Loss of the Seminary's "Lincoln Tree"

Tree surgeons this morning cut down the "Lincoln Tree" in our neighbor's backyard. Apparently carpenter ants had eaten the core of the tree. In her book Search for the Invisible Helen Reid described the "large and stately oak" as follows: "During the Civil War...When federal troops took over the Seminary and used it for a hospital, they cut down many trees to use for firewood and other purposes. ...President Lincoln, on a visit, noticed the handsome oak and asked that it be spared for future generations to admire" (p. 71).