The Battle with the Walnut Stump

The old Black Walnut tree in the backyard of Verdie's home on north Fifth street had outlived its welcome as a shade tree. The big heavy walnuts were landing with messy splats and making a mess on the garage roof and all over the yard. Even hungry squirrels turned up their noses at the soft mushy hulls. And there was another reason to remove the tree. It was standing smack dab in the middle of where Verdie plans to build a new wood carving studio. The simplest solution would have been to have Doug's Trimming cut down the tree, grind up the stump and haul away the sawdust. Doug cut it down but left the stump behind.
This was not to be a simple project because the big Walnut stump might well contain a bunch of valuable wood including burl that is highly prized by woodworkers. Verdie makes projects like clocks and shelves wirh walnut. His son in law Bob enjoys building high quality guitars with many types of wood. This stump would be a battle, it had to be removed the old fashioned way with plenty of hard work using shovels, saws and a variety of garden tools. When the final pull was needed, we knew we could call on the power of a vintage 1938 Model B John Deere Tractor.
This promised to be a week long task with the only crew members being Verdie and his son Keith. Verdie is in great shape and is only a few months past his eighty third birthday. Keith flew in for the week from Kentucky to visit and do do a little digging and sawing. He figured to work at an even starting on Monday and then finish up on Saturday.
The well laid plans soon shifted as the temperature dropped, the ground froze and we were met with four inches of wet snow on April 10th. By the time we were able to truly move dirt from around the stump it was early Thursday morning. As the work progressed throughout the week both father and son were worried that the stump just might "Stump Them " and the grinder would be called on. However neither father nor son let on to each other about their misgivings. They continued to press on with one goal in mind, get the stump out and save the valuable wood. At times a well placed stick or two of dynamite seemed like a great idea.
Each day from Thursday the stubborn stump seemed to give up a little fight but the stump crew worked late into the night to beat the deadline before Keith had to return home to Kentucky. By Saturday afternoon it looked like all major roots were severed so we went to the edge of town to cal on the 1938 Model B John Deere tractor. Verdie's dad purchased the tractor new back and 1938 and it was the first tractor Verdie ever drove. Back in the 1960's it had pulled back into to woods and stood in disrepair until Vedie restored it about ten years ago. They just knew it had the power to pull out the stump. They attached a strong chain and fired up the John Deere. It pulled hard but the tap root was just too strong. It was time to do some more heavy work with the saw. Keith thought about givingh up but Verdie was bound and determined the stump would be out of the ground before Sunday at noon. while Keith held the trouble light Verdie crawled almost under the stump and continued to work on the tap root. Finally by about 10:pm it was time to quit and it looked like we were "stumped". It was up to the John Deere but the crew was concerned about waking the neighbors so the final attempt would have to wait until morning.
Morning came and any late sleeping neighbors would wake up to the pleasent sound of a John Deere. Verdie fired up the John Deere. Keith got the movie camera ready and now was the moment of truth. It pulled a lot of plows theough tough fields for many years. Was the John Deere up to the task?? Of course it was. One quick pull and the stubborn stump rollled over and lay flat. From there It pulled the stump towards the driveway ready for Doug Pedersen and his truck to pick it up and haul it to the sawmill. The Gilbertsons eagely await the sawing of the stump and the valuable wood it contains. They will always have the successful "Battle With The Walnut Stump " to remember.

Kay and kathy Hard at Work

The Stump must go In One Piece. Day by Day :Monday to Sunday

Planning for removal of the Walnut Stump had been going on for a couple of months. It could not be grinded out like the average stump because it may contain valuable burl which can be used for a variety of woodworking projects. . First of all Bob the guitar maker was going to be there for the heavy digging because he wants the use the burl. Then Keith decided to come home for Easter and try his hand with the stump. The crew now consisted of eighty tree year old Verdie and his fifty three year old son, Keith. The stump would not stand a chance As plans unfolded we hoped to get in a full week of hard work knowing the Great Walnut Stump would be a major challenge.

Monday the weather was great and Doug's Trimming Service had the tree down by midafternoon. Verdie has a look of confidence as he poses with the mighty walnut stump.

Tuesday morning brought a minor setback with cold weather and frosty ground so we went out to Lyle's and talked about our plans to dig and saw the next day. Late in the afternoon, winter arrived once againwith about four inches of the white stuff. Here you see Verdie with a snow covered stump(he still shows a great of confidence in regards to accomplishing the task ahead.

Wednesday morning we were ready to go but the hard frost in the ground was not yet ready to release its grip. Neither was the Great Stump. Some snow removal helped the sun get to the stone hard soil but still the shovel met hard resistance despite our diligent efforts. Now we were down to only three days to conquer the Great Walnut Stump.

Wednesday Afternoon The shovels had made some progress but the ground was still stone hard so we got out the garden hose in hopes some warmer water would loosen the dirt for Thursday morning.

Thursday The soaking water helped loosen the stone hard soil little and we were able to do some heavy diggingwhich was enough to expose some of the major roots. They would now run up against the brand new electric three horse chain saw operated by Verdie.

Friday: Keith was now getting down to using a buck saw, a trowel and various garden implements. The ground was getting a little softer but as we sawed the major roots we found plenty of minor roots going deep into the ground. We had heard about tap roots but were told sometimes walnut trees did not have one. We were soon to find out that this tree did not want to leave it's cozy location. It was time for the John Deere tractor.

Saturday: By now we were getting very close to accomplishing our mission. We had called in reinforcements with the 1938 Model john Deere tractor. The first pulls met with great resistance and we were looking for more advice. Verdies grandson Eric called from MIT and Grandpa stayed in the hole. He asked Eric the engineering student and crosscut saw expert for any advice. Eric thought that some more digging and sawing might do the job. We had a few more hours of daylight so we went for the tap root.

1938 Model B John Deere Tractor makes short work of Black Walnut Stmp - Google Video

1938 Model B John Deere Tractor makes short work of Black Walnut Stmp - Google Video

Bye Bye Walnut Stump

It took Three long days and nights and the help of a trusty John Deere tractor but Verdie and Keith prevailed in the struggle against a Black Walnut Stump determined to hold in to the turf in the back yard of 1120 North Fifth street.