Growing hickory and friendship

[Jerry Crawford]

(third time to try this)

I'm looking for a couple of recent hickory nut drops still in the husk. Here's the story.

A couple of years ago I sent a woodworking correspondent friend of mine a new nut drop from a very ancient hickory tree in Westfield, NJ. This tree was probably around when Washington went through escaping from the Brits. Anyway, I sent this nut to Manabe linking it with American history and so forth with instructions how to freeze it for a few months and then pot it inside. He folowed my directions and don't ya know, the darn thing sprouted. Here's a pic he sent me after nurturing this nut for months. He was about as proud as he was when his grand daughter was born.

Eventually the tree was moved outside to to a special spot in his garden, grew all year and apparently survived over the winter OK, bringing out new leaves this past spring. Unhappily, one of those monsoon rains came by and the poor tree didn't survive that. So I'd like to replace the nut with a few more and hopefully his grand or great grand children will enjoy hickory nuts from America.

Drop me a note off line and I'll be happy to pay for any postage. Thanks

Jerry Crawford
acricket at adelphia dot net - where the "at and the "dot" are email symbols
Alfred Maine

[Don Farr]

Hi Jerry, I have a large Hickory tree behind my house and I don't mind doing that for you, but the nuts are really small this year. It must be all the rain we had this spring. I will look tonight when I get home and see if I can find any that look worthy of planting.

[Martin Shupe]

When I was a small boy, I lived at 408 Birch Place in Westfield. I don't often admit that, as I now consider myself a naturalized Texan. ;)

We had a big old hickory in our front yard, and I used to watch the squirrels running through the branches at the top of the tree.

It put out so much shade that we could never grow grass on our front lawn, but it was a beautiful tree.

In the fall, the leaves would change to bright yellow, and all the neighborhood children would run and jump into the leaf piles while our parents raked.

I remember we could burn leaves back then, too, and the smell of burning leaves was pleasant as I walked to school (over a mile, both ways, uphill, in the snow :D ) in the cool mornings.

Every year, when the cool breezes of autumn blow into Texas, I miss the change of season and fall colors of the northeast.

Thanks for jogging my memories.

[Steve Clardy]

I've got a couple of fair sized hickorys on the back 31 acre home place. Will have to look, but they should be dropping their nuts. Just pm or email me if you need some. Steve

[Jerry Crawford]

When I was a small boy, I lived at 408 Birch Place in Westfield. I don't often admit that, as I now consider myself a naturalized Texan. ;)

We had a big old hickory in our front yard, and I used to watch the squirrels running through the branches at the top of the tree.

Thanks for jogging my memories.

This tree was behing 809 North Avenue, west, near that commuter RR track. There are still a number of really huge old hickory's on the campus of that High School near there. I was amazed at the size when I was by there last year. I have lot's of red Oak here so I'm going to add a few acorns to the box I send. Get hism started on the reforrestation of japan.