During that horrific wind and rainstorm the weekend of Jan. 23 and Jan. 24, I lost a childhood “friend.” Planted in 1883, the main cypress on the Derby House property — which I grew up admiring for literally my whole life — succumbed to the brutal wind. Thankfully, no one was hurt and the only damage was to the corner of the garage.
Encinitas and our entire region lost some pretty spectacular trees that weekend.
In celebration of Encinitans’ love of trees, the Encinitas Historical Society will be having a “My Favorite Tree” Photo Contest. Yours might be on the corner of your property, in one of our many parks or along a favorite hiking path. The city of Encinitas has already identified two special “Heritage Trees.”
The first to be identified in 2010 is the Cock Spar Coral reportedly planted in 1929 at the crest of Requeza Street. The second tree identified in 2011 is the Norfolk Island Pine or Star Pine at 4th Street and “C” also known as our annual Christmas Tree.
This pine is now 66 years old. Let’s face it, we love our trees, and we strive to protect them the best way we can.
All of the trees in this area were planted by humans. The only native trees were the los encinitos, from which our city was named.
It was not particularly a statuesque tree. It really was a scrub oak found along paths of running water like Cottonwood Creek or in the Batiquitos Lagoon area.
I have many photos of my favorite cypress in my camera.
I have also painted this lovely tree with a sunset background more than once for the Arts Alive banner program. It was always the focus point of my sunset pictures. I miss it. I suspect many others in our city have a favorite tree also, so for this reason the Historical Society decided to “honor” our special trees by capturing them in a photo.
Send your digital image (limit one per person) to Carolyn Cope, president of the Encinitas Historical Society, to [email protected] no later than April 20.
Include your name, contact information and the location of your favorite tree.
You may also mail a hard copy (no bigger than 8” x 11”) to the Encinitas Historical Society, c/o 47 McNeill Ave., Encinitas.
Everyone is encouraged to come on down to the Encinitas Street Fair the weekend of April 23 and April 24, stop by the Encinitas Historical Society booth at “F” Street, view the entries and vote for your favorite tree photo!
The awards party will be April 29 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the 1883 One-Room Schoolhouse on the corner of “F” and 4th streets. Any further questions, please contact Carolyn Cope at (760) 753-4834.
About the author: One of the few locally born and raised citizens still in Encinitas, Carolyn Roy Cope attended all local schools graduating from San Dieguito High School in 1968. She is currently the president of the Encinitas Historical Society and has been an active member of the Rotary Club of Encinitas for more than 15 years. Carolyn is on the board of directors of the Encinitas 101 Mainstreet Association. She is an active member of the Encinitas Culture, Arts and Ecology Alliance, which is the operating partner for the development of the Pacific View School site. She served on the Commission for the Arts from 1998-2002. Carolyn has remained highly involved in the Sister City Program since its start in 1988. She was volunteer of the year for Downtown Encinitas Mainstreet Association twice and is a past president of the San Dieguito Heritage Museum.
