A poster, created by Vanessa Gabovitz ’25, depicts the cross-section of a 161-year-old elm tree marked with significant dates from Moravian's and Bethlehem's history.
During the summer of 2022, I was a student worker in the facilities department. One of my coworkers, Operations Technician Dave Girardi, introduced me to a giant tree slab left in a storage room on the first floor of Collier Hall of Science. I was immediately drawn to the slab’s impressive size and condition. My research found that this slab was cut from a tree that once stood on Church Street in front of the Frueauff House in Bethlehem before being affected by Dutch Elm Disease.
Dutch elm disease is a lethal fungal disease affecting many North American elms. This disease causes trees to wilt and ultimately die. In the early 2000s, decay began to take over the tree on Church Street and caused a large branch to fall on the Frueauff House. The tree had to be cut down.
Slices of the tree were saved to be made into tables, specifically by artist Michael Kane. Other slices were donated to Martin Guitar in Nazareth, while some were turned into mulch for use at South Campus.
The slab in Collier was donated to Moravian with a vision of transforming it into a historical timeline representing both the university and the city of Bethlehem. Dr. Frank Kuserk, former professor of biological sciences and director of the environmental studies and sciences program, wanted to restore it. He and his students, now Moravian alumni, planned to sand down the slab and create a timeline with Moravian’s history corresponding to the rings of the tree.
Unfortunately, the research project came to a halt when Dr. Kuserk suddenly passed away in 2017. The project was left unfinished until our work in 2022 aimed to honor his vision by continuing where he left off. We began by sanding the tree down and removing any remaining pieces of bark.
With age, a tree creates rings that correlate to the number of years it has been alive. We were able to estimate that this tree was approximately 161 years old when it was cut down. This finding allowed us to conclude that the tree was planted around the mid 1840s, making it one of the first trees planted in the city of Bethlehem.
After preparing the tree, we began correlating the rings to important events in the history of the city and Moravian. These events include the founding of Bethlehem Steel, the construction of the Sands Casino Resort, and Moravian declaring itself as the first coeducational institution of higher education in the Lehigh Valley. These dates were chosen in consultation with the previous director of the environmental studies and sciences program, Dr. Diane Husic.
After finalizing the timeline, I presented a poster with photos of the tree at Moravian’s 18th Annual Scholarship and Creative Endeavors Day. Following this, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences Natasha Woods and I had hoped for a public display of the slab, but this isn’t currently possible due to its great size and weight.
With funds donated by my father, Andrew Gabovitz. we created a nearly life-size poster showing the corresponding timeline. This piece is currently hangs on a wall on the third floor of Collier Hall of Science for students, faculty, staff, and visitors to view and learn more about the tree and Moravian’s history.
Our project not only commemorates Moravian’s history but also symbolizes the university’s commitment to environmental and historical preservation. Please come visit our nearly life-size tree cut out and timeline on the third floor of Collier Hall of Science. — Vanessa Gabovitz ’25