Jillian Beaudry
Editor in chief

At today’s events celebrating Linfield’s 150th anniversary, President Thomas Hellie announced the wood from the Old Oak will be used to improve campus landscaping and buildings, and display historical moments of the college. If smaller pieces of wood are left over, they may be used for commercial purposes.

Hellie said after the Old Oak fell in January, cuttings from the tree were sent to a nursery in an effort to graft new saplings. If the task is successful, he said several oaks will be planted in the Oak Grove.

The group in charge of deciding what to do with the remains of the tree, the Old Oak Committee that was headed by Vice President for College Relations Bruce Wyatt, received more than 100 suggestions from alumni, students, faculty, staff and community members.

Hellie said it was a challenge to pick the most suitable choices because the group wanted decisions to be in good taste, and recognize the symbolic importance of the oak to the college.
“This tree obviously carries a great deal of symbolic importance to many people,” he said.

In addition to hiring landscape architects to create a new landscaping plan for the Oak Grove, a memorial will be created on the site of where the oak stood. Hellie said he did not know if it would be created from live trees, bronze or stone.

Two cross sections will be cut and marked with important dates of the college and McMinnville. One section will stay at Linfield, and the other will go to the Yamhill County Historical Society, Hellie said.

Leftover wood will be used to create an archway for special occasions, renovations to Pioneer Hall and podiums and tables for the college. Some smaller pieces of leftover wood may be used to create gifts for generous donors to the school or available for sale to alumni, Hellie said.