa. Her work is also featured in an upcoming book on Texas sculpture by Craig Bunch.
With “The Big Oak”, she says, “I took the soul, personality and history of the tree to express all the happy memories of all the people who enjoyed it.” The artwork consists of two parts: A large representation of the oak tree as it was and a smaller representation placed beneath of the tree’s roots. Her hope for the work is, “A year from now, I hope it gives people memories and reflections of what the tree was for them.” The sculpture was installed on January 5, 2015 in the entrance to the school from the White House lawn.
phOTOS
Above: The hollow area within the oak is clearly visible in this photo of the fallen tree.
Right: Father cahill leading the Duchesne community in prayer. patricia Swenson, head of School and Sr. Ann caire also spoke at the service for the oak.
Right: Father Fulton blessing the new oak with incense before the tree was planted on February 17, 2015.
