A centuries-old oak tree outside one of Salem’s oldest homes may become a piece of history as neighbors have rallied both to preserve the tree and document its legacy. The Oregon white oak stands on Southeast High Street, just south of Pringle Creek, outside the Smith-Fry house, which was built in 1859. Local tree experts estimated the tree is about 250 years old. Together, the tree and house, which is Salem’s second oldest, have witnessed decades of local families come and go from the neighborhood, including one of Oregon’s first governors and the family that built some of the Gaiety Hill neighborhood’s first homes.  In September, the city flagged the tree for removal after finding fungus on it. Ernesto Toskovic, who’s owned Smith-Fry house since 2018, said he bought it largely for the oak tree out front. “I’m really feeling sorry that this tree might go,” Toskovic said, reflecting on how he’s grown more attached to the tree in the past two years.  Saving the oak David Craig, one of Toskovic’s neighbors and a biology professor at Willamette University, jumped into action after learning of the removal.  Craig has played a large role in local efforts to study and preserve Oregon White oaks and recently presented to Marion County’s soil and water conservation district about why he and others believe the trees are worth saving.  Several people familiar with the tree say that the white oaks provide a sense of wonder and encouragement for people. Oregon White oaks can survive extreme weather, such as Oregon’s recent ice storms and droughts, and continue living for centuries. According to Gaiety Hill residents, some people find inspiration and resilience in seeing or touching the oak tree.  Craig emailed a group of neighbors asking for stories about the tree in the hopes of stalling the removal to preserve its cultural significance.  Craig said he reached out to his neighbors as an effort to gather as many stories about the tree as he could before its scheduled removal on October 31 and appeal to the city. The city ended up delaying the removal to take more time to consider the tree’s health and importance to the community. Milan Davis, the city’s urban forester, said he will know whether the tree needs to be removed before the end of the year. Currently, the removal is on hold while the tree is bored and samples are collected to determine the extent of the fungus.  Davis said he’s been discussing the potential removal with Toskovic and other community members to consider the tree’s significance to the neighborhood. “Maybe this tree can stick around a few more years and that’s my hope,” Davis said.  Davis said he estimates the tree to be close to 250 years old, and suspects it may be the reason the intersecting street across from the Smith-Fry house, Southeast Oak Street, has its name.  The city removes around 300 trees per year, according to Davis, and tries to respect the community’s connection with its trees when making the decision to cut them down.  “We hate to see them go,” Davis said. “I don’t want to see this tree go.” Oregon white oaks once covered 400,000 acres in the area, but most have been cleared since Europeans settled in the region to make room for farmland and urban development, according to Craig. Now, only about 5% of the historic trees remain in the Willamette Valley. The one outside of the Smith-Fry house is similar in size to some of the oak trees in Bush’s Pasture Park, according to Craig.  He estimates that the tree could have another 100 years of life left in it.  “Whatever your Oregon story is, that tree was there … before,” Craig said. Family connections Toskovic’s connection to the tree dates back generations. While growing up in former Yugoslavia, he spent summers beneath the shade of a large oak tree at his grandparents’ property in the mountains of what is now Montenegro. As a child, he and his siblings rode horses and donkeys around the property until they got tired and rested in the shade of the oak tree.  Toskovic said that according to his family’s oral tradition, the oak tree stood at the property when they settled there 600 years ago. He finds meaning in the white oak outside his house because it reminds him of those summers spent with his family, he said.  “How did I end up here?” he said. “I’m very lucky to live here.” The oak tree outside of Ernesto Toskovic’s family home in Montenegro. (Courtesy/Ernesto Toskovic) As Craig has launched an effort to save the tree, another neighbor found a Salem business with a family connection to the oak. That neighbor, Andrea Foust, passed Craig’s email about the tree’s impending removal along to her boss, Ben Deumling, the president of sustainable flooring company Zena Forest Products, based outside West Salem.  Deumling is descended from Joseph Smith, the Salem businessman who built the Smith-Fry house, according to family lore passed down by his grandmother. It’s a story he tells his children every time they walk by the house.   Although his company doesn’t do custom tree cuttings, Deumling became interested in helping preserve the tree as soon as he learned it stands in front of his great-great uncle’s house. The tree would have been close to a century old when the home was built. “This is a one-off for us,” Deumling said, adding that he knew he wanted to play a role in the tree’s story due to his family connection. “I have to say yes to this.” If the city removes the tree, Deumling said, the city will transport the log will to his mill in Eola Hills where it will be sawed into boards and given back to the neighborhood. “It’s not just a board, it’s a board from a tree from that space,” Deumling said. The tree, if the city removes it, will disappear from the neighborhood, he said, but his company will give people the chance to make something new from it.  Hopefully, Deumling said, his company can help the tree live on by giving people the supplies to turn it into flooring, a boat, furniture or a craft project. Toskovic already has a plan for the wood he’ll get from the tree.  “I was planning maybe to build a dining table and keep it in the house permanently,” he said. He plans to leave the table behind when, or if, he moves to keep it with the house.  Contact reporter Madeleine Moore: [email protected]. A MOMENT MORE, PLEASE– If you found this story useful, consider subscribing to Salem Reporter if you don’t already. Work such as this, done by local professionals, depends on community support from subscribers. Please take a moment and sign up now – easy and secure: SUBSCRIBE. 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