Bridging our Future with the Past – Dedication of the New Tree
(Originally appearing in our MMCA Fall 2022 Newsletter, available on our “Newsletters” page.)

Welcome everyone! My name is Micum Davis, son of Dan Davis and Susan Smith Davis, and grandson of Mary McIntire Davis of York, ME. As the local arborist in the family, my dad asked me to help plant a new tree to replace the horse chestnut that met its final demise this past year. It’s my honor to do so on this historic family site, on this historic occasion, the 100th meeting of the Micum McIntire Clan association. After removing the remainder of the old horse chestnut tree earlier this year, my dad and I did our best to count the rings to see when it may have been planted originally.
The tree had four individual trunks, several of which were quite rotted away, degraded from the various leader failures the tree had suffered over the years, so it was a bit difficult. But we were able to gauge that it was right around 80 years old. 1942, the same year dad was planted, er, um, I mean born, yeah born, right down in York Village. We have no idea who may have planted the tree, or if it was, perhaps a squirrel, hiding away nuts from another, older tree, which had grown some place nearby.

Does anybody here have any idea? Perhaps Dad’s parents Bubba and Gig would have known this story.
That old tree was certainly a fixture on this property, in the memory of those who knew this space anyway over the last 60 plus years. At one occasion, I was lucky enough to be here at sunset to
capture a gorgeous photo of the tree’s shadow across the Garrison, which I have brought with me for those who would like to see it. When deciding what tree to replant with we did a little research on
the horse chestnut. Originally the tree is native to the Balkan mixed forests of southeast Europe, including Ukraine. Interestingly, Ukraine used the leaf of the horse chestnut on their coat of arms for several decades and large horse chestnut trees can be found in the parks and streets of Kiev where they are prized for their shade and beauty throughout the seasons. It has been imported to the US for some time. The General Whipple horse chestnut was planted by the signer of the declaration of Independence, William Whipple and can be visited still at the Moffat Ladd house on Market Street Extension just above the Orr House restaurant in Portsmouth, NH. It’s a magnificent tree and if you have a chance to stop by while in town, you’ll be glad you took the time. After the Civil War, horse chestnuts were commonly planted on Remembrance Day, now Memorial Day, and the flowers symbolized fallen soldiers to be remembered. We have many native horse chestnuts in this country including the buckeye of Ohio whose nuts are sweeter and more edible. We certainly hope that this tree we plant today will grow into a large old tree that the next generation can sit under and bask in the shade pondering all of the days and nights and history the tree has seen. This time however, there will be a record of the tree planting, that you all here have been a part.