Archive for Wednesday, August 30, 2000  Black Oak was older
than most  August 30, 2000  Baldwin City has lost a friend of
180 years. A Black Oak tree that had stood for almost two
centuries near the main branch of the East Fork of Tauy Creek
was felled to protect the city's electrical system.  "It was a
special tree," said Roger Boyd, Baker University professor. "I
think there's a definite reason that the tree was there and it
was the little stream. It wouldn't have gotten burned by prairie
fires.  "It was here long before white settlers," said Boyd.
The tree, which Boyd has counted 180 rings on, first sprouted
somewhere around 1820. It witnessed the founding of Baldwin City
and Baker University, statehood in 1861, stood during two World
Wars and many other historic dates.  More recently, it provided
shade for Boy Scouts at the cabin just north of where it stood.
It stood while two swimming pools were built just to the east of
it.  "It was an observer," Boyd said.  Now it will be used in
Boyd's classes at Ba