I got the nicest letter last week from Ray Johnson, history enthusiast, letting me know that he had nominated the Which Way Tree as an official Famous Tree of Texas. This little-known distinction is bestowed by the Texas A&M Forest Service, which does their best to publicize trees that have played a part in the history and culture of Texas and to take care of them so that future generations can enjoy them for years to come.
Mr. Johnson and his wife visited the tree in New Kentucky (near Magnolia and Tomball) as part of a trek they made following the footsteps of Sam Houston’s Texian Army on the Road to Revolution. He was excited to report that he had just received a letter from the program coordinator at Texas A&M saying, “I am pleased to let you know that we have approved the nomination and the Which Way Tree is hereby designated as a Famous Tree of Texas!” It will take a couple of months to officially log the tree (no pun intended) and add it to their website, but we’ll keep you posted!
This is just the sort of field trip I had in mind when I encouraged families to plan a fun, educational jaunt over Labor Day weekend.
A field trip really doesn’t have to be far or expensive or “fancy.” It could be nothing more than a drive in the country and a picnic under the shade of an old oak tree where you can almost hear the leaves whispering a story of all they’ve seen.
If you’d like to picnic under a Famous Tree near you, check out these websites, kindly provided by Mr. Johnson!
