“What if the tree was should be struck by lightning?” the owner told the reporter

Before NParks, there was little tree pruning and people worried about branches falling on passers-by. In 1954, this was the subject of an article in The Free Press (“Shop Owner Lives In Fear Of This Tree”). A shop owner at Gillman Close (off Ayer Rajah Road) worried about a fast-growing 100 ft tree that blocked the entrance to his shop.

The tree grew by 80 feet in less than 20 years and its roots left large cracks in the concrete slab and pavement. With no control over the tree’s growth, the shop owner worried that one of the branches may fall off and injure someone.