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. . . and from decay and storms the mighty Wye Oak did fall. June 6 2002.
For over 450 years the Wye Oak grew in Talbot County -- reaching a majestic 31 feet 8 inches in circumference; 96 feet tall;
crown spread of 119 feet -- covering nearly one-third acre.
Windfall was seen as the single, most important threat to its life, as evidenced by the scars on the tree by the sudden
loss of some of its large limbs in the past century. The first limb fell in October 1953 during a thunderstorm. A second limb
fell in August 1955 after a hurricane loosened the cables earlier in the summer. A third limb fell in June 1984.
The 1984 limb weighed thirty-five tons! A two-ton chunk was sent to sculptor Steven Weitzman to create the Wye Oak Sculpture.
He carved the wood into a monument in his shop at Seneca Creek State Park in Gaithersburg. On April 3, 1985 his sculpture
of two children leaning over a shovel in the act of planting a tree was moved to it permanent home at Martinak State Park,
2 miles east of Denton. The children, carved larger than life-size, are standing beneath a white oak tree in this 10-foot-tall
statue that measures about 4-1/2 feet from front to back.
Off the Beaten Path -- MD & DE pg 136
When the elements began to take their toll, the sculpture was subsequently relocated to the Tawes Building, 580 Taylor Ave,
Annapolis MD, headquarters for MD Dept of Natural Resources.
But thanks to the medium of Pink Stuff, the sculpture in miniature returns to Martinak SP.
Enter the park, past the park office, but stopping at the
[?]
and making a U-turn to park on the backside -- off the main road way. A map on the bulletin board will show where the Nature
Trail begins (see the hiker sign on the other side of the road way.) Go counter clockwise past post [5] to the bench. Behind
the bench there is a slope down to the creek -- head over there to a small cluster of five medium small (but bigger than a
sapling) hollys. Under the rock within their bounds this little bit of history rests.
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