A white oak’s legacy continues in Gaiety Hill

Listen to the audio version of this article (generated by AI).

On Valentine’s Day this year, a small group of people traveled through the snow to gather in Salem’s Gaiety Hill neighborhood to continue a local legacy.

In front of the historic Smith-Fry house built in 1859, its builder’s descendants joined the house’s current owner Ernesto Toskovic in planting a new oak tree to replace one that had been with the house for around 250 years. 

The same group rallied in the fall to try and prevent the removal of the tree, citing its history alongside the Smith-Fry house. Toskovic told Salem Reporter in November that he bought the house in 2018 specifically for the Oregon White oak out front. 

“I’m really feeling sorry that this tree might go,” Toskovic said in November, reflecting on how he’s grown more attached to the tree in the past two years. 

The tree was removed on Nov. 22 last year, just days after Toskovic and others spoke with Salem Reporter. The city had flagged it for removal in September after finding fungus at its base. 

On Friday, a small group joined Toskovic and others at the Smith-Fry house to plant a tree Salem urban forester Milan Davis supplied for the occasion. David Craig, Willamette University biology professor, also attended as he had led the effort to preserve the old tree and is a local expert of Oregon white oaks. 

Another person involved in the tree’s history was Ben Deumling, the president of flooring company Zena Forest Products. Deumling is descended from Joseph Smith, the Salem businessman who built the Smith-Fry house in 1859, according to family lore passed down by his grandmother.

Months ago, Deumling offered to process the old tree at his facility in Eola Hills and saw it into boards for people to use however they want. 

According to Andrea Foust, the marketing and brand manager for Zena Forest Products, Toskovic is planning to use the boards to make a dining table which will stay in the Smith-Fry house. 

His decision to keep part of the tree with the house is meant to honor the house and tree’s shared history and continue their connection even after the tree’s removal, Foust said in an email.

Contact reporter Madeleine Moore: [email protected].

A MOMENT MORE, PLEASE– If you found this story useful, consider subscribing to Salem Reporter if you don’t already. Work such as this, done by local professionals, depends on community support from subscribers. Please take a moment and sign up now – easy and secure: SUBSCRIBE.