For many of us it
didn’t register immediately. Something
was different. Then it dawned on
us. The apple trees at the entrance to
Hope UMC were gone—the first step in preparing for a memorial gift. Lucas and April Ostermann had asked Hope
Church leaders if we’d be interested in replacing the century old apple trees,
whose apples took days to clean up each year.
Hope has over 1,000 apple trees, but we are attempting to create some
healthy biodiversity. Lucas and April
wished to plant new trees that would save days of work each fall in memory of
Lucas’ dad Everett who loved nature. So
it was a tribute, an honoring of the life and loves of Everett Ostermann became
a beautiful, creative solution to an ongoing yearly problem of parking lot
apple clean up. More than that, the
trees are a sign of life even in the midst of loss. As they grow Lucas and April will be able to
tell their son Garrett about his grandpa’s love of nature and the stories of
his life and values.
Betty Kuntze’s family
was kind enough to remove the eight apple trees. Labor Day 2009 Lucas and April, and their son
Garrett, planted eight maple trees—four “autumn blaze” and four “red
sunset.” Four are hybrids which grow
quickly like a softwood maple, but are wind-resistant like a hardwood maple,
and more disease resistant than either.
Four are hardwood maples. Lucas,
April and Garrett will be making pilgrimages to water the trees to root them
well before winter snows fly. Hope UMC
is grateful to be included in Lucas’ tribute to his dad.
