Corbin Park Residents Plant Replacement Trees

Generations from now, the grandchildren of today’s Corbin Park residents may look up at the old trees and thank a group of people who spent last Saturday digging ditches and moving 500-pound buckets.

Fifty trees were planted by homeowners on Saturday as part of a continuing effort to replace 200 mature trees lost to Dutch Elm disease in 1992.

The trees that were lost helped place the neighborhood on the National Register of Historic Places by creating a leafy canopy.

“The trees were one of the most defining features of the historic neighborhood,” said Mac McCandless, a Gonzaga University architect and Corbin Park homeowner. “It tied all the homes together.”

Those who helped plant the new trees will also be forever connected. More than a dozen residents loaned physical muscle while others pitched in for a picnic lunch in the park.

“It took us all day,” said McCandless. “We started at 8 a.m. and worked until 6.”

Homeowner Tye McGee, owner of A M Irrigation and Landscaping, arranged to have materials available and had the trees delivered on a 40-foot flatbed truck. They were unloaded with a Bobcat.

The 25-foot tall trees were planted along the parking strip with approval from each homeowner, who donated $50 a tree. The rest of the $7,500 was paid by the city and a historic preservation grant.

Last spring the Parks Department planted 86 trees along the edge of Corbin Park.

That was done after a dispute with residents who wanted the trees closer to the curb. Instead, it was determined the trees would be healthier and pose less threat of damaging streets if they were set back 15 feet.