"I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who ultimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree."
- Joyce Kilmer, 1913

From the editorial pages of the Honolulu Bulletin in 1899: " street trees, which, though inarticulate and immobile, seem to have exercised the daily papers of this city to the extent of columns of their space. It is not alone the poetry of youth that should implore the woodsman to 'spare that tree,' but the good sense of all. Does the tree really offend anyone? What would Honolulu be without its shade trees - the grandest trees I have ever seen? Who would care to live here if there were no shelter from the tropical sun? Could the dumb animals that work upon the streets of this city speak, I am sure they would plead harder that the tree be allowed to stand where its shade might still give them refreshment - I am sure they would plead harder than any human is likely to."
The Hono-lulu editor, using the Ojai Valley as an example, said: "Allow me to refer to the village of Nordhoff (now Ojai), in Ventura County, California. Nordhoff has a very warm summer climate, which has naturally caused the people to prize their fine oak shade trees. The village is built under the trees, which are allowed to stand wherever they chanced to grow. If they are in the street, the people drive around them, saying the trees were there first and shall not be molested. How grateful the shade of those trees is to man and beast can be understood when the love of the people for the tree is known."
The Honolulu Bulletin continued its report: "In Ventura County, woe to the man who lays his ax to any tree upon a public road. There the trees as well as the people are protected, and if an overhanging limb gets too familiar with passersby, an order from the supervisor of the district must be obtained before the offending part of the tree can be removed."
From the first settlers of the Ojai Valley, a strong regards toward the trees has been felt by all. In 1882, when Charles Nordhoff, for whom the town was originally named, wrote about the splendor of the valley, he said: "The valley is famous even in California for the abundance and loveliness of its woods of evergreen oaks. It presents the appearance, in fact, of a magnificent old English park; the oaks dot the surface of the whole lower valley, and are scattered over it in single specimens and clumps - the perfection of what in England is called the 'natural' style in landscape gardening."
In 1922, the beautiful Arbolada section of the valley was created for the sole purpose of saving the trees. Edward Libbey, Ojai's greatest benefactor, purchased the large ranch to save the trees from being destroyed and, in his developing of the Arbolada, he insisted that no trees be removed, the streets were laid out to curve around them.
Another project, the redesigning of the downtown of Ojai, with the addition of the arcade, post office tower and pergola, a great amount of care was taken to prevent any damage to the existing trees that grew along the roadway. The trees were pruned just enough to allow the arcade structure to be built. The green foliage softened the long row of arches and added a welcome break in the block-long building. The trees also brought comfort on the hot summer days.
But by the 1920s, the popularity of the automobile would change the opinion of the city fathers toward the beautiful trees that grew along the city streets.
On July 2, 1926, after most of the street trees in downtown Ojai had been removed, the local newspaper, The Ojai, reported: "It was pointed out by the city attorney that the two oaks in front of Boardman's drug store (now Village Pharmacy) and the pool room (now Primavera), and the oak tree in front of the jewelry store (now Rains) all constitute menaces to traffic, and since they have all been hit several times, which is testified by their scarred trunks, and since they are all three in a poor condition, it was ordered that the city marshal be instructed to have them cut down."
The City Council expressed its regret that the removal of these trees had become necessary: " but because of the accident of last winter (1925), when a car from Santa Barbara collided with a sycamore tree that then stood in front of the city fire station (now Alexander David's), it was agreed that these trees should come out in the interest of the public safety." The city manager said that it probably would be some time before the work of cutting them down would actually take place; the city workmen were all busy picking fruit.
The Ojai Valley Garden Club requested that the city postpone the cutting of the trees. Members of the Garden Club appeared before the City Council meeting to inquire as to what might be done to save the trees. The city attorney advised them that the only means of saving them would be for the club to provide insurance for possible claims against the city because of accidents involving the trees.
The city decided that nothing would be done toward the removal of the trees for 30 days, giving the Garden Club time to ascertain whether or not it would be feasible for them to insure the city against any claims brought against them because of the oaks. The Garden Club was unable to insure the city and the trees were removed. The safety of the automobiles had won out.
Two years later in 1928, the pepper trees lining Ojai Avenue in front of the grammar school (now Ojai Unified School District offices and Chaparral High School) would create another tree protest.
The local newspaper reported: "The sight of workmen chopping away at the roots of the pepper trees in front of the grammar school Monday morning precipitated an avalanche of protest down upon the heads of the school board in an effort to postpone the work until a meeting could be held to discuss the matter and ascertain the wishes of the public." The meeting with a heated lengthy discussion was held.
A number of parents, citizens of the district and others met with the school board to talk over the matter and to ascertain whether the remaining trees could be saved. The chairman of the grounds committee explained that new plans had been drawn up for the landscaping of the front of the school yard which called for the removal of all but five of the trees. The chairman voiced his opinion that: "The trees were unsightly, planted too close together and not needed for shade since there were large oaks at the (Montgomery Street) side and another row of pepper trees on the east side of the school yard."
The next day after the meeting, more trees were removed, with the result that a petition was circulated protesting the removal, to which 164 names were secured. The school board president said, " he considered it the duty of the board to abide by the wishes of the majority of the people and that he was not in favor of removing the trees because of the strong sentiment against it." He then tendered his resignation to the board, saying that he did not like the way certain things had been done.
As the protests continued to mount, the school board agreed to stop cutting the trees until the grounds committee could get together to decide their actions. The next day, under orders from the school board, at 5:30 in the morning while the valley was still sleeping, the workmen cut down several more of the trees. The protesters felt that since the school board had broken its word in not waiting, they began discussion of a recall of the board. The next day, at a meeting of the school board, it was agreed that all further action with regard to the cutting of the grammar school trees would stop.
The remaining pepper trees, which were a turn-of-the-century beautification project, still line the street in front of the grammar school - and where they had once created a tree-lined avenue from downtown to Gridley Road, are today just a few scattered trees along the roadway.
No matter how busy we become or how progressive we feel our thinking is, the Ojai Valley's love for each of our trees only grows stronger as the years go by.

© 2000 The Ojai Valley News

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