This past weekend we drove to Tennessee to celebrate Mother's Day and the birthday of a 90-year-old relative. We passed through the path of the devastating storm that wracked Southern Illinois, wiping out thousands of trees along with buildings, rooftops and power lines throughout the area. It could, of course, have been much worse but at least one person was killed and the property damage was huge. It will take days to restore electrical service, weeks or months to repair the buildings, and it will take many years to grow new trees to replace those lost to the storm. According to southern Illinois newspapers, SIU's campus lost hundreds of treasured old trees to the "inland hurricane."

Sixty years ago the streets of Mattoon were lined with stately elm trees. On Western Avenue where I now live, the trees were said to meet overhead and shade the street from the sun all summer. The queen of them all was the Lone Elm tree that stood on the corner of our property. It was said to be the oldest tree in the area and marked a trail used by settlers headed west.

By the time I came to live in Mattoon all those trees were just a memory, victims of Dutch Elm disease which wiped out almost the entire stock of elms in the Midwest.

Most cities, hoping to avoid the sudden loss of all their street trees at once, replaced the elms with a mixture of hardwoods: maples, oaks, ash and sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua) which is hardy, beautiful and unfortunately prolific. We have a couple of sweet gums which I don't mind too much, but some of my neighbors really hate them.

We also have a giant ash tree that we have been coddling for the last few years, carefully trimming its branches and feeding the roots in the hope that we can preserve this important part of our landscape. As you may have read in the newspapers earlier this week, our local ash trees are now threatened by the emerald ash borer, a horrible import from somewhere in Asia which has already killed ash trees in 21 counties in northern Illinois and Michigan. It is feared that the borer will gradually make its way south and wipe out our own ash trees. The pictures of the Charleston Parks Department employees with triangular purple boxes, traps supplied by the Department of Agriculture, struck fear in my heart. I love my ash tree and don't want to lose it.

There doesn't appear to be any effective chemical treatment at the moment. All cities can do just now is remove the offending trees and quarantine the wood, an expensive proposition at best. If you have ash trees, you should be skeptical of anyone who claims to be able to eradicate the ash borer or make the tree resistant to the insect. As we are so frequently told, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

My experience has been that we rarely lose a tree we would like to be rid of, one blocking a view, upheaving a sidewalk, or dropping gumballs or other nuisance fruit.

Last year, lightning struck a huge old tulip poplar near our house and it looks as if it will have to be removed. It shielded our house from the morning sun and provided a wonderful view. For some reason the squirrels did not build nests there. Perhaps they could sense what was coming. At any rate, we still have plenty of squirrels but not as many old trees for them to nest in. Losing this tree is like losing an old friend. I will miss it as I miss others that once lived on this property that we have lost to storms, disease and old age.

If you love trees and would like to see some unusual ones, Master Gardener Jon Collins will be conducting a spring tree walk on the EIU campus TODAY May 16 from 10 a.m. until noon. Registration will be on the east side of Old Main and free parking is available in the area. More than 100 varieties of mature trees grow on this beautiful campus. As we have learned, trees are fragile. Go and see them now.

Next weekend will be the occasion for the 2lst annual Whiteside Garden Ramble where you can also see many varieties of unusual trees, including Big Leaf Magnolias and a specimen of the Ben Franklin tree, among others. U of I Extension Master Gardeners will be selling plants, gardening books and more. At 2 p.m. on Saturday, Master Gardener Don Terrell will be presenting a program on propagation of roses. At 3 p.m. that same day Marcus Ricci will have a program on rain gardens and at 2 p.m. on Sunday May 24^th, Master Gardener Marsha Carr will present a program called "Unusual Shrubs to Know and Grow." Watch this newspaper for directions and details.