You hear it every year during hurricane season…”When Hurricane (fill in the blank) hit us Orange County really showed its RESILIENCY.” Well our resiliency label may have actually started with the Ice Storm of January 1997.
Orange County was hit by an ice storm that we’ve never seen before. Trees were down everywhere, closing streets and damaging homes and businesses. Power was out for days and back then very few had generators.
Local businessman Mark Frey of Frey’s Nursery had a generator. He was running it in his garage with the door open but was overcome by fumes and had to be admitted to our hospital which was in operation at the time.
After being treated for Carbon Monoxide Poisoning, Frey saw the huge oak tree in front of the hospital had been split in two by the weight of the ice on the limbs. He surveyed the damage and said, “I’m going to save that tree.”
“We trimmed the tree up and took some weight off of it,” he said. “And then local businesses joined in to help us make it happen. Cloeren made us a four foot long drill bit. We had tractors from Manshack and Bruno’s to help stabilize it. And we got tools and turnbuckles, threaded rods and cable from businesses like Coastal Lumber and Ace Hardware.” Frey also mentioned Printpack, Inland Container and JW Safety Consultants along with volunteers Michael Vincent, Quentin Spikes, Anthony Julian, Gerardo Rico, and Fay Beth Purifoy.
Frey also used plastic pipe to reach down into the root system to help feed the tree, which is reportedly 74 years old now.
It was Frey’s way of giving back to the hospital that healed him and the community that supported him for many years.
The tree is in fantastic shape, having survived hurricanes, storms and droughts over the last 29 years. It’s unfortunate that it has outlasted the hospital. The rods and bolts can no longer be seen as the tree has grown over them. Next time you’re on Strickland Drive, give it a salute as it is a symbol of what we have become.
-Gary Stelly, KOGT-
“You’ll be as strong as an oak tree when you believe in the strength of your roots” – Robert Clancy-
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