From the Director's Desk: An Obituary

By Fred Bregalia

It is with great sor­row that I report the pass­ing of an old friend, the Arboretum’s Great Oak. 

For sev­er­al hun­dred years, the Great Oak stood tall and strong in the face of wind, rain, ice, and snow, serene­ly con­tem­plat­ing the Schoharie Val­ley. When the land was first cleared in 1840, the own­er rec­og­nized its majesty and let it stand. Her­man Lape, Fred Lape’s father, also appre­ci­at­ed the tree and the knoll it stood on when he bought the land in 1902. He chris­tened his new home Oak Nose Farm. Fred Lape had a fond­ness for the tree as well and cared for it as best he could. It was hit by light­ning at least twice. It weath­ered insects and diseases.

Unfor­tu­nate­ly noth­ing lasts for­ev­er, not even a 500-year-old oak. The begin­ning of the end start­ed in 1940 when half the crown was lost due to a four day ice storm. 2011’s dev­as­tat­ing Hur­ri­cane Irene deliv­ered the death blow to the Great Oak.

As many of you know, this tree has had a pow­er­ful impact on my life. From my first tree hug” to my wed­ding day, this tree has sym­bol­ized the resilience and the majesty of nature to me. It taught me the mean­ing of being root­ed.”

My par­ents, both nature lovers, intro­duced me to the won­der of plants and ani­mals and instilled in me the val­ue of a healthy nat­ur­al envi­ron­ment. A fam­i­ly vis­it to the Arbore­tum when I was five years old was my first encounter with the old white oak. There was no fence around it then, so the fam­i­ly all gath­ered around its trunk, held hands, and gave it a hug. It took four of us just to reach around it. Lit­tle did I know that some­day I would be work­ing at Lan­dis Arbore­tum, charged with car­ing for the Great Oak.

Sev­er­al years lat­er, I became a Big Tree Hunter” and even­tu­al­ly an Old Growth Pro­tec­tor” and an ISA Cer­ti­fied Arborist. I was able to doc­u­ment the Great Oak’s age at approx­i­mate­ly 500 years. I began cre­at­ing mul­ti­ple art pieces fea­tur­ing the tree in pen and ink, paint, and pho­tog­ra­phy. In July of 2008, I was mar­ried to my wife Erin beneath its great canopy. I brought both of my sons, Fred­dy and Michael, to stand before this extra­or­di­nary tree.

I know that my fam­i­ly has been one of sev­er­al that has been shel­tered in its leafy arms. And all that have gazed upon its splen­dor will miss it terribly.

But nature endures.

A com­pan­ion of the Great Oak for many years is Big Red, a red oak over 300 years old. A rerout­ing of the exist­ing Wood­land Trail will pass by this ven­er­a­ble tree and con­nect to the Old Growth For­est, which con­tains some oth­er very old oaks. In doing so, we hon­or the mem­o­ry of the Arboretum’s first friend, the Great Oak.


Fall 2015

Volume 33 , Number 4

Share this

The Latest from Landis

Mar 18, 2024

Landis Signature Spring Plant Book and Bake Sale

You don’t want to miss this! read more

Mar 18, 2024

Landis Houseplant Swap!

If you’re a houseplant lover, this event is for you! read more

Mar 11, 2024 | Anita Sanchez

A Shallow Dive into Vernal Pools

Spring is the time for water. First the icicles start to drip. Then the streams... read more

Mar 11, 2024 | Sam McClary

Never Underestimate Nature: Rejuvenating Old Apple Trees

While driving along country roads in the autumn, watching the falling leaves – I suddenly... read more

Mar 11, 2024 | Shayne Mitchell

News and Muse from the Bluebird Trail

I think it is safe to say that the Eastern bluebird is the favorite bird... read more

Mar 11, 2024 | Sue Tricario

Landis Membership Away from Home

A membership at the Landis Arboretum is your passport to over 360 public gardens and... read more

News Archive