August 8, 1978 page 5
Campus Trees Rooted in History
The Ohio State Lantern, by: Frank Tsacrios

Hiding behind their shades are a few celebrities on campus that lead a private life in the midst of student traffic. Unlike their celluloid counterparts, these celebrities have never appeared on the silver screen. Yet, they catch the public eye in a daily aesthetic performance.Robed in bark and crowned with green leaves, these distinguished characters are the Jesse Owens Oak, Logan Elm and Hardy Rubber, a group of historically unique trees which modestly blend with the everyday oaks and elms at Ohio State. The Jesse Owens Oak, located about 40 feet south of the Main Library's south entrance is a white oak brought to OSU from Germany by gold medalist, Jesse Owens, following the controversial 1936 Olympic games.Owens, one of the American black athletes publicly criticized by Adolf Hitler as being racially inferior won the 100- and 200-meter races, broadjump and was a member of the victorious 400-meter relay team.The oak is not marked by a placard, and during construction of the Main Library addition, suffered slight abuse until it's history was brought to the proper authorities. Marti Jansen, horticulture instructor said. On the other hand the Logan Elm, located at the southeast corner of Sullivant Hall, is marked by a placard. But the inscription reveals nothing about the tree's historical significance. The marker notes that this seedling of the original Logan Elm was planted by the chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1931 in memory of George Washington, but does not inform the trees visitor that James John Logan, a Cayuga Indian known to his tribe as TAH-GAH-JUTE, once signed a treaty with white settlers of the Ohio Valley under the shade of the famous elm.Moreover, the placard ignores Logan's association with Mohawk auxiliaries of the British during the American Revolution. Logan achieved renown among many Indian tribes originally because of his friendship with white settlers. However his attitide changed in 1774 when his family was brutally killed by a frontier trader. This incident prompted the Indian leader to declare war on the whites. Until his death in 1780, Logan pursued his vendetta, taking more than 30 white scalps. The third horticultural hall-of-famer on campus is the Hardy Rubber tree, which enlisted in attempt to assist the American cause in World War II. This grey barked tree with shiny leaves, located near the south entrance to the Administration Building, is one of the vast number of Hardy Rubber trees imported from various countries during the war. The United States hoped that the tree could be used as a substitute for the true Rubber tree in the production of airplane tires. The plan was not successful, and the trees remained grounded in American soil.