‘Big Tree Man’ branches out

By Margaret Foster

Do you have a favorite tree? Joe Howard, known as the “Big Tree Man,” does.

Howard, 93, leads popular “tree tours” several times a year, giving the public a close-up look at some of the biggest, oldest trees in Montgomery County, Maryland.

For example, he gives his groups a peek at the “triple-trunk tulip,” a massive tulip tree with three trunks, located on private property in Aspen Hill.

“I’d love to show you that tree. It’s a treat,” said Howard, a member of the county’s forestry board, in a recent interview with the Beacon

His favorite species of tree is the bristlecone pine, found on the West Coast. Scientists believe it is the oldest living species on earth, with some trees being nearly 5,000 years old.

Howard’s eyes light up and he smiles when he remembers a windswept bristlecone pine in Great Basin National Park in Nevada. “It’s just such a fabulous tree… When you’re in a pine forest, it’s kind of magical…But I love all trees,” he quickly added.

Eastern Shore roots

Growing up in the 1930s in Easton, Maryland, Howard spent many hours outdoors with his brother and their father, a house painter who was often out of work during the Depression.

They’d fish, hike and explore loblolly pine forests. They’d also make forays to a nearby town to see the famous Wye Oak, a massive tree that inspired Maryland’s champion tree program. (A tree is considered a “champion” if its measurements meet certain criteria.)

Howard received his bachelor’s degree in education from Salisbury State Univer- sity and then a master’s in education at the University of Maryland in College Park.

He returned to the Eastern Shore to work as an elementary school principal. Because teachers had to do double duty as bus drivers, he also drove a school bus.

Every morning, he’d promise the kids, “If we finish early today, we can stop to see the Wye Oak” in the afternoon, he recalled. “The kids were always impressed with that.”

The tree collapsed during a severe thunderstorm in 2002, at an age somewhere between 400 and 500 years.