The Record: Bough to history

article via northjersey.com

DAYS MAY be numbered for a large, historic red oak that has deep roots in Teaneck's past, but if science is any indication, and a little luck holds, the tree may live on as more than memory. Even as its likely demise is being calculated — Bergen County is planning to chop it down, due to decay and significant loss of its root system — a cohort of arborists, advocates and tree experts are exploring options for cloning the giant tree that holds so much history.

As Staff Writer Denisa R. Superville reports, there is a chance to take cuttings from the oak and use them to produce genetically identical copies. This is hopeful news for tree lovers in Teaneck and elsewhere. Such cloning has taken place successfully through the years, though experts agree that matching the 250-year-old northern red oak might be more challenging because the plant group in general has proved difficult to clone in the past.

Nevertheless, at a time when too many of our old trees are being thoughtlessly lost, we applaud efforts, including those from the Puffin Foundation, to keep the red oak alive and to save its identity in the township. The tree's residence at Cedar Lane and Palisade Avenue predates the American Revolution. Over the years many people have fought to save it from developers, and an ordinance earlier this year gave the tree official historical status.

"Nobody wants this tree to go down," said Todd Mastrobuoni, a certified tree expert, master arborist and tree risk assessor, who suggested cloning it. "And at least, if we can come up with something — that it's not a total end to it — it will be worth the time and effort."

Jason Grabosky, an associate professor of ecology, evolution and natural resources at Rutgers University, who was contacted by the Puffin Foundation, said three methods of cloning are under consideration: taking terminal cuttings from the tree and using growth hormones to initiate rooting; taking small branches and storing them in an environment with adequate humidity, in the hope they will eventually grow shoots; and using the sprouts that will be generated once the tree is cut down.

The odds, decidedly, are not good. And yet there are enough cloning successes, not only in New Jersey, but even with the famous cherry blossom trees around the Tidal Basin in Washington, to bring hope. The ancient oak has proved a hearty soldier in Teaneck for more than 250 years. Here's hoping its offspring follows suit.

Thursday, May 2 at 6:30 pm
The Power of the Pen: Literature and Politics During The Great Depression
at the Museum of the City of New York

During the economic crisis of the 1930s, the written word became an activist political tool. America’s “proletarian literature” movement produced novels, poems, essays, and manifestos that promoted social reform and even political revolution. Why did many writers feel the need to become political and what was the effect of their work? Join noted essayist, fiction writer, film critic, and poet Phillip Lopate for a conversation about literature and politics with distinguished critic Morris Dickstein, Professor of English, CUNY, and Linda Gordon, Professor of History, NYU, author of Dorothea Lange: A Life Beyond Limits (Norton, 2009).

Co-sponsored by the Department of History, NYU and the CUNY Center for the Humanities and presented in conjunction with The Puffin Foundation's Activist New York exhibition at the museum.

RESERVATIONS REQUIRED
$6 Museum members; $8 seniors and students; $12 general public

For more information or to register by phone, please call 917-492-3395

The Puffin Foundation is looking to establish a museum that celebrates women artists in Teaneck. We welcome your inquiries, ideas, and partnership suggestions about the construction of the museum.

You can contact us at info@puffinfoundation.org

Unfortunately this Saturday's event WHAM (Winning Hearts & Minds) is cancelled due to the impending blizzard. We apologize for any inconvenience and will send out an email once we reschedule this event!

Be safe and warm!