There is a tree that stands in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, as a memorial sculpture to those who perished at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
The silver maple that stood nearly 50 feet tall at Paxson Hill Farm Nursery on Comfort Road, New Hope, died in 2006.
The owner of the nursery, Bruce Gangawer, commissioned Frenchtown artist, Greg Napolitan, to give the tree a second lease on life by making it what it is today, “The Nine Eleven Tree.”
” Thirty-three individual branches of the tree were carved and strategically incorporated into the trunk resembling twisted girders of the World Trade Center,” said a spokesman. “A split rail fence surrounds the tree where sheep, emus, alpacas, and a white donkey graze beneath its splendor.”
Whatever came first, “The Nine Eleven Tree” or the animals representing a peaceable kingdom doesn’t matter.
”What one feels in standing before the monument is paramount. Whether you choose to visit the memorial this year during the 10th anniversary of our nation’s most horrific tragedy or anytime at all, you will be humbled to say the least,” said a spokesman.
The 20 acres of cultivated grounds are open to the public for viewing and reflecting every day except Monday.
To get there:
— From New Hope, take Route 32 (River Road) north, turn left onto Route 263 south, then turn right onto Comfort Road.
— From Stockton, cross the river on Center Bridge, follow Route 263 south then turn right onto Comfort Road.
Paxson Hill Farm is located at 3265 Comfort Road, New Hope.
— Ruth Luse
