Amazing Live Oaks

Live oak trees are remarkably resilient.

A reader from Ammannsville came by the office last week to talk to me about live oaks. The gentleman said he read my story in the paper a few weeks ago about the family from La Grange who asked the City Council for permission to cut down a live oak tree. As you may recall from the story, the City of La Grange has a century-plus old ordinance on the books that prohibit anyone from cutting down a live oak without first getting permission from the City Council. The family had recently discovered a hollow spot in the tree, and they were worried it might fall on their house. La Grange has been very protective of its live oak trees. However, the Council recognized the family’s concern and approved their request.

After reading the story, this gentleman from Ammannsville said he wanted to show me a photo of an unusual live oak tree on his property. As you can see in the photo, the tree has been growing on its side for a very long time, probably over a century.

The man said he reckoned the tree fell down in the famous hurricane that destroyed Galveston in 1900.

He said the tree has stood witness to weddings, anniversaries, soil conservation meetings and prayer meetings in its recent history.

In a little note attached to the photo, the man wrote, “Reflecting on its durability and strength, this tree continues to stand strong and ready to endure the future storms of life.”

Thisreader’sstoryreminded me of another famous live oak tree from my youth. I grew up in Schulenburg. If you’re my age or older, you probably remember the big old live oak tree that stood near the gazebo in Railroad Park downtown. Sometime in the 2000s, as I recall, the tree blew down in a storm or heavy rain event. It laid on its side for months, still green, until the City decided to cut it up and haul it off. I suppose its new orientation took up some valuable parking spaces. I wonder, though, if that tree would still be alive today. I bet it would.

If there’s a lesson in any of this, maybe it’s this: if a live oak tree falls down, and it’s not bothering anyone, perhaps you should just leave it alone. It might just keep growing like this one in Ammannsville.