A tree falls in Washington

ABC’s Ann Compton — a longtime member of the White House press corps — blogs about arriving at the White House this morning: It was a shock to pass thru the White House gates this morning and see the damage. We put storm aftermath on the air all the time, and it is dramatic to see. But there was a real feeling of loss to walk up the driveway and see of one the grand old trees lying twisted and broken on the pavement, its roots dragged up into the light. (At left, the fallen elm today.) For at least 100 years the proud American elm had shaded the President’s front lawn. Planted between 1902 and 1906 it had survived since Teddy Roosevelt’s renovations. It had sheltered young couples who used to park on summer nights along the driveway until Eleanor Roosevelt decided it was no longer a good idea to keep the gates open to the public all night. There was a reason this grand old elm narrowly missed hitting the columns of the North Portico. In recent weeks gardeners had trimmed her branches fearing she had become weak. Her companion, another elm growing a few yards farther away from the house was taken down only this month. Dutch elm disease. I phoned the White House switchboard around 6:30a this morning to talk to a man whose office has looked out on those elms throughout his long career in the White House residence. He felt great loss, but relief that the low wall and Truman hedge of boxwoods had also escaped injury. I asked about the president’s limousine which is parked, protectively, there on the driveway when the President is asleep. Ah, he said, "we warned the Secret Service that was not a good place to park." By the time I went out to the North Lawn to do a stand up shortly after 12 noon, the whine of buzz saws nearly drowned me out. It took three giant dump trucks to take that giant elm away. I wish I had picked up some wood chips.