George and Patricia “Sister” Barnes both said they are surprised by the attention and concern shown for a tree at their Country Club Drive home.

Several weeks ago, the limb of an oak tree broke, falling onto and damaging a lower limb. Alex Barnes was upstairs the Sunday morning it happened, and ran downstairs to alert his parents when he heard a crashing sound.

“It was after a really bad rain storm,” Sister recalled. “We called every tree person we could find, but there was so much weight on it, within the next two days (the lower limb) was gone, too.”

George said the oak was the first tree planted on the property when his grandparents built the home there in the late 1930s.

“In the pictures I have, it’s just a little tree,” he said, estimating that the tree is 78 years old. Its girth is approximately five feet.

The family had an arborist come and help them determine if the tree could be saved. So far, they have had the damaged limbs removed, and are having cables installed to help support the weight of the remaining limbs. They’ve also had black tar applied and are cementing the knotholes.

“The cement keeps the water out,” George said. “If you don’t do that, water will seep inside the tree and rot it from the inside.”

Sister said people have stopped her at the grocery store, the produce market, and everywhere else she’s been, inquiring about the tree.

Meanwhile, when her daughter, Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Chrissie Duffy, spoke to a local civic group recently, all of the questions were about the tree.

Sister said now that the tree has had attention from professionals, it looks different, but is still majestic.

“It’s just beautiful,” she said. “It’s a statement of how a beautiful tree goes on and on.”

And one day soon – when the grandchildren get back from camp – she has something else planned.

“I want my grandchildren to hold hands around it and hug it and save it,” she said. “I want a picture of them all hugging that tree.”