LETTER TO THE EDITOR September 25, 2014
Preserve Our Heritage
I
n 1964, one of the prized landmarks in Danvers, the Endecott Pear Tree, was vandalized. A news report at the time said that “not a leaf, not a twig, not a branch, not a limb was left on the two main trunks.” A living piece of our heritage, dating back to the 1630’s, had almost been obliterated. Local historian and newsman Thurl D. Brown wrote in the Danvers Herald that the vandalism brought “into sharp focus the desperate need for the community to act now to preserve and conserve what remaining historical assets and natural resources it has left before the hand of man and the ravages of time have their way.” Presently, three properties in Danvers call out for protection: the Porter-Bradstreet homestead, Mackey Funeral Home, and Whipple Hill. Town committees have already identified the first two properties as historically significant. Whipple Hill, with its roots in our past, is a natural resource more vital than ever. A recent United Nations report warns that the atmosphere contains historically high levels of carbon dioxide. The levels reflect “ever-rising emissions from automobiles and smokestacks” and “a diminishing ability of the world’s oceans and plant life to soak up the excess carbon put into the atmosphere by humans.” Fifty years after the senseless destruction of the Endecott Pear Tree, we are called upon again to save the few, remaining vestiges of our past and our life-giving greenspace. We must prevent further erosion of the town’s character and charm and, in the process, mitigate further harm to our environment. Let us not shirk this obligation to future generations.