Prairie wanderings: The lone tree
By PAUL G. JANTZEN
Contributing writer
Back in 1925, Jake Goering, his brother, and sister accompanied their dad on a fishing trip to Running Turkey Creek, a bit more than a half mile north of their farm in McPherson County. They rode a horse-drawn spring wagon carrying a washtub and a fishing seine. At the creek, a neighbor and his three children joined the expedition.
The two fathers waded into the running water (about 18 or 20 inches deep) and with several upstream sweeps of the seine, collected 12 to 15 channel catfish 15 to 18 inches long. The tub of fish "was sufficient for a good mess of fish for both families that evening."
But even more significant than the fish was the huge cottonwood tree on the bank of the creek, "clearly the largest tree along the creek for miles around." Seven-year-old Jake, he recalls 80 years later, was one of six or seven children that once surrounded the tree, joining hands but not quite able to reach all the way around.
Due to occasional prairie fires, there were few trees in the prairie in presettlement days. Only trees along streams survived the ravages of these raging fires. This lone cottonwood was nearly surrounded by the meandering creek and was just a few feet from the flowing stream. It was dubbed the Lone Tree.
Not only were there few trees in the prairie, but this cottonwood was unusually large. It was a "dominating landmark" for early settlers in 1855 and travelers along the Santa Fe Trail which passed about three miles north of the tree. That trail was a 780-mile commercial route reaching from Independence, Mo., to Santa Fe, N.M., from 1822 to 1872 according to a roadside sign about three miles northeast of the tree, or 1825 to 1878 according to a nearby stone marker.
While the Lone Tree withstood the ravages of time, it finally succumbed to civilization. In the mid-1930s, a nearby oil-drilling crew began emptying its sludge and salt water into a containment pond near Running Turkey Creek. But the dam gave way, and the wastes spilled into the creek polluting the stream for miles. Nearly every living thing in and near the stream died, including the giant cottonwood.
But the Lone Tree is not forgotten. The 36-square-mile township in which it stood so majestically for so long is named Lone Tree Township. There was a Long Tree rural school (District 15) organized in 1881 and closed in 1954. About two miles east of the tree, the Lone Tree Post Office existed from 1880 to 1888. And about four miles east-southeast of the tree is the Lone Tree Church of God in Christ Mennonite Church.
On the last day of spring (2005), Elaine and I were in Lone Tree Township along the Running Turkey Creek. We came along the country road skirting the west edge of Section 20. The creek is lined with a jungle of large trees — hackberry, Osage orange, red mulberry, and others — so different than the nearly treeless plains found by early settlers. The water stands in pools all along the creek waiting to be refreshed by rains upstream.
Jake would like to plant Long Tree II on the original site with a historical marker along the Elyria Road which passes about three-fourths of a mile south of the original tree.
Thanks to Jacob Goering and Delbert Goering who provided most of the information for this report.
Churches to host program
Hillsboro Mennonite Brethren Church, Parkview Mennonite Brethren Church, and Ebenfeld Mennonite Brethren Church will host a Christian Endeavor program at 7 p.m. July 10 at Ebenfeld Church, 1498 Kanza, Hillsboro.
menu
agape senior center
Monday, July 11 — Ham loaf, baked potato, coleslaw, wheat roll, cantaloupe.
Tuesday, July 12 — Chicken tetrazzini, green bean plaki, wheat roll, peaches.
Wednesday, July 13 — Roast beef and gravy, mashed potatoes and gravy, creamy cucumbers, wheat roll, chocolate orange cake.
Thursday, July 14 — Chicken salad sandwich, deviled eggs and tomato, carrots lyonnaise, strawberries and bananas in gelatin.
Friday, July 15 — Pepper steak on rice, mixed fruit, wheat roll, applesauce bar.
