American Elm Survivor Tree

We drove up to Oklahoma City on April 19th and learned after we arrived that the date marked the 22nd anniversary of the terrorist bombing there. That afternoon we walked the grounds of the Oklahoma City National Memorial and saw the decorations that had been placed on all the chairs in the Field of Empty Chairs. The next day we visited the indoor museum, and after emerging I photographed an American elm, Ulmus americana, that has come to be known as the Survivor Tree. Heavily damaged, the elm managed to stay alive; it even bloomed the next year and has done so every year since then. You can hear/read more in an NPR interview.

© 2017 Steven Schwartzman