0:01

Hail it is Day three.

0:03

Of Tree Week at Atlas Obscura

0:05

before we get ended today. Story:

0:08

I want to see: If you

0:10

haven't listened to Monday's episode about

0:12

plant explorer Frank Meyer, you are

0:14

missing out. It is such a

0:16

good story, it is kind of

0:18

a sad story. It has some

0:21

incredible aspects of. Politics.

0:23

And agriculture and how it all

0:25

works. And and then you also

0:27

get to hear me stuffing some

0:29

citrus into my mouth so. That.

0:32

One image. Maybe you can fast

0:34

forward to that part. Anyway,

0:36

After you isn't this episode, go back and listen to

0:39

that when you will be glad you did. Ok,

0:41

here's. Today Story. Normally

0:45

I believe that had obese and like

0:48

the plague. During peak cherry blossoms

0:50

these and every spring more than

0:52

a million people come to D

0:54

C to see the city covered

0:56

in pale pink blooms and the

0:58

crowds just really aren't my thing.

1:00

But this year I made an

1:02

exception. I'm.

1:05

Michelle Cassidy and this is Atlas Obscura.

1:07

a celebration of the world, strange, incredible

1:10

and wondrous places. Today I'm paying my

1:12

respects to a local celebrity or if

1:14

you'll allow me to plan a local

1:17

celebratory his name is Stampede. Later on

1:19

we'll hear from Diana Hello will take

1:21

us to the Tear or a five

1:24

hundred year old park and Art of

1:26

Front Land where if you know where

1:28

to look you can find a tree

1:31

with a surprising connection to. Sixty's.

1:33

Are and be on. I

1:37

understand. Why this one got the attention? This

1:41

one looks way my dad. For.

1:55

The uninitiated Stumpy is as

1:58

scraggly heat Congolese little. Harry

2:00

Tree with most of the. Trunk right

2:02

away and just a few small branches putting

2:04

out of it's top. If. You can

2:07

imagine a tree with a. Comb over. That's a

2:09

little bit but it looks like he it's

2:11

in. A but just west of the Jefferson

2:13

Memorial, a little muddy patch of. Ground close

2:15

to the edge of the tidal basin. If

2:19

you wanted to count tree rings to figure out

2:21

some peace age, you would be out. His

2:24

hollowed out trunk simply doesn't have

2:26

any left. Despite. Son

2:28

scolding compacted soil and years

2:30

and years of regular setting

2:32

Cynthia somehow managed to push

2:34

out a few of these

2:36

distinctive kill blossoms. Every three.

2:39

When I when he was surrounded

2:41

by crowds of admirers, it makes

2:43

you wonder of all of the

2:45

grand monuments and historic. Sites all

2:48

over the city. How. On earth

2:50

that this diminutive little stumped become the

2:52

thing that everyone was a dying to.

2:54

See. To.

2:57

Understand Stumpy story. You have to

2:59

know a little bit about theses

3:02

history with cherry trees. It

3:05

started with an extremely determined woman

3:07

named Eliza Said More I'll was

3:09

a journalist, specifically a travel writer

3:12

after her first visit. To. Japan and

3:14

the eighteen eighties. See became obsessed with

3:16

finding a way to bring the cherry

3:18

trees the she saw. Their to D C.

3:22

She wrote letters and op eds

3:24

and basically worked every connection she

3:26

had. Trying to find a way to

3:28

bring the Japanese cherry trees to the nation's capital.

3:32

She. Kept at it for more than

3:34

twenty years before she found an ally

3:36

and helen past First Lady to President

3:38

William Howard. Taft. With

3:40

the power of the White House on their

3:42

side of things moved much faster. And night,

3:45

you know nine the Mayor of Tokyo offered

3:47

a gift of two thousand cherry. Trees

3:49

to Dc but. When they

3:51

showed up a year later, inspectors found that all of

3:54

the don't need. Trees were infested with

3:56

parasites to keep them from spreading

3:58

to the native flora every. If

4:00

the tree was burned in a massive

4:03

bonfire on the National Mall, Luckily,

4:06

Eliza and the other cherry tree

4:08

advocates were determined to make this

4:10

happen. Another shipment

4:12

was prepared this time more than

4:14

three thousand trees, each carefully inspected

4:17

before they left Japan. The

4:19

trees arrived in D C and March of

4:22

Nineteen Twelve, and most. Of them were planted

4:24

around the title. these and a reservoir that

4:26

had been built just a few decades earlier

4:28

to manage the title setting. Up the Potomac

4:30

River. Those

4:32

Trees Service they've become

4:34

deeply. Rooted in Dc. Celebration

4:37

of Spring. Time but over

4:39

the last. Century. The city

4:41

has changed around them. And

4:47

the subtleties and was first built the walkway is that

4:49

line at at his had said. Several feet above

4:51

the water at low tide by a

4:53

one two punch of. Rising sea level

4:55

and sinking land has slowly eaten

4:58

away at that distance. Today,

5:00

parts of the walkway and the trees

5:02

that are planted around them. Are often

5:04

underwater. Months Hide hide rolls around.

