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In the late nineteenth
century, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was America’s favorite poet. At
the height of his popularity, people lined up to buy his latest
poem(s). Sometimes the line would go out the door and around the
block. Many elderly people today can still recite long passages from
his poetry that they memorized as children.
Among
the most popular of his subjects was "the village blacksmith" whose
smithy stood beneath "a spreading chestnut tree." The tree is
obviously big, with "spreading" limbs large enough to protect the
whole shop, giving the tree a maternal quality. Although the tree is
not mentioned anywhere else in the poem, the reader understands that
the chestnut tree and the blacksmith embody quintessential American
virtues.
In
Currier’s famous painting of the scene, the chestnut tree is by far
the most prominent feature of the painting. The blacksmith is
described as one whose "brow is wet with
honest sweat/ He earns whate’er he can/ And looks the whole world in
the face/ For he owes not any man …[Children coming home from school/
Look in the open door/ They love to see the flaming forge/ And hear
the bellows roar…."
We’re
told he goes to church on Sunday. He sits "among his boys" and
listens to his daughter sing in the choir. Her singing reminds him of
his wife who "in the grave she lies/ And
with his hard rough hand he wipes/ A tear out of his eyes/
Toiling,--rejoicing,--sorrowing/ Onward through life he goes…Thanks,
thanks to thee, my worthy friend/ For the lesson thou has taught!/
Thus at the flaming forge of life/ Our fortunes must be wrought…"
Some
would argue that many of the virtues celebrated in this poem
disappeared with the chestnut tree, especially "he owes not any
man." In any case, Longfellow’s loving depiction of the tree
inspires us to do what is necessary "at the flaming forge of life"
to bring back that wonderful tree-and maybe some of those missing
virtues in the process.
If you would like
to read the whole text of the poem, go to Google and type in "The
Village Blacksmith" (with the quotes). For a picture of Currier’s
blacksmith at his anvil, under the tree, go to
www.art.com. and type in "The
Village Blacksmith" then hit Go. When the picture comes up, click on
the picture to make it bigger.
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On Wednesday, April
19, 2006, current GATACF President Dr. Mark Stallings is making a
presentation about the American chestnut tree’s history and the
mission of GATACF at Reinhardt College, in Waleska, Georgia. Dr.
Stallings will be using the power point presentation developed for
the use of our leadership in order to make consistent, professional
presentations to a variety of groups. Dr. Stallings was originally
contacted by Dr. Steve Powers, Assistant Professor of Biology. The
presentation will be one of the campus activities celebrating “Earth
Week.”
Dr.
Stalling’s talk is in keeping with our on-going mission to educate
the public about the American chestnut, to gain new memberships, and
to acquire new locations for future orchards. As stated in the
letter of invitation by a student:
“I
received your name from Dr. Steve Powers. I was wondering if I could
interest you [in coming to] talk to us about the research that The
American Chestnut Foundation is doing to develop a blight-resistant
chestnut tree. This is something that I personally had no idea about
until a few days ago when I read about the chestnut blight, and it is
something that I think would be of interest to many people at this
school, as it was to me.”
There is still
plenty of work to be done in educating the public about our mission.
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GATACF Presentation to
Union County Rotary
On
Thursday, April 6, 2006, current GATACF President Dr. Mark Stallings
is giving a Power Point presentation about the American chestnut tree
to the Union County Rotary Club at their luncheon meeting.
As stated in
their letter of invitation by Mr. Bob Ramay, “I am a member of the
Rotary Club of Union County and I am also active in a native plant
rescue project at the Georgia Mountain Experiment Station just South
of Blairsville. I feel that both of these organizations would
benefit from and enjoy a talk on the current status of restoring
chestnut trees to our mountains and woodlands.” |
