King James II of England threatened to revoke the precious Charter of Connecticut in 1687, and sent one of his men to retrieve it. That meant an end to the colony's limited democracy and independence.  But before it was exchanged during a key meeting, a hero slipped out of the room with it under his arm and hid it within the cavity of an old oak tree. That tree - the Charter Oak - is now a state icon. Get the full story here!

Guest Co-Host and Researcher
Jean Zimmerman
Arborist and author
jeanzimmerman.com
"In the Hidden History of Connecticut's Charter Oak" (blog)

Guests
Robert Storm
Honorary Governor General of the Society of Colonial Wars, Connecticut
Society of Colonial Wars in Connecticut

Jack Hale
Chair, Hartford Tree Advisory Commission

Christopher Martin
Connecticut State Forester
CT State Forestry - Dept. of Energy and Environmental Protection

Allan Fenner
Consulting Arborist

Robb Barnard (Voice of Mark Twain)
Head of Performing Arts
Lincoln School, Providence, RI
lincolnschool.org

Consulting Editor
David Still, II

Theme Music
"This Old Tree," Diccon Lee, www.deeleetree.com

Artwork
Dahn Hiuni, www.dahnhiuni.com/home

Website
thisoldtree.show
Transcripts available.

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This Old Tree podcast is a sponsored project of the New England Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture. To support This Old Tree and New England ISA, click here.

We want to hear about the favorite tree in your life! To submit a ~4 or 5 minute audio story for consideration for an upcoming episode of "Tree Story Shorts" on This Old Tree, record the story on your phone’s voice memo app and email to:
[email protected]

This episode was written in part at LitArts RI, a community organization and co-working space that supports Rhode Island's creators.
litartsri.org