Gypsy moths! I remember them vividly and not fondly ... In class, Mr Sullivan (coach Sullivan) about a guy in his neighborhood who ran a wheelbarrow up and down his driveway repeatedly to squash 'em. It was probably psychology and not US history.
Your story brought back warm childhood memories of the canopy of Dutch Elms that lined our street in Detroit. As a kid, it always felt like walking under the arched ceilings of a cathedral. Magnificent!
Sadly, the trees are gone now, the victims of Dutch Elm disease.
Nice article, Jane. My skin crawled reading this one. I have traumatic (!) memories of helping my father clip and burn the caterpillar nests that plagued his precious birch trees. But he never paid me like Alice Buck paid the neighborhood boys. :-)
I remember the town tree department had a truck equipped with a pesticide sprayer mounted on the back in the 1950s. It was an enormous gas-powered blower operated by a man seated on the back with a steering wheellike guide that directed the Elephant like blower upward into the canopy of the trees. They went up and down every street in town spraying the Elm trees. We, as kids stood in the front yard and watched as this spray filtered down on us too. Alas, we lost most of the Elms.
Gypsy moths! I remember them vividly and not fondly ... In class, Mr Sullivan (coach Sullivan) about a guy in his neighborhood who ran a wheelbarrow up and down his driveway repeatedly to squash 'em. It was probably psychology and not US history.
Fascinating post, Jane. Well done indeed!
Your story brought back warm childhood memories of the canopy of Dutch Elms that lined our street in Detroit. As a kid, it always felt like walking under the arched ceilings of a cathedral. Magnificent!
Sadly, the trees are gone now, the victims of Dutch Elm disease.
Tom
Nice article, Jane. My skin crawled reading this one. I have traumatic (!) memories of helping my father clip and burn the caterpillar nests that plagued his precious birch trees. But he never paid me like Alice Buck paid the neighborhood boys. :-)
Interesting read. Thanks!
I remember the town tree department had a truck equipped with a pesticide sprayer mounted on the back in the 1950s. It was an enormous gas-powered blower operated by a man seated on the back with a steering wheellike guide that directed the Elephant like blower upward into the canopy of the trees. They went up and down every street in town spraying the Elm trees. We, as kids stood in the front yard and watched as this spray filtered down on us too. Alas, we lost most of the Elms.