And bad as the situation was in his day, it got even worse when a more virulent strain of the disease appeared in the 1960s. Indeed, many memorable things have been done under elms. George Washington is said to have taken command of the Continental Army in July 1775, under an elm in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Peattie, a better friend to trees than to people, is delighted to discover that the famous tree was but a sapling at the time. Elms have been planted in every kind of habitation, from tiny village to the largest city. Elm-lined streets practically defined 19th century America.
Some magnificent specimens do survive and their grandeur is undeniable.
Best to go back in time, back to when elms had just the usual afflictions, like other trees. To the time when early settlers chose house sites near elms, knowing that the soil there would be moist and fertile. Then they razed all the other trees, keeping just an elm or two. The shade of elm, from high above the roof, is perfect. Liquids seep out of barrels made from elm, but the wood is perfect for the slack barrels that were filled with flour, butter, sugar, and cheese.