A Waterford woman has spent nearly a decade tending to a tree she calls a living piece of history — one that traces its roots back to the September 11 Memorial.
Since 2016, Julie Ogg has been growing what she calls her 9/11 tree, a swamp white oak descended from the trees that surround the memorial.
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"You know, it's a reminder of the tragedy that happened that day, but also it's a symbol of growth and resilience," Ogg said.
The tree's journey to Ogg's front yard began when the son of her friend, Roy Johnson, collected acorns from the swamp white oaks surrounding the 9/11 Memorial and mailed them to his father.
"He started walking across the park area there, and I guess one year, after the acorns became rather prolific and he just decided to pick a bunch of them up and send them to Dad," Johnson said.
Johnson said he received somewhere between 50 and 100 acorns and was asked to plant them — so he did. When the seedlings began to sprout, he turned to Facebook to find them homes.
"They were probably 2 or 3 inches tall and they were growing out of the Dixie Cups, so I had to get rid of them. So, I put a post on Facebook asking who would like a 9/11 memorial descendant, a tree descendant?" Johnson said.
Ogg answered that call, and what began as a small seedling has grown into a tall, healthy oak in her front yard.
"It just seemed like a wonderful opportunity to have a tangible piece of history. You know, we all remember where we were that day," Ogg said.
The tree's path — from a son, to his father, to a friend — mirrors the way remembrance itself travels from person to person.
Now, years later, Ogg looks at the oak and sees more than a tree.
"It's amazing that grown from a tiny little twig to this great height, it's healthy," Ogg said. "But it's also symbol of resilience... how we can rise up. We can still grow from here," she said.
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