Tree warden calls it a career
By David Harry
Staff Writer
More than 60 years ago, Portland resident Thomas Nee began his career as an arborist. Raised in Portland and South Portland, his work as a licensed arborist and pesticide applicator has taken him from New England through the mid Atlantic states.
When he was 68, Nee became tree warden in Cape Elizabeth. He announced his retirement about two weeks ago after 12 years of making certain trees do not become public safety hazards.
Nee, 80, said he had not planned to be an arborist. He said he witnessed the demise of elm trees in Portland because of Dutch elm disease and cared for trees throughout southern Maine.
Married to Katherine and father of seven children, Nee said he also worked on the historic Wye Oak in Maryland, which stood for almost 450 years, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Q: How did you come to the arborist profession?
A: I was in high school, after my parents died, I lived with my aunt. It was time to move on, and there was an ad in the paper to go to the Bartlett School of Tree Surgery in Stamford, Conn. So I applied and my brothers and sisters helped me out.
Q: Is that a way of learning care for trees?
A: Yes, the surgery made it sound more like a medical profession, but you still had to climb the trees.
Q: Had trees been an interest?
A: No it was a job.
Q: So heights don’t bother you?
A: No, they really don’t. I didn’t mind climbing at all. I don’t like looking over the edge of a building, though. Trees are different, you have something to hang on to.
Q: You owned and managed tree companies as well. Was it private or municipal work?
A: Everything from private to municipal. The Reynolds Tree Co. worked with the utilities, Central Maine Power and New England Telephone.
Q: You worked in other states too. Were there any significant differences in the variety of species in other states?
A: At that time (1950), the eastern shore of Maryland was getting back to a lot of private estates. In New York on Long Island, they were going the other way, cutting big estates down.
Q: What does being a tree warden entail?
A: Basically, it is public safety in the town, taking down dangerous limbs, things like that. About once a week, you drive around and check things out.
Q: Were there particularly challenging areas of town?
A: Shore Road, Spurwink Avenue, any of those roads. If you went over by the golf course every day, you could find something there. A lot of times people would call in, but you can’t take every tree down just because they want it taken down.
Q: Were you balancing the idea of people looking at trees as a nuisance and public safety?
A: Oh yes, things like it’s blocking my driveway or my view.
Q: Are the hazards different from species to species?
A: Oh yes. Pine trees can come down in an ice storm or hard blow. Hardwoods like oak or elm, the dead limbs would drop off.
Q: Are there seasons where the dangers can become more apparent?
A: The ice storm and wind storms, things like that. The winter is the toughest time. In spring, everything is blooming and growing, summer is kind of a dead time to worry. But you have to keep going over and checking.
Q: Is infestation an issue as well?
A: Yes, usually if there is any. A place we worried about was in front of the high school. That is a great big tree with cables holding it in place.
Q: If an old tree had to come down, did it strike you emotionally?
A: Yeah it did, like the Lafayette elm down in Kennebunk. I worked on that a lot of times in the 1950s before Dutch elm disease got it. They were alive, you know. Down in Maryland, I worked on the Wye Oak, the only one-tree state park in the country. I worked on it for a week or so.
Q: Do you have a favorite species?
A: You really do. The elm tree was unbelievable. There were 40,000 elm trees in Portland. On the ferry boat, you couldn’t see anything but the steeples of the cathedral and the trees. You couldn’t even see State Street. They were rugged trees – you could climb all over them.
Q: Is there one thing about being a tree warden people would not have understood you were responsible for?
A: People sometimes wanted something for nothing. I have to look out for the safety of the people and the town’s money, that was my job. You might want your tree taken down, but not enough to say “I’ll pay for it.”
Q: What are the indicators of a public hazard?
A: Mostly on heavily traveled roads, and dead limbs or trees with decay. You have to walk around them. Right around Purpoodock, the golf course, I could find something every day.
Q: How far does the town work extend?
A: You can cut up to the property line, you can’t go on their property.
Q: Is there a particular area you favor for the tree growth or variety of species?
A: I like Portland and Maine for the pine and the elm trees. We would spray them from Sanford and Kennebunk up to Gardiner.
Q: What becomes of the wood when you cut down a tree?
A: Sometimes people want the wood, so we cut it and leave it that way. Or the contractors want it. But the wood is used.
Q: What will you miss most about working with trees?
A: The people.
