In 1999 Quarryville Elementary put together a terrific tree project. Working with Principal Kathleen Hood and helped by a grant, landscaper and school alumni Scott Peiffer (3rd photo) shepherded the planting of 11 two-year-old seedlings from American Heritage Trees. AHT is a non-profit that sells certifiably authentic descendants of historic trees.
A few years later, Peiffer and Hood staged a “tree walk” for students. Volunteers dressed in period garb and portraying the represented characters (e.g., George Washington) were stationed by each tree to explain its natural history as well as the relevant human history.
Some of the trees (including those representing Clara Barton, Nathan Hale, George Washington Carver, and Betsy Ross) died when transplanted because of a construction project.
But the collection still contains a George Washington Tulip Poplar, an Abraham Lincoln White Oak, a Martin Luther King Sycamore, a Dwight Eisenhower Green Ash, a Johnny Appleseed Apple Tree, and a Harpers Ferry Dog- wood (see entries for these individual trees for more information).
