The barricades that for more than two years kept people from walking in the tree planters where the Toomer’s Oaks once stood were removed for good on Monday by Auburn University Landscape Services. Just because.
“There are no plans to do anything there at this time, we just took the barricades down because we felt they were no longer needed,” said Ron Booth, Director of Project Management and Project Execution for AU Facilities Management. “The trees are gone now.”
The War Eagle Reader was told that a request to remove the barricades was possibly made by an Auburn University Board of Trustees member who deemed them “unsightly” during the Board’s recent meeting on campus.
Booth also suggested aesthetic concerns as part of the decision to remove the barricades.
“They were kind of unsightly sitting there on the corner anyway,” he said.
Booth believes the sign advising that the corner remains under video surveillance will be enough to deter souvenir seekers from picking the rhizomic shoots growing through the mulch in the planter closest to Magnolia Ave., which are being harvested for official Auburn Oaks mementos.
“We have a couple of cameras at the corner, just to keep an eye on the area,” Booth said. “We will continue to harvest those shoots as they pop up, but that will probably be over by the end of the summer. It was just time to down the barricades.”
After they put in place, the barricades were occasionally decorated with messages by Auburn fans, such as a “Wanted” poster for Toomer’s Oak poisoner Harvey Updyke, “that mean Alabama fan” who according to one young girl was “meaner than anyone in the world.” But this was our favorite.
Photo: City of Auburn webcam.
Related: Toomer’s Oak replica inside Auburn Art nearing completion.
More on Toomer’s Corner: Dozens of Toomer’s Oaks shoots sprouting in planter closest to Magnolia Ave. / Toomer’s Corner rollings didn’t start with Punt, Bama, Punt, says History / Did Auburn students celebrate Bear Bryant’s death by rolling Toomer’s Corner?
…
Keep Reading:
* Auburn wore green jerseys… for two seasons
* Gus Malzahn, 1989
* Skyrockets in flight: Auburn cheers from 1913
* Pat Dye responds to ‘loudmouth’ allegations from 1959
* Dean Foy discusses the lewdness of youth
* Fear and Loathing in Tuscaloosa
* Jimmy Buffett Sang: Let’s Get Drunk and Screw (Up My 1st Year at Auburn)
* Toomer’s Oak gavel
Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Want to advertise? Spare a dollar?
Leave a Reply