Wyoming gets second generation 'moon tree' to replace sycamore grown from Apollo 14 seeds

Darin Estep By Darin Estep The Grand Rapids Press
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on August 26, 2009 at 11:55 AM, updated August 26, 2009 at 4:40 PM
Stuart Roosa brought about 500 seeds into space as part of the three-man Apollo 14 crew that went to the moon in early 1971.

WYOMING -- As Alan Shepard golfed on the moon's surface, Stuart Roosa orbited with a stash of seeds. And while lesser gravity gave Shepard's ball some extra carry, it was a tree that landed here. And while Wyoming's original "moon tree" apparently fell victim to a landscaping project a few years ago, the city is getting a replacement.

Of several dozen so-called "moon trees" around the world, an American sycamore seedling was planted in 1976 near what was then the Wyoming Police Department. A replacement tree is being commemorated as part of a 50th anniversary celebration for Wyoming police.

Representatives of NASA and the U.S. Forest Service were scheduled to join local leaders at 10 a.m. today for a rededication ceremony outside the police department, 2300 DeHoop Ave. SW.

Wyoming Police Officer Adam Bartone and Rick Vuyst, owner of Fruit Basket Flowerland, install the marker in front of the police department's recently planted moon tree.

"It's amazing, the story," said Officer Adam Bartone, part of a committee that researched the department's history for the anniversary. "It's a living, breathing thing, and you look over here and see the moon. Maybe the story inspires a bit."

Roosa, a former U.S. Forest Service smoke jumper, brought about 500 seeds into space as part of the three-man Apollo 14 crew that went to the moon in early 1971. Upon their return to Earth, the seeds were germinated, and most of the seedlings were given away to be planted as part of 1976 bicentennial celebrations across the country.

Local native Gerald R. Ford was president and, with assistance from Richard Vander Veen, a Democratic congressman from Grand Rapids, might have had some sway in getting one of the moon trees to West Michigan, according to departmental lore. It apparently was the only one in the state.

At a bicentennial ceremony, Ford called the trees "a living symbol of our spectacular human and scientific achievements."

In his research, Bartone learned Wyoming's moon tree, planted at what is now District Court, apparently was cut down a few years ago during a landscaping project.

But if NASA can erase original videotape of the first moon landing, then maybe the city can be forgiven. So officials tracked down offspring of a first-generation moon tree in Mississippi and had it shipped here. The tree stands about nine feet tall.

"We found that the tree traveled from the moon to Earth easier than from Gulfport to Wyoming," said Rick Vuyst, of Fruit Basket Flowerland, who cared for the tree upon its arrival. "We had to baby it."

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