A friend recently sent me a link to a website about Toomer's Corner in Auburn. As the whole world knows, a crazy Alabama fan poisoned the Toomer's Oaks and they are not doing well despite a number of measures that were taken to save the trees. In brief, the Committee to Determine the Future of Rolling Toomer's Corner is asking for input. They have some popular options that you can select, or you can submit your own... so I wanted to voice my opinion on the matter. First, please visit the website to read up on the options and the considerations/supplemental information. You can visit the website here.
And here's what I think...
If the Toomer's Oaks succumb to their injuries, I think that they should be replaced with a combination of Option 1 (Replant small oak trees of a different species in the same location as the current trees, which eventually will grow large enough for future generations to roll) and Option 3 (Move the rolling tradition to the intersection of Toomer's Corner -it's original location- by building a professionally-designed, permanent structure conducive to rolling, which would become part of the village atmosphere downtown). That being said, I do not think we need to resort to using another species of oak. I think we need to use a seedling from the existing Toomer’s Oaks. I have 2 seedlings from the Toomer’s Live Oaks that were planted in Northeast Alabama about 5 years ago. Ok people, I know now that it was wrong, but I was very young then and I had not had my aboriculture class yet. I didn't know they weren't supposed to survive that far north. Without any care, they have performed very well so far, and they didn’t even suffer freeze damage during the horrible winter last year. They might have been 2-3' tall when I got them and now they are 10-15' tall. Here's a photo of one of them...
Even if the lifespan will be less than the lifespan of live oaks in better conditions, they will still have a long and happy life. This time, let’s not pave on top of them and let’s make sure there are bollards or something around so that cars don’t crash into them. For goodness sakes, the Toomer’s Live Oaks would probably have a long life ahead of them if a long list of things hadn’t shortened their lives (poisoning, car accident, fires, paving on top of their poor little root zones). Give them a good, safe area to grow. It would not be difficult to re-design the corner to allow more space for the oaks, maybe locate them a bit farther from the street. I mean come on... there's a live oak near Funchess Hall on Auburn's campus that looks good... it has survived all these years...
I think it would be a poor decision to replace the Toomer's Oaks with another type of oak, they would just look like every other tree on campus and would be deciduous trees instead of evergreen ones like the Toomer’s Oaks. No other oak has the same form as a live oak. They are special trees with lots of character. Using another type of oak would be a big change... and I don’t think it would be a positive one, regardless of hardiness. Think about it, anywhere you see an outline or drawing of the Toomer’s Oaks, you know exactly what oaks they are because Live Oaks have a characteristic look. Change it to another type of oak and it could be any tree in the world that is pictured on a t-shirt or on Auburn marketing materials… I think there will be less “brand recognition” if you want to call it that. So plant new, smaller oaks… but make them live oaks. Make them the Toomer’s Oaks’ babies. These trees are of sentimental value… let’s keep it that way.
While we wait for the smaller oaks to grow large enough, it would be nice to have something else to roll… whether that’s a permanent structure or trees in another area of campus... maybe even the Live Oak near Funchess Hall...
What are your thoughts on what should happen at Toomer's Corner? Feel free to copy and paste my thoughts and send them to The Committee if you're of the same opinion...
