SUBMITTED PHOTO
The Villa Park Community FUN (Focus on Unifying Neighbors) Commission conducted a recent ceremony to celebrate its contest to find the oldest tree in the village. The ceremony took place near an American elm tree located in the parkway on Madison Street, just west of Villa Avenue. Brian Meehan, a village resident who learned of the contest while attending a Villa Park Village Board meeting, noticed the tree while walking in the area. He nominated what turned out to be the contest’s winning tree, which is estimated to be 189 years old. Meehan is pictured in front of the tree with three members of the Community FUN Commission and Bill Karges—a village resident who spent several years as the botanist at Villa Pioneer Garden and Feed. Pictured left to right are: Meehan, Leslie Allison-Seei, Karges, Mary Brunner-Hintze and Kathy Halloran.
CHRIS FOX PHOTO
