# American chestnut....



## Bill Ragosta (Aug 29, 2016)

I saw a thread posted last year about an American chestnut cut down in someone's yard that ended up being a Horse chestnut (not the same thing). I actually have recently harvested a native American chestnut because it got the blight and I thought I'd post a few photos. There are still a few bigger ones hanging around out there, but according to a representative of the American Chestnut Foundation, mine was likely the largest or second largest living specimen in my home state of Pennsylvania. Sadly, it's no more. 

This was the last photo taken before the chain saw took a bite. It was a rather sad day for me because I used to sit under that tree all the time thinking about this or that.





Here's what the leaves look like if anyone's interested. It's difficult to tell the difference between Chinese and American simply by the leaves, but the American leaves tend to be more slender.





Here are the logs after being pulled up the hill via a come along.....





And finally, the girls bringing them off the hill......





My apologies if I've posted this in the wrong forum, but I presumed that many of you would find it interesting. I may be posting a bit of the wood for trade or sale later.

Reactions: Like 3 | Way Cool 5 | Sincere 2


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## Tony (Aug 29, 2016)

Great story Bill, sorry about the loss of your thinking tree. Tony


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## Bill Ragosta (Aug 29, 2016)

Thanks Tony. It's hard to even get your head around how much I miss it. I mean, you cut down an oak or a cherry, you have to accept that it may have been living in that spot for 100 years, but with a Chestnut, you have to accept that it was the ONLY tree of that size within many, many miles, if not hundreds of miles. I doubt that I'll ever think about it without feeling slightly forlorn. The bright side is that I'm having a kitchen table and a hoosier cabinet for my wife made from the lumber and I'll have two small blanket chests made, one for each of my sons.

Reactions: Like 3 | Way Cool 1


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## Ray D (Aug 29, 2016)

Cool story. Looking forward to some of that chestnut hitting the for sale area. Sure would make a nice turkey friction call. Lol
Ray

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Jerry B (Aug 29, 2016)

yes, it's sad that you lose your sittin'/thinkin' spot, but now you get to make more memories at another spot, just think of it as the beginning of another journey .......
Sadly, Everything in this world lives, and then dies ... unfortunately some way before their time ......
the "good" thing about it being a tree is that you can make things from the wood that you'll be able to enjoy for just as many years more, possibly even for future generations 
That's the one thing I loved about being a cabinet/furniture maker ..... the things I was creating would be around and enjoyed long after I'm gone


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## Bill Ragosta (Aug 29, 2016)

Agreed Jerry and thanks. Ray, I have a couple box calls that I made from wormy chestnut and they wail (and I mean that in a good way). I haven't done any pot calls yet, but I will with some of this wood. It's still in the kiln now, then on to the furniture builder, but shoot me a PM in a few weeks and maybe we could work something out.


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## Tony (Aug 29, 2016)

I understand totally Bill. There was a Pecan in the back yard of the house I grew up in that I would climb up, sit in and read. It was old when I was a kid and it came down about 5 years ago. I asked @Bean_counter to make some pens and have them lasered. He did a beautiful job, gave them to family. They loved them. Tony


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## Bill Ragosta (Aug 29, 2016)

I'm sure the Pecan pens are nice, just not as nice as the tree was. ;) And I hope nobody thinks that I'm opposed to logging or that I'm a "tree hugger", just the opposite really. It's just that certain trees ARE special.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 2


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## Ray D (Aug 29, 2016)

By the way, that sure looks like a pretty piece of land...


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## Bill Ragosta (Aug 29, 2016)

It doesn't hurt my feelings when I have to talk a walk on the back 40.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Ray D (Aug 29, 2016)

Bill Ragosta said:


> Agreed Jerry and thanks. Ray, I have a couple box calls that I made from wormy chestnut and they wail (and I mean that in a good way). I haven't done any pot calls yet, but I will with some of this wood. It's still in the kiln now, then on to the furniture builder, but shoot me a PM in a few weeks and maybe we could work something out.


I will do just that. If you feel like it, snap a picture of the kitchen table or the cabinet. Folks around here love pictures.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## woodtickgreg (Aug 29, 2016)

I thought all the chestnuts where already gone. Interesting to hear that there are some still surviving. Sad that it didn't make it but as the others have said at least it will live on in the items made from it. It's also pretty cool how you log with horses.I used to know someone that did that with Belgians and it was awesome to see the power of those big horses. Thanks for sharing the story and the pics with us, interesting story.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Bill Ragosta (Aug 30, 2016)

Woodtickgreg, yeah, there are still a few American chestnut left, but for the most part, they come up as stump regeneration, live for 20 years or so and die back when they reach the size of your forearm and get the blight. This one was lucky enough to avoid it for 100 years or so. As for the horse team, I agree, it was an awesome sight to behold, but it's not my team and that's not me driving them, just another local gent who wanted badly to be part of an operation to harvest a large chestnut.

Reactions: Way Cool 1


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