Jim Cortese, TIPCO in Knoxville Tennessee, a long time valued Mauget distributor shared a family photo of a visit to the famous giant sequoia tree (Circa 1923), “The Wawona Tree.” that stood in Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park.
Pictured are his Grandmother, Beulah Slagle, sitting on hood of car with sister Nellie next to her on left, their mother, Jim’s great grandmother and Jim’s Granny Kincaid, is lady in the white hat.
The famous “Wawona Tree”, stood in Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park, California. and was cut in 1881 as a tourist attraction.
It was the second standing sequoia to be tunneled (the first, a dead tree, still stands in the Tuolumne Grove in Yosemite). The “Wawona Tree” stood for 88 summers before it fell during the severe winter of 1968-69.
Factors leading to its failure include heavy snow, wet soil, and, of course, the weakening effect of the tunnel. When it fell, the Wawona Tree was approximately 2,100 years old, 234 feet high (71.3 meters), and 26 feet in diameter at the base (7.9 meters). The famous tunnel was 7 feet wide, 9 feet high and 26 feet long at the base (2.1 meters by 2.7 meters by 7.9 meters).
Thank you Jim for sharing this wonderful memory with us all..