I recently visited the cemetery behind the Church of the Epiphany in Kingsville where I took photos of the large old trees that were recently removed.
The Anglican church is where I was baptized and confirmed. Family friends and neighbours (all war veterans) are buried here.
At the northern edge of Epiphany’s cemetery stands a magnificent black oak tree. In 1982 it was estimated to be at least 200 years old. In that year, this oak tree was placed on the honour roll of trees in the Province of Ontario, as the largest black oak in the province. The provincial assessment used various criteria including height, trunk circumference five feet above the ground, and the extent of the branches.” ~ Source: Anglican Church Website
The photo below was taken on August 2, 2023 shortly after the big storms that hit the area at the end of July. The tree on the left is one that was taken down recently.
Here’s another photo which was also taken on August 2.
The pine tree in the background and the tree just out of the picture (you can see the branches) on the right were also removed.
This is the base of the big oak from the north side of the cemetery. I’m 5’8”/173cm which helps you to estimate the diameter.
A fair bit of rot had set in. Daylight passed through the trunk of the tree on the left. There is valuable wood in this piece but a big wood mill would be needed to extract it.
My sister Eleanor Everaert was with me that day. You can see her here, beside the huge segment in this photo.
This was a tree that would have measured about 8 feet across.
The stump in the foreground of this photo indicates the immense size of the tree that was removed.
This is a panoramic view. There was a pine tree behind the King family plot, surrounded by the white pickets in the lower right of photo.
Two big oaks in the foreground and two in the background were also removed.
This image shows the changing landscape of the cemetery now, with stumps where trees once stood. The felled trees can be seen on the left.
All photos by Frank McGorman