Lonely Tree

There was a forest here last year. The city owned the land and decided to make this forest into a park complete with several softball fields. So on a sad day last fall the large equipment arrived and the forest was leveled.

This is what has been called progress. I read in the local paper that now more people can enjoy the river, presumably now that the trees are gone. Sadly I know this is partially true because they are going to build a road and a parking lot for the ball fields. However this is not the same as parking the car a few blocks away and walking through the woods to the river.

As outrageous as cutting down the woods so more people can enjoy the river, is the fact that the forest was once a series of ponds and wetlands with a stream that ran out of the bluff 80 years ago. Starting in the late 1920's through the mid 1970's this wetland was filled in with demolished buildings including a local K mart that burned down, the stream was channeled into a culvert. As ugly as that sounds the woods that grew up out of this mess was beautiful and many of the trees would take several people to completely hug them.

My heart still aches for this small stream, who for its last mile to the Mississippi runs underground to the river. I hope to write more about this small stream because it has had such a long and loving relationship with the Dakota.