The city’s Linda Harris forwards this note from Decatur’s Asst. City Manager Lyn Menne…
Folks who arrived early to the Decatur Beach Party [a couple of weeks back] were greeted by the site of a large broken limb hanging from one of the remaining Elm Trees on the south lawn of the Old Courthouse adjacent to the bandstand. The city arborist inspected the tree and determined that it is diseased and needs to be removed. We wanted residents to understand why it was being cut down. Many of the Elms that once surrounded the old courthouse succumbed to Dutch Elm disease decades ago and we have been struggling to save the few that remain. This tree has been declining for years. As much as we hate to cut down a large tree, we were already planning to add trees around the south lawn area next fall to assure large growth trees for future generations.
An article in the July/August issue of the Decatur Focus will provide more information on this plan.
These elms have close ties to the preservation of the Old DeKalb Courthouse, as the area garden clubs who came together to save the elms from removal in the 1950s regrouped in the 1960s to prevent the demolition of the Courthouse.
