Frank Lewis, America’s only gold medal wrestler in Berlin’s Olympic Games of 1936, says, "It’s still growing!" Furthermore, "We had a storm a few weeks ago, and the house mother called and said somebody wanted one of the branches that had blown off in the storm."The former welterweight’s gold medal tree grows on the lawn of his Sigma Chi fraternity at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, where Lewis, a drilling and oil business executive, had it planted after it outgrew the University’s greenhouse years ago. Lewis , who lives in Stillwater, can read the marker on the lawn, which identifies his tree as a 1936 gold medal tree-or "Hitler Tree," as they were nicknamed-from Berlin. It is one of a small group of gold medal trees still growing after 50 years in the United States where there is continued interest in their whereabouts.John Woodruff’s gold medal tree grows strong on Connellsville, Pa. Woodruff won the 800-meter in Berlin. Mrs. William W. Foley , a member of the local garden club in Connellsville which has taken responsibility for looking after the Woodruff tree, writes, "The tree is at least 60 feet tall and has about an 80-foot spread. The trunk is 100 inches at it’s least circumference. So you see we really have a beauty in our stadium."The gold medal trees of Helen Stephens of St. Louis and Forest "Spec" Towns were not so fortunate. Stephens, a double gold medalist who attracted the attention of the German dictator, Adolph Hitler, with her astonishing speed in the 100 meters, had hers planted at her alma mater, William Woods College in Fulton, Mo. Where it grew gracefully until it died in 1981. When it was felled, Stephens’ tree was cut into several large pieces. One of these cuts has been given to the Olympic Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs. Towns, a former gold medal hurdler who lives in Athens, Ga., had his tree planted at the University of Georgia campus. He says his original tree died. Efforts have been made at both universities to replace the Stephens’ and Towns’ gold medal trees.Small trees were awarded to every individual gold medalist as well as one tree awarded to every gold medal team in Berlin’s Olympic Games of 1936. They were a "gift of the German people." A Berlin gardening firm, which supplied oak wreaths for the gold medalists (wreaths for the victor’s head are no longer a part of the Olympic presentation) proposed awarding the trees. Although Reich fuhrer Adolf Hitler did not actually present the trees, the nickname stuck. For that reason many plaques and markers were removed from the trees during the World War II because of anti-German sentiment.According to a 1936 Olympic report, "One-year-old seedling oaks (Quercus pedunculata) from the Holstein marsh district" were cultivated from the spring of 1935 until the date of presentation. They were planted in special soil, trimmed repeatedly, treated with special preparations against disease, and tended carefully throughout this period they were transplanted into specially prepared pots adorned with the Olympic Bell and the inscription, ‘Grow to the honour of victory! Summon to further achievement!’Most of the young trees were in a sorry state when they were released from quarantine back in the States weeks after the awardees had returned to homes and schools around this country. Today only a few trees remain.One of Jesse Owens’ trees still grows in Cleveland, Ohio. Owens, an Olympic legend, received three trees for his 1936 individual wins. One of those is thriving at James Ford Rhodes High School in Cleveland. Owens visited the school, where he used the track to practice, in 1972 when he had his picture taken with his tree. Owens died in 1980. Two gold medal trees grow on the campus of the University of Southern California. One is the tree awarded for the world-record-setting relay team which Owens, Ralph Metcalf, Frank Wykoff and Foy Draper. A plaque states that the tree honors the Draper who was declared missing-in-action in World War II. Not far away on the California campus is the late Ken Carpenter’s gold medal tree. Carpenter was a record-breaking discus thrower in Berlin.

America’s gold medal trees have withstood the test of time. They continue to honor some marvelous American Olympians from Berlin’s memorable Games of 1936.