Requiem for an Oak

It’s easy to scoff at those goofy Ojai residents who organized a funeral for a tree. But we see the value of taking a moment to mourn the passing of a beloved living landmark. In our fast-changing communities, connections to history and tradition are too often severed without acknowledgment.

About 30 people gathered in Libbey Park to share final words about the 110-foot-tall valley oak, whose mighty boughs shaded the Libbey Bowl for many decades. Four arborists and a plant pathologist recently examined the tree and found its roots and trunk to be seriously rotted. City officials ordered it cut down immediately, lest it endanger audiences at the annual Ojai Festival concert series, which opens Wednesday.

“That tree heard Stravinsky conduct,” marveled Clarence Sterling, longtime champion of the park and its trees. Another speaker recalled the year that The Times’ legendary music critic Martin Bernheimer gave a rave review to the Libbey Bowl’s majestic oaks and sycamores--although he didn’t think much of that year’s music.

Like two other Libbey Park oaks that were cut down in March amid local controversy, this one’s life was shortened by the actions of man. Pavement laid down over the tree’s root zone contributed to the destructive rot. That raises concerns about the health and future of many other landmark oaks in Ojai--where some streets swerve to accommodate them--and elsewhere across Ventura County.

By now the tree has been cut down, its thick trunk and vast canopy hauled away in pieces. There’s no question it had to be done. We hope the loss will inspire a more enlightened policy of building around and maintaining ancient trees in a community that clearly values them.

We also hope that other communities forced to give up parts of their heritage will have the courage to pause for a moment and reflect--even if the rest of the world doesn’t get it.