New trees take root where old elms grew

The Elms senior apartments lost their namesake elms this winter — sentinel trees that shaded Third Avenue West for most of a century before falling prey to Dutch elm disease.

Turning a new leaf, residents there saw two young maple trees planted Friday as part of Kalispell’s annual Arbor Day activities.

After a presentation from city officials, Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation and Plum Creek Timber Co. on the importance of trees and their benefit to a community, third-graders at Elrod Elementary School walked over to The Elms to help residents and city forestry crews plant the new trees.

Trees usually are planted at a local school each Arbor Day.

But with Dutch elm disease killing the namesake trees at The Elms and ravaging dozens of other elms around Kalispell, it was decided to get some new trees growing in holes left behind.

“Mixing the kids with the old people and having them plant trees together, we think that’s kind of special this year,” said Bette Albright, a member of Kalispell’s Street Tree Commission. “We told the kids about the legacy of the elms, that those trees were planted 100 years ago by people who wanted trees in the community. So now we’re planting trees for the future, too.”

Bert LaValley was sad to see the elm in front of her apartment at The Elms get cut down this winter by city crews.

“I loved that tree from the time I moved in here nine years ago,” she said at the time. “It was a great big one with knots and burls and you could see faces on it and everything. It was my tree.”

But LaValley was left looking on the bright side.

Kalispell let her woodworker friend have some of the elm wood, and he’s turning one of its burls into a salad bowl for her. City crews later cut a four-inch-thick slice from the stump for that same friend to turn into a table for her.

“That was nice,” LaValley said. “I had to call the head guy and he said sure. He cut it off for me.”

Kalispell has made the wood from cut-down elms available for woodworkers. Flathead High School has had shop students make benches with the wood. Some local companies have picked it up to make flooring and rifle stocks and furniture.

LaValley spent a couple of days making cookies for the third-graders who came to help plant the new maples on Arbor Day.

She’s happy to see the trees go in. She might not get to see them grow up over the next half-century, but those kids will — and one of them might grow up to fall in love with one of the maples like she did with her old elm.

“It looks kind of empty right now, the whole line from this other tree down to the corner. So this will make it look prettier,” she said.

Reporter Tom Lotshaw may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at tlotshaw@dailyinterlake.com.