The "The Magnificent, Stately American Elm Tree And St. James Church" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Checking my Facebook page and saw a note from Stanley Imboden.  Rev. Imboden was the minister for many years at the historic St. James Episcopal Church in downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  

Old photograph showing the English elm trees along Orange
and Duke Streets.  Click on photographs to enlarge them.

Our entire family loved him while he led our church during the years that our three children were growing up.  His father was a professional baseball umpire and Stan had many a baseball tale to tell our children who all enjoyed the sport.  Well, Stan posted a note in response to another post asking about the English elm trees that were along the West Orange Street and North Duke Street Street sides of the church as well as quite a few of the elms in the churchyard behind the church.  His post said that "At time of removal, one of the Orange Street side trees had a 160 ring count."  

A 1944 black and white photograph showing
the trees in front of the church.

St. James Church was founded in 1744 with the current church building being started in 1820.  I'm assuming that a few years after the church was finished the English elms were planted.  I searched the first of two books titled St. James Church which dates 1744-1944 and could find nothing that tells of the English Elms.  While searching the second book that dates 1945-1994 I found a section in the appendix titled "The Saint James Elms."  It was in 1983 that the first of many alarming reports on the condition of the ancient elm trees was issued.  The elms are deciduous trees which are very susceptible to the Dutch elm disease which traveled throughout Europe and much of North America in the second half of the 20th century.  

A photograph from 1969 shows the trees still remain.

The disease is caused by a micro-fungus transmitted by elm-bark beetles which act as vectors.  All species of elms native to North America and Europe could be affected.  Fungal spores, introduced into wounds in the tree caused by the beetles invade the vascular system, thus eventually killing the tree.  Now, it's a bit more complicated than that, but I'm not about to bore you with all the biological aspects of the tree dying.  

the church steeple with the majestic trees around it.

It was thought that the elms began their infestation with the beetles in the late 1970s.  Little by little the trees began to be removed.  First the trees along the streets and then the trees in the churchyard.  Mr. Henry C. Brown, Jr., a member of St. James, wrote on September 15, 1993 that "with the loss of the stately elms in the St. James churchyard one can be grateful that other replacement trees furnish shade in the churchyard and continue to provide beauty and peacefulness to the area which adds so much to the grace and charm of downtown Lancaster."  

A plaque that stands in the location of one
of the largest English elms in the churchyard.

The largest of the English elms was named for George Ross, St. James' vestryman and signer of our nation's Declaration of Independence.  The elm was located between our chapel and rectory, towering over the chapel.  Must have been over 90 feet in height with a trunk that measured 80 inches in diameter at breast height.  A count of the growth rings on a few of the trees in the churchyard showed the trees to be lover 100 years old.  The church did report in 1990, in the book I examined, that "there is hope for the future by planting two yellow-wood trees on Orange Street and a gingko tree on Duke Street, replacing the ancient elms it had tried so hard to save."  

Mr. George Rodgers, organist and choir director
stands in front of what I believe to be the tree
that now honors George Ross.  Date was 1910.

One more visit to my church with my camera was made to give you an idea as to what shade and solitude exists today at our churchyard.  I found plenty of shade, but not as impressive as the stately English elms that I remember from the past.  I spoke with the church sexton about the trees and he said the oldest tree in the churchyard today is the huge shedding Sycamore tree which towers above the main part of the church.  St. James churchyard is filled with gravesites of many historical people who helped form our nation.  Losing a few trees is extremely disheartening, but in the realm of history, the churchyard still holds the same story it has held for centuries.  Church member William Arnold may have expressed it best when in October 1989 he wrote this poem:

While inside, robed choir sang and priest and people prayed,

This old retainer silent stood outside and lent its shade

For longer far than any human's span.

And now, when sawyers come, would it seem blasphemous or odd

To say a requiem for this ancient creature made by God,

But until now, perhaps not treasured adequately by man?

It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. 

One of my altered Polaroids which shows the cloister in front of the chapel.

This photograph I took while in college of the cloister and chapel.  In the courtyard in the center-front of the photograph can be seen a cross.  That was carved from one of the English elms that had to be taken down due to Dutch elm disease.  I took this photo by climbing the inside of the church steeple and leaning out of the area where the church bell is located.  Today this area is enclosed with screen to keep out birds, and perhaps young photographers.

An old photo of the churchyard on the right with one of the English elms along the sidewalk by the street.

This is the Duke Street side of the church.  You can see the trees in this photo are small in stature and stand where the English elms would have stood.

The cloister can be seen leading into the chapel.  To the right in the photo, where an English elm, and then the cross, stood now show very little but for a fountain.

This tree stands where an English elm was removed and a plaque placed in honor of George Ross.

The final photo I took today shows the shedding Sycamore tree next to the church.  It is perhaps the oldest tree in the churchyard and towers above the church.