FESTA IS ‘ON’!: In case you were wondering, the Festa Italiana
is scheduled for Aug. 13, 14 and 15. Details will be announced soon
but, meanwhile, we wanted to make sure you mark your calendars for
this popular upcoming festival.

BIG TREES: Little did we know when we printed an article about
the biggest tree in Bradford that McKean County has some trees that
are actually considered the biggest of their particular species in
the state of Pennsylvania.

Thanks to Jack Homa, we have the 2006 edition of Big Trees of
Pennsylvania, a publication of the Pennsylvania Forestry
Association.

McKean County has several mammoth trees in this overall list and
Cameron and Potter counties also have “biggest” candidates. By far,
though, Warren County has the most big trees in the region but we
think the competition is a little unfair since it gets all those
entrants from the Allegheny National Forest.

One of the candidates for largest sweet birch tree was one
measuring 157 inches in circumference – that more than 13 feet
around! It is located a mile west of Westline in McKean County.
Along with its phenomenal girth, it was 78 feet tall and had a
“spread” of 70 feet. Not bad for a birch tree. The tree was last
measured in 1981.

A gigantic yellow birch tree sits at Marilla Reservoir, part of
the Bradford watershed. Measured in 2006, it is 135 inches in
circumference, 84.6 feet tall, and its crown has a 45-foot
spread.

A downy serviceberry in Ludlow Cemetery, McKean County, also got
nominated. When measured in 1989, it had a 91-inch circumference
and stood 57 feet tall. Its crown was measured at 50 feet.

Cameron County’s entrant was a quaking aspen located on Four
Mile Run, Shippen Township. Last measured in 1991, this “quaky” is
98 inches around, 102 feet tall and has a 53-foot spread.

Potter County had the largest candidate in the entire state in
the common witch hazel category. It is located on Impson Hollow
Trail, State Forest, Joerg Road. Its circumference was 16 inches
and it stood 42 feet tall and had a 28 foot spread. That 16 inches
may not seem like much compared to some of these very large trees
but, remember, witch hazel is more of a shrub than a tree.

More in tomorrow’s RTS.