5:07

If these regular floods of brackish water that

5:10

have made some be the way that he

5:12

is. In fact, basically

5:14

every tree that sam closest to

5:16

the waterline looks a little funky

5:18

and one way or another. Some

5:20

of them have these big round knobs

5:23

protruding from the trunks and others look

5:25

like the worse know sculptures that are

5:27

starting to melt away. In the

5:29

spring sunshine but. Of. All the gnarly

5:31

looking trees the you can see around the

5:33

title basin. It's no surprise that some be

5:35

as the one. That became a celebrity.

5:41

If you look you can find. Photos of still

5:43

be going back about a decade, but

5:46

the little trees theme is a relatively

5:48

new phenomenon. It started

5:50

when somebody posted a picture of the scrawny

5:53

little tree to the Washington Dc. Separate it.

5:55

It was early spring green. Bugs just

5:58

the really starting to appear on a

6:00

free and humid with caps and this

6:02

tree a little away from the Jefferson

6:04

Memorial is as dead as my love

6:06

life, but I love it. That

6:09

post with me on February Twenty Six

6:11

Twenty Twenty. That's. Just about

6:13

two weeks before, covered nineteen was

6:15

officially declared a global pandemic. In

6:18

those first few weeks of lockdown a

6:20

lot of people seem to see themselves

6:22

in this lopsided little trees stuck in

6:24

the mud that still putting out hopeful.

6:27

Shoots to cite everything. Over

6:29

the weeks. That followed people kept track of

6:31

Stumpy as has blossomed came and went the

6:33

next year. People celebrated when he put out

6:36

us again and came to the spot me

6:38

to the to for some specifically to visit

6:40

soon be. As the years

6:42

passed, his celebrity just kept growing.

6:45

Thera. More than twenty thousand trees.

6:47

On the National Mall, over three thousand

6:50

of which are cherry trees, but representative

6:52

from the park. Service say that

6:54

they've never seen an individual tree

6:56

get quite as much attention for

6:58

love or stumpy. In

7:00

addition to the many admirers who came by to

7:02

take pictures or give some be a hug. Somebody

7:05

was the mascot of this year's Cherry Blossom

7:07

Run. It's not as that

7:10

have picture is on the race t

7:12

shirt. there is an actual person in

7:14

an actual Anthropomorphizes tree costume. Running

7:16

around and posing for pictures. During.

7:18

The President's Race that takes place during

7:21

the fourth inning of every Washington Nationals

7:23

home games simply made a surprise appearance

7:25

where. He chopped down towards Washington.

7:27

In act of revenge for cherry

7:29

trees past. You. Can

7:31

find some. Peace Likeness in the

7:33

form of paintings, t shirts,

7:36

hats, Lego, crease, and calendars.

7:38

Basically anything you can imagine.

7:41

You've made national news and admire his have

7:43

come to leave gifts that has base including

7:45

roses and bottles of whiskey. When.

7:47

I stopped by that were metal barricades keeping everyone

7:49

a few feet. Away from some be

7:51

it reminded. me a little of going to

7:54

the lose to see the mona lisa and

7:56

if i'm being totally honest it was a

7:58

little bit more exciting than that Last

8:07

month, the National Park Service announced that

8:09

restoration work on the crumbling seawall around

8:11

the Tidal Basin would require the removal

8:13

of about 140 cherry trees, including Stumpy.

8:18

The response to this news was immediate,

8:21

passionate, and devastating.

8:25

They were pleased to save Stumpy to find

8:27

a way to transplant him farther inland or

8:30

maybe move him to the National Arboretum, where

8:32

he would be safe from any rising waters.

8:35

Sadly, that won't be happening.

8:39

Transplanting trees is a delicate business, and Stumpy

8:41

is in no condition to be moved. Even

8:44

if he could be moved without breaking what remains

8:46

of his trunk, the shock of

8:49

being planted into new soil would probably

8:51

kill the tree anyway. But

8:54

this isn't the end for Stumpy. Not

8:56

really. Though

8:58

he's had his last bloom, clippings from

9:00

Stumpy's remaining branches will be propagated and

9:03

eventually turned into new trees, ones

9:05

that are genetically identical to Stumpy.

9:08

Once they're sturdy enough to stand on their

9:10

own, these baby Stumpys will be planted along

9:12

the Tidal Basin and the National Mall. The

9:17

clone trees won't have Stumpy's hollow trunk

9:19

or his charmingly lopsided branches.

9:22

But in a few years, if you

9:24

go down to the Mall and set up a

9:27

picnic underneath a young cherry tree with its branches

9:29

in bloom, just know

9:31

that there's a small chance that you're

9:33

sitting with Stumpy, living his

9:35

best new life. Now

9:49

on to Diana, who has a story for

9:51

us about a tree that is deeply rooted

9:53

in people's hearts. me

10:00

from my travels. A couple years

10:02

ago I went on a long bike ride around

10:04

West Berlin. It was a

10:06

beautiful afternoon in October and the leaves

10:08

were just starting to turn. I made

10:11

my way under the Brandenburg Gate

10:13

along a broad tree-lined boulevard called

10:15

the Strasse de Zipsie de Uni, named

10:18

for an East German uprising on June 15th,

10:20

1953. I was on my way to

10:25

Tiergarten, a place I went a lot back when

10:27

I lived in the city. Maybe

10:30

I'm biased, but to me it's one of

10:32

the most special urban parks in the world.

