Much like Shel Silverstein’s wonderful book The Giving Tree, the beautiful sugar maple tree that graced the main slope of the Dudley Farm Museum for decades gave pleasure and sustenance to generations—tapped for sap in the winter, offering shade and a perfect spot for a swing in the summer, and providing brilliant foliage in the fall. When it became diseased and its huge branches a liability, the museum sadly called its good friend David Slade at Family Tree Service to take it down. But a good portion of the trunk remained.
In 2025, thanks to funding from an anonymous friend of the Farm and the talent of chainsaw artist Jared Welcome of Hamden, the tree was been given new life as a carved celebration of the Farm. Various motifs celebrate the property’s heritage, with a rooster crowing on top and a calf gazing out at the base. On closer inspection, visitors may find carvings of horseshoes and the “three sisters” of Native American plantings—stalks of corn with squash and beans.
An unveiling of the sculpture took place on September 6. A contest to name the calf and rooster will be held as part of the Farm’s annual Harvest Day celebration on Saturday, October 18.
Chainsaw artist Jared Welcome of Jarebear Carvings stands by his latest creation at the Dudley Farm Museum, 2351 Durham Road in North Guilford