The copper beech tree that stood at Court and Pleasant streets was taken down in January. Now entries are being accepted in a contest to guess the tree’s age.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo
WESTFIELD — Earlier this year, downtown residents and church congregants bade farewell to a longstanding copper beech tree.
But how longstanding? Anyone who can guess the answer may be in line for a nice payday. All through August, the Episcopal Church of the Atonement is hosting a “Guess the Copper Beech Tree’s Age 50-50 Contest” during farmers markets on the church lawn at 36 Court St., Westfield. The Westfield Farmers Market takes place noon to 5 p.m. on Thursdays.
“One of our church members, Phil Siska, came up with the idea,” said the Rev. Sandi Albom, priest-in-charge at the church. “So many people wanted to know just how old the tree actually was. Phil took a photo of the cross-section of the tree’s trunk, had a large photo blown up, and painstakingly counted each ring to determine the age of the tree. He repeated the count three times to be as accurate as possible.”
The European copper beech tree stood until this year at the corner of Court and Pleasant streets on the church’s property. It was estimated to be about 200 years old and was an important landmark for the Westfield community, Albom said.
It was cut down in January after church officials learned it had become diseased, but in honor of its longevity in the community, the church hosted a farewell service in January and has worked on several ways to honor its legacy. Two new trees were planted with the help of the Greening the Gateway Cities Program in honor of the copper beech. Some of the wood from the copper beech will be crafted into a guitar for the church at the Noble and Cooley Drum Factory in Granville.
Proceeds from the “guess the age” contest will contribute to the ministries of the church, many of which serve the community directly, their Little Free Food Bank, volunteering at the Westfield Food Pantry, and serving at the Open Table.
“I think it’s a nice opportunity to have folks take part in something fun and that will benefit the community at large, especially our neighbors who are experiencing food insecurity,” Albom said.
Tickets are available at the Episcopal Church of the Atonement tent at the farmers market until Aug. 29. Participants write their name, contact information and guess on the ticket and place it in the contest jar. It costs $5 to enter a guess; participants can enter as many times as they like. The winning ticket will be the guess closest to the actual age of the tree. One-half of the proceeds of the raffle will go to the winner. The actual age of the copper beech tree will be announced on Labor Day, Sept. 2, and will be posted at atonementwestfield.org and www.farmersmarketwestfield.org.