10:35

It's twice the size of New York's

10:37

Central Park, and when you're inside

10:39

it's easy to forget you're in a

10:41

city at all. The towering Linden maple

10:44

and oak trees, some more than

10:46

300 years old, just kind

10:48

of envelop you in a green canopy. Tiergarten

10:53

is also full of history and

10:56

surprises. In the

10:58

1500s, the Elector of Brandenburg

11:00

used this as his private hunting

11:02

preserve. The name literally means Animal

11:04

Garden in honor of the red

11:06

deer and other game deliberately placed

11:09

here. But then in 1740, Friedrich

11:11

the Great decided to give this private

11:13

playground for the elite to the people.

11:16

He tore down the fences and

11:18

put in all sorts of baroque landscaping

11:20

and statuary, which was fashionable at the

11:22

time. In the process,

11:24

he created one of Germany's most important

11:26

public parks. Then

11:28

during the Second World War, many of the

11:31

old trees were destroyed or chopped down for

11:33

firewood. Today, the park

11:35

is more beautiful than ever. It's

11:37

also packed with several centuries worth of

11:39

monuments and memorials, many

11:42

of them hidden in unexpected spots. Most

11:44

of these are made of stone or bronze,

11:46

of course, but on this trip I stumbled

11:49

across a very different one. And

12:00

as I was packing along I

12:02

noticed that there were words carved

12:04

into the bark. Is a tree?

12:06

Know plenty of trees they have

12:09

a job. was here or whatever.

12:11

Scratched and at the trying to

12:13

seize Mark felt decidedly different. The

12:15

writing with some deliberate. Serious

12:17

A Pulled over to get. A closer

12:20

look so. On the tree read:

12:23

When the night has come. And

12:25

the land as dark. And the

12:27

moon is the only light will see. You

12:30

know for the rest is. The

12:33

words are from the opening to the iconic. Song:

12:35

Stand By Me Sung by Been

12:37

Eating and Nineteen Sixty when. Jerry

12:41

Libor and Make Stoller a song writer do

12:43

a who went by the pen name Elmo

12:45

Glick. Helped him write it. And

12:48

I found myself wondering, who did this

12:50

is. So of

12:52

course I went on Google as one

12:54

does. And it turns out

12:57

that no one knows who the mystery

12:59

graffiti artists is, that a lot of

13:01

people have found the street by accident,

13:03

just the way I did and wondered

13:05

others have come looking for it. I

13:08

found blog posts. For. More than a decade

13:10

ago, instructing readers which turns to take.

13:13

In retrospect, I shouldn't really have been

13:16

surprised that an Atlas Obscura member have

13:18

found the tree and written about it.

13:20

And twenty seventeen? As

13:22

they wrote, the barks has long since

13:25

heels and been eating timeless lyrics will

13:27

remain as long as a tree stamps.

13:30

I should probably say I'm not

13:32

normally. When the advocate for carpet and

13:34

trees. Especially in public

13:36

parks. Sure, Sometimes

13:39

their part conceal over. Zealous scratches

13:41

kind of the way as scar

13:43

from sense human skin. But

13:46

just like humans, even a seemingly

13:48

minor. Caught on tree trunks can

13:50

sometimes lead to infections, parasites, and

13:52

other more serious problems. Silt,

13:57

There's something really beautiful to. me about

13:59

this project anonymous work. What

14:02

struck me was the way in which this tree has

14:04

become a kind of memorial for the late singer, especially

14:08

after King passed away at the age of 76,

14:10

for liners have come

14:12

here to pay their respects. One

14:15

person, perhaps the same artist, clearly

14:17

wanted to pay their own tribute

14:19

to King. Shortly

14:22

after the singer's passing, words appeared

14:24

on a second tree nearby on

14:26

Polsashtian Ale in the same style.

14:29

The newer tree reads, oh darling,

14:32

darling stand by me, stand by

14:34

me. Thanks

14:46

Diana. These are just two examples

14:48

of the many stories and trees

14:50

found in Alice Obscura. If

14:53

you're curious about how to visit these

14:55

places or want to learn more about

14:57

them, you can visit our website atlissobscura.com.

14:59

There's also a link in the show notes. I'm

15:02

Michelle Cassidy. Until next time. This

15:11

episode was produced by Manolo

15:13

Morales. Our podcast is a

15:15

co-production of Alice Obscura and

15:17

Stitcher Studios. The

15:19

production team includes Johanna Mayer, Doug

15:22

Baldinger, Chris Naka, Camille Stanley,

15:25

Baudelaire, Gabby Gladney. Our technical

15:28

director is Casey Holford. This

15:30

episode was mixed by Luce Fleming and

15:32

our theme and end credit music is

15:35

by Sam Tyndall. I'm Dylan Thuris. Wishing

15:37

you all the wonder in the world.

15:39

I will be in it. you