Because of its proximity and notoriety, the felling of the honking tree was more significant than a prank or act of vandalism ("Honking tree's remains in limbo," May 6).
Residents and visitors noted the 100-plus-year-old white pine as a mile-marker and more. My first recollection, some 40 years ago, was en route to a Y camp up the shore and into the Boundary Waters. I always noticed what I called the "gateway tree," as it indicated we'd finally reached the North Shore; now we were really up north in that special country.
I inspected the fallen giant; the cuts across the girth of trunk and stump were clean, level and without in or out jigs. It had been notched and felled efficiently and expertly, with three cuts with a sharp chainsaw -- two for the notch and one for the final stroke. With no skid marks on either trunk or stump, the indication is it was felled by an expert sawyer. Moreover, the notch couldn't be found -- likely taken by the killer of this once healthy tree as a souvenir. The Sheriff's Department should look for someone with both the expertise at making such a clean cut, felling it neatly lengthwise along the median, and who also has a chainsaw with a bar of 26 inches or more. The clincher would be if they have the souvenir notch.
The destruction of this landmark is nothing less than an act of terrorism against the extended community and even the natural world because of its symbolism and location. If a historic building had been blown up, like the Two Harbors lighthouse, it wouldn't be a prank or mere vandalism. In this same way, the destruction of this landmark is an act of terrorism against our local community and the thousands of visitors who've come to recognize it.
LEONARD WEISS
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KNIFE RIVER
