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Mid Hudson Times , Wednesday , August 17 , 2016

PUBLIC AGENDA

THURSDAY , AUGUST 18 Town of Newburgh Planning Board . 7 p . m . Town Hall , 1496 Route 300 , Town of Newburgh .

MONDAY , AUGUST 22

Town of New Windsor ZBA . 7:30 p . m . Town Hall , 555 Union Avenue .

TUESDAY , AUGUST 23

Newburgh Enlarged City School District Board of Education . 6-9 p . m . Board of Education Auditorium , 124 Grand St ., Newburgh

CORRECTION

Officer Tim Gliedman of the City of Newburgh Police Department Participated in National Night Out . His name was misspelled in last week ’ s paper .

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The Mid Hudson Times , ( USPS 000-5947 ) is a weekly newspaper published every Wednesday at Newburgh , N . Y . 12550 , with offices at 300 Stony Brook Court , Newburgh , N . Y . . Single copy : $ 1 at newsstand . By mail in Orange , Ulster or Sullivan Counties : $ 40 annually , $ 44 out of county . Periodicals permit at Newburgh , N . Y . POSTMASTER : Send address changes to Mid Hudson Times , 300 Stony Brook Court , Newburgh , N . Y . 12550

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time of George Washington .”

Local lore has it the tree came to life with the whip of Washington ’ s riding crop . However , a team of Harvard scientists took a core sample from the tree in the 1950s and determined that it began its life around 1699 , more than 30 years before Washington was born , Severo said .

In the 18th Century , the good citizens of Newburgh admired the great tree but mistook it for a Balm of Gilead . “ That ’ s what gave us the name Balmville , Severo explained .

Sometime in the mid-70s , the state declared the tree site “ a public , historic park ,” creating the smallest state forest in New York State . The tree was placed on the National Register of Historic Places and listed as a New York State Historic Site in 2000 .

By then , the hollow tree , which grew to more than 25 feet in circumference and 100 feet in height , had begun to decline . The state Department of Environmental Conservation ordered the tree cut down in 2015 when its large branches began to threaten the safety of passing drivers .

“ They wanted to cut it down to the ground ,” said neighbor and association member James Polhamus . But , the association lobbied hard to spare the trunk from the axe and the DEC conceded .

The association launched a fundraising campaign to build a small park to surround the trunk , raising more

Patricia Norton relaxes inside the “ Hobbit House ” at the Balmville Tree Restoration Park .

than $ 15,000 for the project . “ Everyone thinks the town paid for it ,” said neighbor and association member Margot Burgess . “ It didn ’ t . We did .”

Today the park is a cultural gem filled with flowers , shrubs , benches , foot paths and information detailing the long life of the Balmville Tree . One of its tree branches was transformed into what the neighbors call “ The Hobbit House ,” preserved to serve as a small play house .

Burgess said seven to eight people visit the park every day . And , having survived the American Revolution , the Civil War , the advent of the automobile and ever-encroaching development , the Balmville Tree sprouts anew .

To learn more about the Balmville Citizens Associations , visit the association ’ s page on Facebook .