MARCH 2014 SUNRAYS | 87
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SCTXCA.ORG
I
n Sun City Texas, what stands eight
feet tall, weighs 13,000 pounds and
measures almost 12 feet around? If
you think an elephant, it is about the
same weight, but you would be wrong—
this object is several million years old,
and is a very handsome petrified tree.
Fossils are a fascinating subject for rock
hounds, who will travel distances to view
these pieces of very ancient history. To
see an outstanding fossil, you don’t have
to travel any further than 2 Texas Drive.
Examining the tree, it’s easy to see
what it looked like when it fell into the
mud millions of years ago. It lay there
protected from decay by the sediment
that covered it. Then, groundwater, rich
in dissolved solids, flowed through the
sediment and bit by bit replaced the
original plant material. As the wood
dissolved, the sediment formed itself into
an exact replica of it, preserving details
of the knots, splits and other breaks of
the original tree. Some specimens of
petrified wood are so accurately detailed
that people do not realize they are fossils
until they try to pick them up and find
them too heavy to lift. Our petrified tree
is mostly made of silica, so the color is
probably much lighter than the tree may
have been, but it is unmistakably a tree.
As this tree is not local, how do we
happen to have this beauty? Fifteen
years ago, Charlie Preston moved into
Sun City Texas. With his household
effects, he paid an extra $1,200 and
had his petrified tree shipped. Being
unfamiliar with the Community
Standards rules (height restrictions), the
tree was duly installed in Charlie’s front
yard. Well, you know what happened!
He was gently told the tree would have
to go. Obviously, Charlie was very fond
of the tree; otherwise, he wouldn’t have
brought it with him. What to do? Even
if he moved the tree,
where
would he
move it? After meeting with the CA, it
was decided that he would donate the
tree to Sun City Texas for all residents
to enjoy. The CA arranged the move,
using their huge front-end loader. No
one working at the CA currently was
around when this was done, so we can
only imagine the difficulties of moving
13,000 pounds from Charlie’s home to
Texas Drive. As far as we can tell, the
move was accomplished with minimum
damage, although, due to the weight, the
sidewalk on Texas Drive cracked when
the front end loader drove over it; that
crack, which is sizeable, is still visible.
The tree—which I now think of as
“Charlie’s Tree”—was set in place in the
area outside the swimming pool, close to
the Bocce Courts. Even though Charlie
moved away a few years ago, he left the
tree where it was, for which those of us
who have seen it and grown fond of it are
very, very grateful. Good, old Charlie!
It stands today, beautifully displayed,
as a reminder of a very generous
former resident and shows us that old
is beautiful, especially if you are a fossil.
Sun City’s Fossil
By Edna Heard
PHOTO BY EDNA HEARD
This petrified tree, located behind the Crafts Center near the Horseshoe Courts,
was donated by a former Sun City Texas resident and stands about eight feet tall.
