As America prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday, it can be humbling to realize that there are living organisms among us that predate the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Menasha recently took down a decaying white oak at Smith Park that was estimated to be between 280 and 380 years old.
At the lower end of the range, the oak would have provided shade before Wisconsin became a British territory in 1763. At the upper end of the range, the oak would have produced acorns when Marquette and Joliet voyaged up the Fox River in 1673…