Lindy's Beech Tree
In 1970, Lindy’s was constructed on Peoria Street to originally house both the Lindy’s and Ben Franklin stores. It was replacing a car dealership and a residential area. One of the houses on Peoria Street that was removed for the construction once belonged to George Ferner, who worked at a plant nursery. Ferner would bring extra stock from the nursery and plant them at home. One of those extra items was a European Beech tree, which gave off a beautiful leaf color of copper/purple. It became known around town as the “Purple Beech Tree.”
As construction began, the original plan called for the removal of the tree. Marjorie Mason of the Town & Country Gardeners met with Clarence Linsley and Bill Honeg, managers of Lindy’s and Ben Franklin respectively, about the prospects of saving the tree. They agreed, if the design of the parking lot could be configured to everyone’s satisfaction. It looked like a solution had been found.
But alas, there is a hiccup to this story. It seems that a bigwig at the Ben Franklin corporation got wind of the story, and decided that Ben Franklin would not open their store if the Beech tree was not removed. Their argument was that the tree blocked the sign to their store. And, let’s be honest, the guy had a point.
This decision caused quite an uproar in the community, and motivated the Garden Club, the schools, and even the Illinois Department of Conservation into action, because this wasn’t just any old tree. European Beech trees are extremely rare in Illinois. It was reported at the time that there were only two other known samples of the species in Illinois parks. Petitions circulated quickly throughout the town to save the tree.
The Ben Franklin corporate bigwig visited the location in November 1970 and talked with interested parties, as well as visiting several nearby businesses to hear all sides of the story. He returned to corporate headquarters, promising an answer soon.
The next day, Marjorie Mason was notified that Ben Franklin had dropped their demand to remove the tree due to public concern. The tree was saved.
The tree lived on for approximately another fifteen years in front of Lindy’s, although it struggled in its final years. Clarence Linsley did everything he could to save the tree, including drilling holes in the parking lot and pumping over 200 pounds of liquid fertilizer into the ground. After two years of producing no leaves the tree was finally removed in 1985.
Linsley immediately replaced the tree with a Sunburst Locust tree. That tree survived over twenty years but was getting too big and was removed in 2010 to the dismay of Lindy’s customers. Their disappointment was soon turned to joy when the spot was turned to a garden dedicated to Lindy’s founders Clarence and Florence Linsley by their sons, Bob & Jim.
