Paul Bunyan was here

The new view of Oberlin Avenue looking north from around Seventh Street

When it was announced (here) that Lorain was going to remove 75 trees on Oberlin Avenue so that water lines could be replaced, I was a little apprehensive. I'm no tree hugger – after all, the spouse is a Canuck and her native country loves nothing better than toppling tall timber – but a street can really lose a lot of character when its decades-old canopy of foliage is lost.

That's what happened to Nebraska Avenue south of E. Erie when we lived there in the 1990's. Many, many trees were removed – and most of the charm of the street as well.

Anyway, this past Saturday I drove Oberlin Avenue from both directions to survey the damage. It reminded me of the time when one of my college roommates (Hoobie) spent a weekend in Lorain during the late 1970's. After I showed him around my west side neighborhood (and pointed out that it all used to be farmland), his nickname for the town was "Treeless Lorain."

At least the city is going to plant 81 trees when they are done, which will look pretty nice – someday.