Commanding Generals’ Arboretum tree felled with dignity

JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. – The base said goodbye Feb. 1 to a longtime sentry at the Liberty Gate at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Old and weathered, it stood tall until the end and was felled with dignity. A 130-foot western hemlock tree, its story lives on.

The tree was dedicated in 1958, as part of JBLM’s Commanding Generals’ Arboretum, for then-Maj. Gen. William W. Quinn, commanding general of then-Fort Lewis. The grove of more than 30 trees stands serenely near the old gate, open for perusing. Each tree represents a commanding general of the base and boasts a plaque of its namesake.

Quinn, who led Fort Lewis from Jan. 21, 1957, to Jan. 2, 1958, retired from the Army as a lieutenant general. He “was an intelligence officer in Europe in World War II and a frequently decorated regimental commander in the Korean War,” according to a Washington Post article announcing Quinn’s death Sept. 11, 2000.

When an arboretum tree must be removed, such as Quinn’s, it is replaced with another tree of the same species that is native to the area, said Carl Adametz, grounds supervisor for JBLM’s Directorate of Public Works.

He pointed to a fallen limb from Quinn’s tree.

“It’s starting to be a hazard now – everything’s falling,” he said of the dead, slightly mossy tree. “So, in order to reduce the hazard, we’re going to go ahead and remove it and plant another one.”

It was a cold Saturday morning Feb. 1, when Adametz’s dedicated grounds crew worked with Tim Nonn to safely fell and clear Quinn’s tree. First, it was de-limbed. After every few limbs were downed, a worker called “clear,” and the grounds crew swept in, removing the limbs and placing them near a grapple truck.

In what looked like the operation of a giant claw arcade game, the grounds crew sent the arm and claw of the grapple after the trimmings, grabbing and lifting them into the back of the huge truck.

Meanwhile, the de-limber worked his way to the top of the tree, looking more and more like an ant among the surrounding treetops. His chainsaw had to be lowered, refilled with gas and then re-lifted, via a pulley system, to keep the job running smoothly.

All eyes were on him, a tiny speck in the sky. He sawed through the upper trunk, and the top fell with a massive thud.

After the grounds crew cleared the top, the de-limber lowered himself bit by bit, using the chainsaw to cut the trunk into manageable firewood-type pieces, preserving the tree’s integrity and protecting its surrounding brethren.

Again, the grounds crew leapt into action after every “all-clear,” lifting and then rolling the growing pieces of wood to the grapple truck.

When a relatively short trunk remained, the de-limber reached the ground and the final part of the tree was felled with a chainsaw, an ax and a “boom.” Grounds crew members helped brace the fallen trunk while it was chunked like summer sausage. Decay was visible on the inside of parts of the tree, in the form of holes and deteriorating spongy material.

Now, all that remained was a stump with a story, the ax stuck in its top a reminder of the day’s work. Soon, the stump grinder would come and finish the job.

But that’s far from the end of Quinn’s tree’s tale. Wood from the arboretum’s felled trees is set aside for special carpentry projects, to be made on base, that further commemorate the former generals and their trees. Quinn’s project will be made in the Structures Shop at McChord Field, Adametz said.

James “JR” Robertson, Structures Shop supervisor for DPW’s Operations and Maintenance Division at JBLM, stopped by Feb. 1 with a couple of team members to view the wood options for the project.

Then, Adametz carefully sliced through the chosen solid pieces, revealing beautiful grain to be preserved for posterity.

“The Directorate of Public Works woodworking shop, in coordination with the Lewis Army Museum, plans to find a way to preserve and display a portion of the tree,” said Lt. Col. Jeffrey Wismann, Garrison executive officer. “Transforming wood from Lt. Gen. Quinn’s tree into a piece accessible to the public helps to connect our Soldiers and community to the history that surrounds us every day on the base. We want to use this opportunity to introduce more of our community to the literal living history found in the arboretum.”

Additional leftover wood will go to the wood pit on base, across from Range 8 when headed toward the East Gate. Those with permits can use the wood, Adametz said.

Adametz and his 17-person grounds crew continuously care for the arboretum’s trees, watering them by hand, cleaning up storm debris, fertilizing and mowing. The Sergeant Audie Murphy Club has performed arboretum cleanup work, too, he said.

Adametz does play favorites when it comes to the arboretum’s trees. He’s in his 36th year at JBLM, and he maintained the general’s quarters at one point.

“To me, it’s an honor to … keep maintaining something and give back to something that they gave the ultimate sacrifice for,” he said.

To learn more about DPW at JBLM, visit: https://home.army.mil/lewis-mcchord/my-Joint-Base-Lewis-Mcchord/all-services/directorate-public-works