After standing for over three centuries, Cochrane’s Old Grandfather Tree was felled after a storm that took place overnight on Jan. 16.
The historic White Spruce was located deep within the Historic Cochrane Ranche, just a few steps and a bridge away from the RancheHouse. It was estimated that the Grandfather Tree itself was approximately 300 years old, meaning that it predated the founding of Cochrane, Canada, and even the United States.
Director of community safety and well being for the Town of Cochrane, Lisa Almond, explained that the very significant gusts of winds were the reason the tree fell, and that they were informed by a member of the public about the incident.
“It’s a landmark in Cochrane,” Almond said. “Our staff is feeling it and, of course, the community too. I know so many of our students do go down to the Grandfather Tree. So, it’s a very well-known and loved tree in our area.”
Almond explained that the future of the tree is evolving, and, at the time of the interview, Almond explained that arbourists were examining to see there was any way to preserve its legacy.
“I don’t want to get everyone’s hopes up too much, but I will mention that I didn’t know that what you could do is actually propagate seeds from a tree; so we’re going to look and see if that’s at all possible,” she said. “So that the Grandfather Tree could have possibly little baby trees.”
In terms of the actual tree itself, and rescuing its wood, Almond said the Town is looking to the community for advice and suggestions on how to move forward and honour its legacy.
“I think there’s a couple of things we could do to that actual site itself, memorializing it somehow, and also what we do with the wood,” Almond said. “There’s lots of amazing ideas that are coming in already, […] But first we don’t want to touch anything until this company tells us what we can do to propagate seeds if can or not.”
For now, the Town asks residents and guests to respect the site of the Grandfather Tree and the surrounding area.
“We understand that it is an open space, we checked for safety around the area, and there’s no chance of it slipping anymore,” Almond said. “In terms of our investigation and bringing experts that can try to help us decide what to do with it, if we leave it in the exact state its in right now; that’ll give us our best chance.
“So please, stay off it, don’t climb over the fencing, just leave it right now, and then we can have our best chance of figuring out what’s next.”
Mayor Jeff Genung said that as someone who grew up in Cochrane, it was of the town’s best kept secrets among true locals for a very long time.
“The locals’ hidden gem was always the Grandfather Tree for a very long time, and there’s not one person in Cochrane, I think, that doesn’t know what it is,” he said. “We’ve lost something very dear to us as locals.
“Outside of Cochrane, maybe some people would come visit it, but for locals it was that hidden gem of a natural landmark.”
Despite this being a tragic loss for the community, Genung said he is proud to see the community rally for the Grandfather Tree and its legacy.
“I’m seeing the community come together over this, bond, and share positive memories,” Genung said. “It makes me feel good about our community, the people who live here, and the things we hold dear.
“We’re looking for ways to commemorate and preserve it, so I’m interested to see the ideas. There are very creative people in Cochrane, and I’m sure we’ll come up with some made-in-Cochrane solution to how can commemorate this iconic White Spruce.”
