Toomer's Oaks a Day of Celebration

Growing up in Alabama, you have to chose a side.  My choice was made for me by my Daddy as he was a peanut farmer and well, all know that farmers HAVE to pull for Auburn.  I grew up not going to an Auburn University football game but listening to them via my Daddy's tractor radio!  As a little girl I could imagine what it must be like, the band...the majorettes...the cheerleaders and of course the football team!  It never occurred to me that 120 miles away, there were tailgaters and people rolling toilet paper in downtown Auburn.
 It was really a family affair to pull for Auburn.  Sister and her husband moved to Auburn in the early 80's and became Dye Hard fans(a popular phrase relating to our then coach). Sister's mister's father was an Auburn man too so when it came time for my niece to pick a college...you guessed it she came here.  We were so proud of her when she made the Auburn University Flag Line.  It gave an entirely different meaning to watching the half time show!

 When I moved to Auburn in the 80's the tradition of rolling the Oaks at Toomer's Corner was of course a huge affair and if we beat Bama it was even better.

The rivalry runs deeps here in our state and there have been many a hard feeling against life long friends when the other team wins.  When the news broke that our beloved Oak Trees had been poisoned  it was as if someone had just knocked the wind right out of you.  Living here in Auburn, each day I drive right past the Oaks.  Prior to the poisoning you could definitely see they were not in great shape, after all the trees were approximately 76 years old. But to have someone deliberately do this to our trees in the name of college football was just unthinkable.  It was sad to see those once glorious trees slowly give in to their fate.
I'm glad that our children had the same opportunity that their Father did(he grew up in Auburn) to roll the trees.

 

 Mr. Positively recounts that as a child they didn't roll the actual trees, they rolled the power lines that crossed through Toomer's Corner.
Last Saturday marked the end of an era, it was the last time those Oaks would be rolled in celebration of a football game.  Record numbers came to say farewell to the Oaks....as we say in the South, we sent them out in style!

Later than evening I brought our youngest back to Toomer's for a late evening goodbye of sorts, I'll just go ahead and say it....it was hard to let go.

I didn't go downtown to see the Oaks removed on Tuesday.  Instead I chose to remember them in their glory days of the win of the National Championship.  

War Eagle!