History teachers and lovers of history turned out for Saturday’s rally to save the centuries-old Sycamore tree at the corner of Colfax and Sheridan streets in Warsaw.
Chuck Sauders, a retired sixth-grade, high school and college history teacher, stated, “This tree should not be cut down. That highway is wide enough. I’m not opposed to highways, but this tree” should stay.
The city was looking to have the tree removed as part of the Lincoln Neighborhood Sidewalk Project, funded by federal dollars through the Indiana Department of Transportation. Property owner Gita Kamdar didn’t learn of the plans until Oct. 16 because her now-ex-husband didn’t inform her of the sidewalk project, which was started over five years ago. Once she learned of the plans to remove the tree, she began to make an effort to save it, including Saturday’s rally.

    Gene Butts (L), a retired Lincoln Elementary School teacher, talks to ABC 57 News’ Dante Stanton (R) during Saturday’s rally to save the Sycamore tree at 1702 E. Sheridan St., Warsaw. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union
  

At the Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety meeting Tuesday, the city indicated it believes it has come up with a viable option to save the tree but is not announcing that plan until it’s been fully vetted.
Another retired teacher, Dick Rooker, said Saturday, “This tree is older than the country is and it will be here long after all of us are gone if we will let it. We should let it.”
He said he walks by the tree all the time and he and his wife always comment on the magnificence and the majesty of the tree.
“You could compare this to what they called the Council Oak Tree in South Bend where the Indians and the explorers met underneath that oak tree to make an agreement of friendship. It stayed. It was well over 200 years old, too. Eventually, it fell apart,” Sauders said. “This is our Council Oak Tree.”
The Sycamore tree - at 1702 E. Sheridan St. - has been estimated to be at least 275 to 336 years old, based on mathematical equations. The most accurate way foresters determine the age of a tree is by counting the growth rings of a severed tree stump or by taking a core sample using an increment borer.
Paige and Evan Morrisroe, who live in Warsaw and attend church with Kamdar, took part in the rally to help save the tree.
“I think it’s really cool the history behind the tree and how the kids have always been able to come and do the measurements,” said Paige. “I would love to see that for generations beyond right now, even for our own kids.”
Marilyn Yotter, 76, another friend of Kamdar’s, said, “This tree has been here all of my life.” She said the trunk on the tree is “just huge.”

    It took 15 kids, holding hands, to wrap around the Sycamore tree on Sheridan Street Saturday during a rally to save the tree. Shown are just some of the kids around the tree. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union
  

Sauders and Rooker took a tape measure to the tree and came up with a circumference of 225 inches (18.75 feet).
Since the first story on the tree ran in the Times-Union on Oct. 21, Kamdar said the community has become aware of and excited about the tree.
“It has been crazy. There’s a lot of different media outlets that have picked up the story and given it a lot of traction in areas outside of Kosciusko County, which is really pretty impressive,” she said. “There’s been people in Florida that used to live here that have reached out to other people that are supporting the tree ... in surrounding counties and areas outside of Kosciusko County.”
Kamdar said it’s been quite amazing how much everyone is coming together for the Sycamore.
“As I was setting up this morning (for the rally), people were just driving by, honking their horns. Save the tree! And getting out and taking pictures in front of the tree, and that was really special,” she said.
It’s all been way more than she ever expected.
She is excited to hear what plan the city has come up with for the tree. “I feel confident that it is going to be a good solution for the neighborhood, and I do really feel confident that they’re going to save the tree, but I don’t want to be so bold to say that’s where we’re at. I know the mayor is passionate about the project and I think that good things will be coming,” she stated.
During Saturday’s rally, people could take their picture in front of the tree, write down their thoughts and memories of the tree, draw with chalk on the driveway, eat popcorn and kids could draw pictures related to trees, squirrels or nature.
“What I would really like to do is - all of the cards that I collect today, I want to keep them together with the house and generations down the road, history questions down the road, homeowners down the road, I’d really like to be able to give them these memories as a reminder of what the community did to save this tree,” Kamdar said.
An arborist from Fort Wayne, David Carpenter, inspected the Sycamore on Tuesday. His services were paid for by former Lincoln Elementary School teacher Gene Butts. As of Saturday, Kamdar said she had not received the final report yet from Carpenter but he did say the Sycamore dated over 330 years old and was a historical tree.
“I am hoping that carries some weight, along with everything else the community is providing to help save the tree,” she said.
In a speech to those at the rally, Kamdar said, “This tree has meant so much to this community for a lot longer than it has meant to me. This started out as a homeowner just trying to save this beautiful tree, and all of you have just rallied around from the very first word that this tree was in jeopardy. And I just want to thank you so much for coming out here today, for signing the petition, for writing down your memories.”
She said hopefully this sets a precedent in the county where “our first step is honoring history instead of removing it or paving over it.”
Veteran Scott Gardonio said he heard about the tree through the TIMES-UNION online.
“I grew up in Warsaw and never knew about the tree until now, and I felt some sort of historical connection to it, and I just wish more local history was taught in schools here. I think this tree would be a great teaching opportunity,” he said.
Jennifer Hren lives behind Kamdar’s house.
“We had noticed stakes in our yard, stakes here in this yard obviously and then the spray paint around the tree and realized that’s a really large tree. It’s a shame that they would tear that down. And then I read the article online and learned about the history of it and the age of it, and I though that would really be a shame to lose that. I feel like there has to be a way around it literally and figuratively,” she said.

    Retired teacher Dick Rooker holds the tape measure showing that the circumference of the Sycamore tree on East Sheridan Street in Warsaw is 225 inches. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union
  

Retired Judge James Jarrette said the city should save the tree, “Because it’s here. It’s been here before the city was here. The tree should save the city.”
He said Jack Burns used to live in the house and he knew Burns and his family pretty well. “I’ve known about this tree since I moved to town, so I just hope they save it. If it’s gone, it’s gone, but if it’s here, they can build a sidewalk around it,” Jarrette stated.
Butts said he taught at the old Lincoln school for 30 years.
“I did a project with tree identification. I felt the kids ... couldn’t tell a Sycamore from an apple (tree). So, I traversed the community and got 25 different trees. So then I brought my students - I had about 25 in the fifth grade in my science class - so we toured the area and I told them what the tree was and gave them a little bit of history if there was anything involved. So, then they did the collection of leaves and other things regarding trees, and then I gave them a test. They had to identify the tree when we went back out,” he said.