Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108 Page 109 Page 110 Page 111 Page 112 Page 113 Page 114 Page 115 Page 116A p r i l 2 0 1 7 5 9 L’Esprit de L’Escalier from top: file photo; rheA Côté robbins Germinal A grandfather’s apple core takes root in the family tree. By Rhea Côté RoBBins T rees can tell unique stories. After supper, eating an apple in the front yard, I recall my father telling me about his father, pé- père, who would use his knife to dig a hole in the ground near his chair and bury his apple core. From those buried seeds grew an apple tree. In my lifetime, this same tree was “visited” by neighborhood kids carry- ing paper bags to fill, sent by their mothers to gather green apples to satisfy cravings or for baking. The tree, grown tall for an apple tree, had limbs that were perfect for climb- ing and picking. An April tradition recently revived cel- ebrates the essential–and often overlooked– presence of trees. National Arbor Day, in- augurated in Nebraska in 1872, is celebrat- ed on the last Friday in April. The official Arbor Day Foundation declares its mission to “inspire people to plant, nurture and cel- ebrate trees.” The foundation aims to en- courage us to appreciate our leafy neigh- bors and all they do: “Clean air and water, slow climate change, ease poverty and hun- ger, prevent species loss, and feed the hu- man soul.” Trees plant their roots deep into our lives and without them, our hopes dimin- ish. Seventy-nine percent of Americans feel trees define their neighborhoods and fifty- nine percent say they have a particular fa- vorite species of tree. I wonder if Charlie Côté– pépère– knew his legacy of an apple tree and its effect on an urban neighborhood, or was he just a man burying his apple core? Ei- ther way, why not plant a tree for your own legacy? n RheaCôtéRobbinsistheauthorof ‘downthePlains,’and editorofHeliotrope-FrenchHeritageWomenCreate. The author at home in Waterville circa 1970.