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Pranking and planting

By: Livia Ungurean and Beth Mark

Environmental stewardship is a way of life at Messiah College. The College’s commitment to sustainability is visible all around campus in the past, present and future.

Beth Mark, a significant volunteer in the archives of the Murray Library, gathered the unique story behind the planting of the trees alongside the railroad tracks, in front of Old Main.

Gerald Wingert, who attended Messiah College when the trees were first planted in spring of 1947, recalls there being a prank associated with the planting of the trees.

He explains, “I was a senior [academy/high school] the fall of 1946 and spring of 1947. On one Saturday night in the spring of 1947, some of us made a homemade firecracker out of two shotgun shells. These were placed in a bucket and left down the outside wall and the hope was that it would irritate the gentleman living in the apartment. To our good fortune, the fire in the bucket burned the string, and let this firecracker fall to the ground. It exploded. In response, the gentleman got his shotgun and fired two times up along the building making scores of holes in the rain gutter.”

As a result, almost all of the men on the third and fourth floor dorms of Old Main were punished (even though only three were involved in the prank.) As Nelson Wingert recalls, the next day the men were ready to pay the price. Dressed in overalls with handkerchiefs around their necks, they were ready to work. The punishment consisted of digging up the right amount of pine trees needed in front of Old Main. As an effort to improve the appearance of campus—initiated by former Messiah College President C.N. Hostetter Jr.—the trees were replanted from the outskirts of Eisenhower to the front of Old Main. The trees appeared to be two feet tall at the time.

Most recently, these trees reached about 70 years old. They hold great significance at Messiah College and will continue to be remembered. Since they were planted on the top of an embankment, not allowing these specific trees to grow nutritiously, they have been removed for the safety of everyone on campus. However, they were replaced with new trees in a more sustainable manner. Pete Ramsey, grounds manager and campus tree care committee member, shared the different kinds of trees that will be planted:

• American Yellowwood
• Hawthorn Winterking
• Honey locust
• Serviceberry autumn brilliance
• Easter Redbud

Being a member of Tree Campus U.S.A., Messiah College is required to adhere to various criteria. The grounds staff has done an excellent job making campus a safe, functional and beautiful environment that supports biodiversity and pursuing the . Messiah College will continue to create a sustainable environment by promoting and practicing environmental stewardship all across campus.