Tanner St. Cherry Blossom Tree to Stay

The cherry blossom tree on Tanner Street is off the chopping block.  An all-out effort to save the tree after it was targeted for removal appears to have paid off.

Shopkeeper Wendy Dawson Kates led a petition drive over the last month to save the tree in front of her Stardust Memories vintage clothing shop at 25 Tanner St. The tree won a last-hour reprieve from the state historic preservation commission last week.  The commission ruled the tree must stay because the borough did not include it in an inventory of diseased trees. The state commission needed to grant final approval for the project to move forward.

The cherry blossom tree was to be one of 13 trees to be removed in a streetscape improvement project on Tanner Street. Several of the trees were being removed to provided additional parking near the Haddonfield Library, but the cherry blossom tree was to be removed because it did not conform with large oak trees preferred  by the borough shade tree commission. Borough officials also said the cherry tree was infested with carpenter ants and only had a few years of remaining life.

But the ruling from the state saved the tree, which is a fraction of the size of the preferred 45-foot, giant oaks, but is still a big part of the streetscape of several Tanner Street businesses.

“They said this tree was full of carpenter ants,” said Frank Mazza, 83, who has run the Towne Barbershop next door to Stardust Memories for the past 44 years. “This tree is nice. It blooms in the spring and it’s beautiful.

“She loves this tree,” Mazza said of Kates.

Kates was not immediately available for comment.