Central Indiana

A unique tree grows from the roof of Greensburg Indiana’s courthouse

/ Roadtirementvintage / 2 Comments

In the early 1870’s in the then small town of Greensburg, Indiana, some citizens noticed some odd greenery on the roof of the Decatur County Courthouse Tower. As the years went on, the green tree seemed to thrive as it grew. Local officials began to be concerned that the tree could cause structural damage to the apex roof of the tower. Legend says that in 1888 a steeplejack was hired to “trim the tree”. He was said to have found not one, but two individual Large Tooth Aspen trees growing quite nicely on the roof.

Decatur County Courthouse and Clock Tower

Word spread rapidly that Greensburg had two trees growing out of the courthouse clock tower roof. The tree drops leaves seasonally like all deciduous trees. Mystery surrounds the origin of the first Aspen seed that sprouted in the roof. Large Tooth Aspens are not native to Central Indiana. Thus history and legend began to grow around this Indiana town.  For over 130 years trees have sprouted, grown and perished in a cycle that continues to this day. No, the tree you see today is not 130 years old. But Greensburg remains a National Treasure for its oddity known as the famous Tower Tree.

Greensburg is on I-74 between Indianapolis, Indiana and Cincinnati, Ohio. The Old Michigan Road, (U.S. 421) runs through and by the Tower Tree. Oh, and by the way, do you know how the tree gets water?  Answer: From the spring in the clock.   (cue rimshot)

Central Indiana Air Quality Alert

/ Roadtirementvintage / 13 Comments

Smoke from Canadian wildfires have blanketed Central Indiana with enough smoke to prompt an air quality alert for Central Indiana on Tuesday June 27th. This covers our home county. This is part of an email distributed by the Indianapolis National Weather Service:

AIR QUALITY ALERT IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT EDT WEDNESDAY NIGHT…
The officials at the Indiana Department of Environmental Management have declared an Air Action Day, in effect until midnight EDT Wednesday night.
An Air Quality Action Day for PM 2.5 has been issued. Fine particulate levels are expected to be in the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups range. Active children and adults, and people with respiratory disease, such as asthma should limit prolonged outdoor exposure.

The smoke is visible when you look outside, and there is even a faint smoke smell detected. It is more obvious in the country as seen in the photo below. Normally the tree line on the horizon is clearly seen with a dark green color.

An obvious smoky haze as you look across the fields

We are hunkered down in the house with the AC and air filter running. I was outside briefly and noticed some immediate congestion, and Sher also has felt the effect of the poor air quality. Hopefully the forecast will be correct, and by Thursday the smoke will start to dissipate.