Staff Writer David Harry can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 219.
Staff Writer
More than 60 years ago, Portland resident Thomas Nee began his career as an arborist. Raised in Portland and South Portland, his work as a licensed arborist and pesticide applicator has taken him from New England through the mid Atlantic states.
When he was 68, Nee became tree warden in Cape Elizabeth. He announced his retirement about two weeks ago after 12 years of making certain trees do not become public safety hazards.
Nee, 80, said he had not planned to be an arborist. He said he witnessed the demise of elm trees in Portland because of Dutch elm disease and cared for trees throughout southern Maine.
Married to Katherine and father of seven children, Nee said he also worked on the historic Wye Oak in Maryland, which stood for almost 450 years, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Q: How did you come to the arborist profession?
A: I was in high school, after my parents died, I lived with my aunt. It was time to move on, and there was an ad in the paper to go to the Bartlett School of Tree Surgery in Stamford, Conn. So I applied and my brothers and sisters helped me out.
Q: Is that a way of learning care for trees?
A: Yes, the surgery made it sound more like a medical profession, but you still had to climb the trees.
Q: Had trees been an interest?
A: No it was a job.
Q: So heights don’t bother you?
A: No, they really don’t. I didn’t mind climbing at all. I don’t like looking over the edge of a building, though. Trees are different, you have something to hang on to.
Q: You owned and managed tree companies as well. Was it private or municipal work?
A: Everything from private to municipal. The Reynolds Tree Co. worked with the utilities, Central Maine Power and New England Telephone.
Q: You worked in other states too. Were there any significant differences in the variety of species in other states?
A: At that time (1950), the eastern shore of Maryland was getting back to a lot of private estates. In New York on Long Island, they were going the other way, cutting big estates down.
Q: What does being a tree warden entail?
A: Basically, it is public safety in the town, taking down dangerous limbs, things like that. About once a week, you drive around and check things out.
Q: Were there particularly challenging areas of town?
A: Shore Road, Spurwink Avenue, any of those roads. If you went over by the golf course every day, you could find something there. A lot of times people would call in, but you can’t take every tree down just because they want it taken down.
Q: Were you balancing the idea of people looking at trees as a nuisance and public safety?
A: Oh yes, things like it’s blocking my driveway or my view.
Q: Are the hazards different from species to species?
A: Oh yes. Pine trees can come down in an ice storm or hard blow. Hardwoods like oak or elm, the dead limbs would drop off.
Q: Are there seasons where the dangers can become more apparent?
A: The ice storm and wind storms, things like that. The winter is the toughest time. In spring, everything is blooming and growing, summer is kind of a dead time to worry. But you have to keep going over and checking.
Q: Is infestation an issue as well?
A: Yes, usually if there is any. A place we worried about was in front of the high school. That is a great big tree with cables holding it in place.
Q: If an old tree had to come down, did it strike you emotionally?
A: Yeah it did, like the Lafayette elm down in Kennebunk. I worked on that a lot of times in the 1950s before Dutch elm disease got it. They were alive, you know. Down in Maryland, I worked on the Wye Oak, the only one-tree state park in the country. I worked on it for a week or so.
Q: Do you have a favorite species?
A: You really do. The elm tree was unbelievable. There were 40,000 elm trees in Portland. On the ferry boat, you couldn’t see anything but the steeples of the cathedral and the trees. You couldn’t even see State Street. They were rugged trees – you could climb all over them.
Q: Is there one thing about being a tree warden people would not have understood you were responsible for?
A: People sometimes wanted something for nothing. I have to look out for the safety of the people and the town’s money, that was my job. You might want your tree taken down, but not enough to say “I’ll pay for it.”
Q: What are the indicators of a public hazard?
A: Mostly on heavily traveled roads, and dead limbs or trees with decay. You have to walk around them. Right around Purpoodock, the golf course, I could find something every day.
Q: How far does the town work extend?
A: You can cut up to the property line, you can’t go on their property.
Q: Is there a particular area you favor for the tree growth or variety of species?
A: I like Portland and Maine for the pine and the elm trees. We would spray them from Sanford and Kennebunk up to Gardiner.
Q: What becomes of the wood when you cut down a tree?
A: Sometimes people want the wood, so we cut it and leave it that way. Or the contractors want it. But the wood is used.
Q: What will you miss most about working with trees?
A: The people.
Staff Writer David Harry can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 219.
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