Trees, Thanks, and Looking Forward!

The SHHS Trustees all breathed a giant collective sigh of appreciation and gratitude when Patricia Piotrowski of Bartlett Tree Experts offered to donate her services, not only for the care of some invasive bugs eating our boxwoods, but to take down a giant tree that had grown a little too close to the Annie Cooper Boyd House.

Taking down this tree was the right decision for a variety of reasons. Obviously foremost was the safety for our historic building with the recent extreme weather trends. The health of the tree according to Bartlett Tree Experts (and other arborists we asked for a second opinion), and the way the tree was growing also influenced SHHS's decision to consider removing the tree.

Additionally, the SHHS Trustees are working towards rebuilding the falling down shed in the yard of the Annie Cooper Boyd House, with hopes of using the space for some of our school groups and lecture sessions. This project dovetailed nicely with the consult from the arborists we spoke with about our buggy boxwood problem.

Patricia Piotrowski's offer from Bartlett was no small gesture. This came at a time when SHHS has struggled to meet our routine expenses, and we were facing repairs that needed to happen to keep our building safe.

SHHS Trustee and photographer Jean Held documented the efforts of the Barlett crew removing our tree. Because of Bartlett's donation of continued tree maintenance for our property, the SHHS Trustees are relieved to be able to approach the start of hurricane season thinking about historical matters, upcoming exhibits, and grant writing!

Dramatic pictures from our tree removal, showing just how close the tree was to the house are visible here:

Next time you're at the Annie Cooper Boyd House, take a look out the dining room windows! You'll be able to see the changes from Bartlett's wonderful work. We hope you'll be with us this Friday August 9th for the next Fridays on the Porch!

And stay tuned for progress on the William Cooper Boat Shed Project! We hope one day soon we'll be hosting an event in that space!