Woman wants to save 300-year-old tree

DEPTFORD, N.J., Jan. 31 (UPI) -- A New Jersey woman is pleading with a local church not to allow the power company to cut down a 300-year-old white oak.

Bev Nicholson, 71, who now lives in Deptford but formerly lived in Monroeville and was married at the Aura United Methodist Church, said her grandson was the first member of her family to notice a red X painted on the tree outside the church, the South Jersey Times reported Thursday.

"My family and one of the members on the church board are the only ones upset," Nicholson said.

She said she learned the power company offered to cut down the tree on church property for no charge. She did not say why the power company wants the tree gone.

"I talked to the minister of the church and he told me, if he had his way, all the trees in the area would be cut down," Nicholson said. "The only one with me is Ethel Ashenfelter on the church board, and she told me she's outnumbered."

Nicholson said the mayor told her he could not do anything about the plan because the tree is on private property.