Schmidt, Gene Letter re TreesMrs. Ann Michalski, Council Woman
C/o Dubuque City Halt
13th & Central Ave.
Dubuque, IA 52001
October 1, 2002
Re: The replacement of trees in Dubuque and environs.
Dear Ann:
The attached article printed in The Chicago Tribune Saturday Sept. 28th caught my eye when
I noted the particular features of the "Accolade Elm" depicted in the article, (a unique hybrid),
and wished you might champion their use under the auspices of Gil Spence. You and 1 must
remember the beauty our original elms brought to this city. One cannot help but admire the fore-
sight of our forefathers who had the vision of their maturity to benefit other generations.
I would be pleased if your passed copies of the article to other members of the Council so that
all could envision the planting of these trees on a planned annual systematic basis. No doubt
few of us could savor the viewing of such trees, but our children and our children's children in
fact very well could. They too, would compliment "their' forefathers for their foresight!!
Bringing back the arboreal beauty that once graced this city with the majestic elm in the form of
this new hybrid, which is resistant to Dutch Elm disease and elm yellows, is a goal we all should
cherish an~t advocate to be a part of the "mix" of trees that grace our boulevards, parks and yards!
Mr. Spence may already be aware of the Accolade. Be that as it may, I urge you (all) to consider
this in the grand plan of landscaping our community. Certainly cognizance MUST be made of the
"impressions" of tourists who will wish to return to our community alter the Americas River Proj.
is up and running. Community leaders should urge all citizens to beautify their properties and the
Parks Director should assist them with lists of plants, shrubs and flowers compatible with our
climate and the landscaping improvements being already made. There is no reason why, in a few
years Dubuque will be known far and wide as "the garden city of Eastern Iowa?
Thankyou for your consideration.
ugene F. Schmidt
Citizen
cc. To: Gil Spence
Jerry Enzler
SECTION 1 CHICAGO TRIBUNE
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2002
Park again may be realm of the elm I
By Rudolph Bush
Tribune staff reporter
The beloved elms that once
stood on the edges of Grant Park
and formed a canopy over Lake
Shore Drive took root again Fri-
day, more than 30 years after
Dutch elm disease decimated
long rows of the majestic trees.
In a stretch barren of trees for
many years, the city began
planting 200 elms in single rows
on each side of Lake Shore Drive
Friday.
The Accolade elm, a hardy hy-
brid of two Asian species, is ex:
pected to resist the deadly dis-
ease that cost many American
neighborhoods, streets and
parks thousands of their trees
in the 1960s and '70s ~
Even now, Grant Park is
known for its collection of more
than 670 mature American
' elms, thought to be the largest
stand in the country.
"The original design of Grant
Park was to have landscaped
rooms which were lined with
elm trees as the open air walls
and their canopy forming the
roof," said Bob O'Neill, presi-
dent of the Grant Park Advisory
Council.
Park advocates and Chicago
Park District officials have been
working for years to bring the
park s elm population close to
2,000, where it stood in its hey-
day.
In 1994, new elm plantings be-
gan in Grant Park, and by the
time the Park District is fin-
ished about 700 trees will have
been replaced.
PLEASE SEE ELMS, PAGE 8
Tribune photo by Milbe~t O. Brown
New elms, a disease-rasistant hybrid, line Lake Shore Drive at
Grant Park. Elms wer~ a major part of the original park plan.
ELMS:
Species also
resists :a 2nd,
killer disease
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
"~ is really the fiaal bi~
wave, said Park District forest.
er Brian Winiquetts, whose
crew planted ~0 trees Friday. All
~00 should be in the ground by
the middle of next week. -
On the west side of the drive,
the elms will run from Roose-
velt Road to Monroe Street, and
on the east side they have been
planted from Monroe to Balbo
Drive. From Balbo to the mu-
seum campus, hackber~y trees
stand.
At the peak of the Dutch elm
disease epidemic, the park was
losing trees constantly, leaving
once great towering rows look-
ing like "they had lost teeth,"
O'Neill said.
