A couple weeks after Elmwood residents gathered to bid farewell to their oldest (arboreal) neighbor, the dead Italian stone pine tree was chopped down in an hours-long operation.
Berkeleyside covered the Nov. 1 memorial hosted by the tree’s owners, Adam Gutride and Delilah Raybee, on Russell and Cherry streets. On Monday, photographer Richard Nagler spent an entire day watching the pine, thought to be 125-years-old by local historians, come down.
“I was gripped (obsessed) by a certain madness yesterday and spent about eight hours documenting the removal of the majestic stone pine,” Nagler said. “One extraordinary man went up into the tree at about 8 a.m. and made the last cuts on the ground at around 4 p.m. He was assisted by a small army of helpers and equipment on the ground.”
Much of the tree was turned into wood chips, which neighbors were able to come pick up along with bits of the bark or limbs for souvenirs.
Nagler shared his photographs — and a video — with Berkeleyside.
