Eufaula 2015, the Decimation of Beauty My family was not rich, but we had deep Eufaula roots on Daddy’s side. He loved the town so much that he convinced Mama, though she came reluctantly, to move there. Years passed after he moved us into his mama’s house on 710 North Randolph Avenue, and our Mama learned to love the sleepy, tranquil effects of Southern seasons with the heady scents of magnolia, hyacinth, tea olive, and mimosa. My sisters and I would walk the avenues of North Randolph and North Eufaula, familiarizing ourselves with the quaint characteristics of each house we passed. At that young age, we could not appreciate the intricacies of architecture, but we could appreciate what was obviously elegant. The few antebellum homes were breathless in their majestic beauty, sentinels of another era. The medians running down both avenues were lined with trees of all variety, bursting with vibrant colors during the season, providing a picturesque view rarely seen in any town or city. I remember the year a family bought my great-grandmother’s house two doors up from us. In the front yard was a pine tree so stately and magnificent that it would take one’s breath away, if one were appreciative of God’s natural creations. The tree, which I climbed as a child, had to be hundreds of years old. The new owners, ignorant and unappreciative of anything of natural beauty, cut down the tree. The house and yard then appeared desolate. The sad thing is that the owners did not stay in the house, did not intend staying there, so their transience only compounded their stupid action. They had clearly killed a living, majestic, gorgeous masterpiece of Nature, for what? A clearer view of the street which they did not intend to live on for any length of time? This incident, to me, parallels what is going on with the “widening of the medians” of North Eufaula Avenue. This current destruction of that which is beautiful, in the name of “progress,” “traffic congestion easement,” or “convenience” is a step downward for Eufaula’s reputation, its environment, its tourism, its Southern culture, and its intrinsic status as a Southern town of beauty. When the first branch of the tree canopy is removed, it will be like pulling out one of the eyelashes of God.
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 04:01:53 +0000
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