Battered Branches

Vancouver’s Old Apple Tree, which is more than 180 years old, is a bit under the weather these days. (TROY WAYRYNEN/The Columbian)

That would the Old Apple Tree Park be without the Old Apple Tree? We shudder to think. But an inspection Wednesday morning revealed the park’s showpiece as more like a sagging, splintered apple bush that was on its last days.

Fortunately, local arborists believe there is reasonable hope the legendary tree — believed to be more than 180 years old — can survive recent damage. Over the weekend, two of the tree’s three major branches cracked away from the trunk. The damage likely was caused by winds, or perhaps some age-related condition. Hey, at 180, you wouldn’t be so spry yourself.

We hope the tree survives, because it tells a wonderful story. Legend has it that Washington state’s massive apple industry began around 1826 or 1827 when a British military officer took apple seeds from his native England and planted them a short distance southwest of Fort Vancouver.

Cuttings from the tree thrived in the Northwest climate and — the legend continues — launched the famous agribusiness that annually produces more than 80 million to 100 million boxes of apples. Experts at Washington State University report that our state produces 42 percent of apples grown in the United States, it’s a $1.2 billion a year business and about one-third of the apples are sent overseas. And it all began at Vancouver’s 2-acre Old Apple Tree Park, tucked between waterfront restaurants and state Highway 14. (Park in the public area just east of Who Song & Larry’s Restaurant.)

For several reasons, this weekend would be a wonderful time to visit the little park, on Saturday evening, particularly. This will be the first Fourth of July in many years that impenetrable crowds presumably will not surround Old Apple Tree Park. Funding difficulties have caused the suspension of the giant fireworks show at Fort Vancouver for at least one year.

Another reason to visit the park is to enjoy the Vancouver Land Bridge, which has Old Apple Tree Park as its southern terminus. The gate to the land bridge closes at dusk.

A third reason to stop by would be to wish the tree a speedy recovery. Even if the most recent damage to the tree proves fatal and arborists are unable to save it, several cuttings from the tree are growing just west of the reconstructed Fort Vancouver. Perhaps one could be transplanted, to become the "new" patriarch of Old Apple Tree Park.

Whatever destiny unfolds for the tree, we hope the park remains. It’s surprisingly pastoral, considering the collective bustle of trains, trucks, cars, planes and river traffic that is in full force nearby. The lawn just west of the tree is a fine place for a small picnic, to play catch or just read a good book.

Vancouver’s visionary leaders smartly included Old Apple Tree Park in planning for the Land Bridge. Let’s hope the story about the birthplace of the famous Washington state apple can continue to be told here in Vancouver.