Own A Piece Of Basking Ridge's Historic 600-Year-Old Great Oak

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — The historic 600-year-old great white oak tree in Basking Ridge may have been cut down but its wood can live on in your home for years to come.

"The Basking Ridge Oak Collection" will be introduced at the Winter Market being held at Bishop Janes United Methodist Church at 2 S Finley Ave. in Basking Ridge on Saturday, Dec. 1 from noon until 7 p.m.

Some of the items that will be offered include wooden boards, blocks of decorative wood, pens crafted using the wood, ornaments, candle centerpieces, pendant necklaces, and other pieces of unique art.

The items came about after the tree died in the summer of 2016 and was cut down in April 2017. It is considered possibly the oldest oak tree in the country.

• See Related: Basking Ridge's 600 Year Old Ancient Tree Has Died

"With something like 40 to 50 tons of wood in storage and endless inquiries from locals wanting either raw or finished pieces of the tree, the need for action was apparent," Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church (BRPC)'s task force stated.

The task force was created in the spring of 2017 to figure out what they wanted to do with the wood from the tree, that died this past summer.

With so much wood and work to be done, the task force realized they were "in need of professional help to provide the equipment, expertise and manpower needed to transform this huge amount of wood from its current condition into useable sections for all manner of wood projects."

Keith Keiling and David Schneck approached the task force with a solution. Keiling Tree managed the entire tree takedown in April 2017 and Schneck operated the logging truck that moved all of the wood as it was cut to its current storage site.

A formal agreement was approved where the ownership of the wood has been transferred to Keiling Tree and David Schneck Logging (K&S). In return, K&S will take responsibility for all expenses involved in the storage, processing and marketing of the wood.

K&S has also pledged 10 percent of revenues as a donation to BRPC. The Oak Tree Task Force will serve as advisors for the project to assist where possible.

K&S has already started to mill pieces from the oak tree, and have created numerous items to sell in the very near future.

The exclusive retailer for The Basking Ridge Oak Collection will be The Rebecca Collection at 2 Mine Brook Road in the center of Bernardsville. They will have products starting as early as Dec. 1.

The task force also noted that some projects already in motion will not be part of the agreement with K&S.

These include:

• The signature tables to be created by Frank Pollaro for our Sanctuary and for the Bernards Township conference room

• A large cross section of the main trunk which is in storage and is slated for display somewhere on the church campus
• A new batch of laser etched discs which are available now with a suggested donation of $75 to BRPC

"In the coming weeks, publicity will begin with notices via email and social media to the congregation and the community at large announcing the program while at the same time milling and cutting of the wood will commence at the storage site," Bill Emmitt and Jon Klippel for the Oak Tree Task Force stated. "We are all excited that our precious Oak Tree will be starting a new phase of its life as this gift from God keeps on giving."

• See Related: Tears Flow As 600-Year-Old NJ Tree Is Being Cut Down
• Related: A Slice Of History: Basking Ridge Oak Tree Is Full Of 'Surprises'
• Related: Basking Ridge Oak Tree Was 619 Years Old
• See Related: Film Preserving Memory Of Basking Ridge's Ancient Oak Completed

(Images via Keith Keiling: The Basking Ridge Oak Collection, which include wooden boards, blocks of decorative wood, pens crafted using the wood, ornaments, candle centerpieces, pendant necklaces, and other pieces of unique art.)

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