The work seen here was done on April 15, 2008, on a beautiful, cool day with no rain in the forecast. The trunks were wrapped after the trees are planted. A total of sixty trees, thirty each of red maple and red oak, were planted.
		Work resumed on April 16 and was completed on April 17. The trunks have been wrapped to protect them, and a heavy layer of mulch has been put down in the planting area. The township crew worked hard and did a good job. Shrubs and native groundcover plants will be put in later.     It will be a few years until we have the shade and beautiful canopy that existed before the original trees were cut down, but the new trees are fairly large and should soon start to provide habitat for wildlife.

Historical note: When we moved here in 1967, the road was a dirt track. Sometime in the 1970s it was oiled and chipped for the first time, and widened slightly. It has never had a macadam base. In the mid-1950s both of the upper ends of Mill Race Road were rerouted due to construction of the turnpike. The road may have existed before construction of our grist mill in 1831, or may have been laid out at that time so wagons could bring grain to the mill. Before the grist mill was constructed, a small linseed mill stood behind the present mill. No written information has been found to describe it. The original miller's house dates from the 18th century, probably built around the same time as the linseed mill. Our house dates from 1868 (140 years ago) when the land owned by the Romig family, who owned the mill and surrounding farmland, was divided to give one son the mill and the other the farm. Charles Romig acquired the mill, and built our house.

History of the replanting: trees were cut down illegally along Mill Race Road in spring of 2007. About half a mile of mature trees up the hill past our house were taken down. Most of them were in very fine condition. The reason given was that the road was scheduled to be widened sometime in the future, but not all the trees removed were close to the road. Neighbors were incensed. Ultimately, an agreement was reached between the township and the Millrace Road Restoration Committee to replant native hardwoods, shrubs, and ground cover on the denuded stretch of road, and the roadway is no longer designated to be widened. The furor over the trees added to the arguments in favor of changing the form of government here in Lower Macungie Township from township of the second class to township of the first class. Believe it or not, Pennsylvania actually allows townships to be governed by a three- or five-member board that is both legislative and administrative. The supervisors can hire themselves as full-time township employees, answerable to no one. The supervisor who decided the trees were to be cut down did so unilaterally, and although the second-class township code specifically prohibits tree cutting as was done, it does allow supervisors to make decisions on their own as department heads. We succeeded in changing the form of government, due to the tree cutting and two other monumental stupidities created by township supervisors. We are now a township of the first class, with a five-member board of commissioners whose members cannot work for the township. We also have a highly experienced new manager. Things are turning around for the better, and quite fast. The new board and the manager actually listen to citizens!

Update: One tree has died, which isn't a problem to me as so many were planted. Invasive weeds made it impossible to plant groundcover plants in the fall. The heavy mulch is rotting down, and some groundcover and other understory native plants should be able to be planted in the early spring of 2009.