 |
| CLUSTER OF BEECH TREES ALONG A WOODED TRAIL DISPLAYING EVERLASTING LOVE |
Along a creek trail near Berea College located in Kentucky, I counted a cluster of about twenty beech trees with carvings of hearts, initials and a few figures bored into the wood. The oldest carving was dated 1963. The latest dated carvings I could find were some in the mid 1980s.
The main theme of these carvings seemed to be undying love but I suppose with closer scrutiny one could unfold other meanings.
Now some of you might disagree with carving into a beautiful tree to profess one's feelings. This is not about agreeing or disagreeing, its about Arborglyphs. You might be saying what the heck is Arborglyphs? I know I did when I first discovered the word.
The main theme of these carvings seemed to be undying love but I suppose with closer scrutiny one could unfold other meanings.
Now some of you might disagree with carving into a beautiful tree to profess one's feelings. This is not about agreeing or disagreeing, its about Arborglyphs. You might be saying what the heck is Arborglyphs? I know I did when I first discovered the word.
 | |
|
Anborglyphs is the study of culturally modified trees (CMT) -- those that have been carved by humans that give us a glimpse of a part of our culture. The Berea cluster of twenty or so trees probably has several cultural meanings. Let's look at some possibilities.
One is that a nearby college full of young single students is located near the spot where I found the trees -- lots of opportunities to have multiple carvings of love symbols on the trees.
Secondly, why were all the symbols carved within that one particular cluster of trees when there was a whole woods to place their sentiments?
The possible answer to the latter question is perhaps the trees acted as a "bulletin board" to all who traveled the trail. The beech trees sit tight against the trail. In other words, the trees could have conveyed to passing college students the sweethearts at their school. Of course this is all conjecture on my part -- perhaps others would define the cultural context differently.
One is that a nearby college full of young single students is located near the spot where I found the trees -- lots of opportunities to have multiple carvings of love symbols on the trees.
Secondly, why were all the symbols carved within that one particular cluster of trees when there was a whole woods to place their sentiments?
The possible answer to the latter question is perhaps the trees acted as a "bulletin board" to all who traveled the trail. The beech trees sit tight against the trail. In other words, the trees could have conveyed to passing college students the sweethearts at their school. Of course this is all conjecture on my part -- perhaps others would define the cultural context differently.
 |
| CARVED BEECH TREE ALONG WOODED TRAIL NEAR BEREA COLLEGE |
Beech, aspen and birch have smooth barks for carving and are usually the types used for this tradition. Many people consider arborglyphs a form of folk art.
 | |
|
For now, for me, today, I will look at the Berea arborglyphs and wonder if they were in any way a part of a Valentine's Day custom?
