Photo credit: City of Atchison/Facebook

 

(KAIR)--Atchison residents have until next week to claim a piece of the fallen Soul Tree at LFM Park. 

A release from the City of Atchison says limbing, ring cuts, and major cuts on the tree have now been completed. Crews removed the larger logs, which will be milled by the monks of St. Benedict's Abbey using their portable lumber mill, along with the nicer burls from the base of the tree, which will be turned into pieces by local artists and woodworkers.

Everything else remaining at the park is available for residents to take home, including small and medium-sized limbs, a few medium-sized stump pieces, and numerous ring cuts.

Removal of the tree, a Siberian Elm known locally as the Soul Tree, began Monday. The landmark had stood on the park's west side for generations before coming down in mid-June after strong winds swept through the area.

The city says once the current work wraps up, the monks will cut the tree's larger logs into slabs, which will spend the next two years drying before being turned into Soul Tree furniture, art, and other woodworking pieces.

The city also reminds residents that the Atchison Art Association's design contest for a permanent Soul Tree memorial at LFM Park remains open, with entries accepted through August 1st.