Even now the disease takes a
toll, with 16 American elms re-
moved from the park this sum.
The new trees, cultivated:~
from a disease-resistant hybrid'
that sprang up accidentally at
the Morton Arboretum in Lisle
80 years ago, are 9 feet tall and
2.g inches thick. They are ex.~
pected to grow about a foot a
year, until they reach 40 to 60~
feet, experts said.
Not only win the trees revive
Grant Park's original deal~n,
they should make being in the
park more enjoyable, O'Neill
said.
"They will help dilute the
noise from the drive and help
soften its [visual] impact," he
said. "Most people do not realize
what an incredible canopy win
he created when the elm trees on
the parkway mature."
Mix of 2 Asian elms
The Accolade eimsare a mix
of a rare Chinese tree known as
the Wilson elm and a more eom-/
mort Japanese elm~~ The result.
ing tree looks much like the fa-
mously lovely American elm.
"The hybrid turned out to be a
tree that closely resembles the
American elm but has a beautid
~1 glossy leaf," said George
Ware, a ~ expert at the Mor-
ton Arboretum.
Most impo~n~ though is the!r ~
t~e's ability to save itself from ~
Dutch elm disease, a ~ ~tr~
spreads through a tree,e micl~ t
eeepic water tubules, _cutting ~
nouris~ent until it dies. Y
Typically, the disease is
the elm bark beetle
· tree to tree, Dutch e~
wh~e~ ex~ believe c~e W
~e~ ~ veneer wood from
Ho~d, ~o sprea~ ~ugh
the ~oven ~t ~y~te~ of
e~s ~t ~aw clo~e together.
Th~ ~. ~e Ac~hde has ~
~h~ a ~ait co~n to Asi~
b~ches ~te~ with ~e d~-
b~es, W~e
~e Acco~de ~ ~so~re(m~t
W e~ yellows, ~o~er aea~y
&se~e ~at cle~ whole
HeiSts d~ ~e ~
~ to a v~, e~ yellows
wor~ im ~Y ~o~ a W~'s
~e ~ees ~at soon wm
~e V~k,~em to ~ve come
abont entffely by t~
~d .~e ~t ~own Aecol~e
e~ ~ ?0 f~t ~ ~u~ide an
~cat~n ~nier at the arbor~
t~, W~ sa~.
'Na~e crated i~," he
"The ~ came ~om ~e Japa-
nese e~, ~d ~e [~ese] W~-
son e~ gave the pollen.'
It ~w for ~o~ ~ ye~s
wi~out much be~ ~o~
about it or m~Y ~qu~es berg
made ~ffi W~e ~v~ at ~e
~bo~m ~ ~e la~ ~s and
wondered~bout its ori~s.
Sleuthing ~r ~ed origin
so [ d~d some sleg~, ~e
s~.
~e ~ ~e ~ f~ the Ao-
~e~ ~ ~e~e.
st~d ga~er~ e~ugh ~-
I~ ~d curtis to clone ~e
~ and began to test it as a ~
pla~ment for the ~erkan
e~.
"By ~e '~s it gaud aUen-
tion ~caU~ it ~ned out ~e
~g ~ees we~ ~ bea~t~ ,
he s~d.
He ~o fo~d ~es were espe-
city h~ adapted well to ~e
Chicago ~ate and ~ew eas*
fly ~ ~erent ~fl conditions.
"8omet~ na~e ~s a w~
of f~g ~, but ~ ~ case ~e
~ee looks to ~ve v~ good p~
~ge W~iqueRe of ~e Park
D~i~ b~eves the ~es phnt-
ed ~o~ ~e Shoe Drive ~Y
~ow o~y to a heist of.~ f~t,
W~e ~ ~ey ~d get
siderably ~er, perh~s ~ feet.
~ and p~k love~ d~e
~midy hope so, bel~ ~e
Acco~ elm ~d, enh~ce
Gr~t p~k's mpu~flon as a
worll reno~,~for e~s:.