By David Fleet
dfleet@mihomepaper.com
Atlas Twp. — Just before the onset of the Civil War in 1860 there’s a good chance a white oak tree took root in the northwest corner in what is today the Horton Cemetery, along Horton Road.
In June 2022, the stately white oak tree, 36 inches across and an estimated 70 feet in height was removed from the historic township maintained cemetery due to falling branches and a decaying trunk.
To preserve the natural history of the white oak, the Atlas Board of Trustees approved some of the salvageable trunk sections to create a conference table for the township hall.
After almost three years, on Jan. 24, the historic tree was returned to the township hall now as a lasting memory of community history.
“The tree was becoming a liability,” said Dustin Kruger, owner of Davison-based All Seasons Tree And Lawn. “A large branch had fallen on the fence. The tree had split at the base and most of the first 10 feet was rotten.”
Over the next three years two sections of the were first cut into about three-inch thick slabs and dried in a kiln. The two oak planks, all that were salvaged from the tree, were connected in the center with dark glass then supported by steel legs.
The final table is now 4 feet six inches by 9 feet included about 39 epoxy pours.
“We found a lot of rot,” said Scott Myers who worked on the project. “It was like a sponge and looked like a Pringles potato chip, they were twisted. Really rough.”
The boards were flattened by a giant hand plane along with a then into a mechanical planer.
“This wood is very hard,” he said.
This design dates back to Bauhaus style, a modern, minimalist, and functional design style that originated in Germany in the early 20th century.