COMMUNITY STRONG
I n the heart of downtown Oklahoma City, grows a symbol of hope and resilience that has gripped OKC’s community for more than 100 years. According to the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum website, foresters believe that this American elm was likely planted around 1920. The elm tree started as one of several small trees in a residential backyard, growing larger throughout the years. At some point, the land was developed commercially, and even though all of the other trees were cleared to make a parking lot, this elm tree was somehow spared. Over the next several decades, the tree provided shade and beauty to an otherwise urban, concrete backdrop. On that fateful day in 1995, this tree, which had seen so many changes in Oklahoma City, was about to see one that would change the course of history forever. On the morning of April 19, 1995, the American people faced the most significant domestic terror attack in history, right here in OKC, when the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was targeted. According to the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum, “the tree was completely exposed to the full force of the 4,000-pound bomb that killed 168 people and injured hundreds more”. After the attack, what was left of the severely damaged tree was to be cut down so agents could retrieve forensic evidence embedded in its trunk. However, like Oklahoma City, it survived and has been a symbol to the people of Oklahoma ever since. OKC’S SURVIVOR TREE: A SYMBOL OF RESILIENCE THEN
The unassuming tree in a family’s backyard in 1947. The building directly behind now houses the Memorial Museum.
“THE SURVIVOR TREE HAS BECOME A BEACON OF HOPE, AND ITS ROOTS HAVE GROWN DEEP INTO THE OKLAHOMA CITY NATIONAL MEMORIAL AND THE FABRIC OF THIS CITY.” Since April 19, 1995, the tree and the city have not only survived but thrived. What little was left of the century-old elm has since grown and thrived and is a focal point of OKC’s Downtown and the Memorial itself. Today, it symbolizes the Oklahoma City community’s strength, hope, and prosperity. Arborists from the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry help the Oklahoma City National Memorial staff care for the tree.
14 BC CLARK MAGAZINE
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