Mourning Iowa's senior citizen

American Forests, Spring, 2004

It came down last fall, but we didn't want this issue to pass without a special goodbye to Iowa's oldest cucumber magnolia (Magnolia acuminata). Estimated to be more than 130 years old, the massive tree towered over the Good Samaritan Center in Waukon, Iowa.

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The much-beloved tree's passing was chronicled in the Waukon Standard, which ran a letter to the editor explaining that the tree was deemed to be dying and deteriorating, and therefore a hazard to passersby. Before it was taken down, the cucumber magnolia had sported a yellow ribbon to remember a Center employee who was called to active duty with the U.S. Army.

A woodcarver planned to keep the tree's legacy alive through carvings done from a portion of the trunk.