Mechanic Street ‘Treescape’ Will Change

COURT HOUSE – The massive Japanese elm towering over Mechanic Street, under which countless thousands pass daily, will undergo surgery Aug. 14. The elm’s “haircut” was reluctantly scheduled by its owner, Leatrice “Lea” Westcott.
She grew up with the tree, having come to her new home from other Mechanic Street addresses with her parents when she was 6 years old.
Time has come for drastic pruning action before one of its massive branches might fall and injure someone or cause property damage, she said.
A skilled chainsaw-wielding tree surgeon will “trim weight across the top, the part that’s hanging over Mechanic Street,” said Westcott, a retired Middle Township School District employee, as she sat on her front porch and cast a loving, wistful gaze at the elm, which grew to become a part of her life.
“It will not look as pretty, but it won’t fall down,” said Westcott. She pointed to a well-healed section that once was the “Y” of the tree, and noted it had been trimmed about a decade ago, because it was leaning toward the house.
“It was a two-part tree,” Westcott said. The remaining portion of the tree is listing over the sidewalk and street, making it difficult for Westcott to see oncoming traffic as she exits her driveway.
“A lot of nesting birds enjoyed that tree,” she said. In nearly seven decades, countless fledgling birds have tested young wings from the lofty tree, undeniably the largest tree on the busy street.
The Japanese elm was planted by her late father LeRoy Westcott under the watchful eye her mother Helen, shortly after the couple bought the Hetty Hand House in 1947 for $1,800.
A photograph of the home’s namesake hangs over the mantle of the fireplace in what, originally, was the kitchen. Beneath the picture is a pencil sketch of the home in 1947, showing the 200-year-old front portion of the house. An oddity, Westcott said, is the house has two front doors, one plain, and the other fancy. The plain one, which she uses as the main entrance, goes directly into the kitchen. The other, likely was used for visitors.
Like the elm, the Westcott family was deeply rooted in Court House.
Her father worked in Wildwood as manager for Coca Cola Bottling Co. for 37 years. He was also a Court House volunteer firefighter for a decade.
“Coke in Wildwood outsold Atlantic City in the summer in those days,” said Westcott.
Her mother’s voice was the one callers first heard, for 27 years, when they rang county telephone numbers. “She worked (as county telephone operator in the courthouse) under Dorothy Loper, who was her boss, and when she retired, my mother took over telephone operations,” Westcott said. “She spoke her mind,” added Westcott with a smile.
From the open porch of the historic home, Westcott watches the world pass. She makes an effort to sit on that porch at least twice daily in the summer. She can hear birds sing, watch butterflies flit, and think.
“I shell peas and lima beans right here on the porch. I love it here,” she added. Vegetables she shells are grown in the backyard garden of the one-acre parcel. As she shells those crops, she also enjoys looking over her flower-filled front yard.
“I planted some, the birds planted some, and other just spread,” she added.
Westcott noted she has been a 60-year member of First United Methodist Church of Court House. In addition she is a member of Order of the Eastern Star for 50 years. She looks forward to monthly meetings of O.E.S. Chapter 82 at Shekinah Masonic Lodge, Millville.
Out back, there is also an old butcher shop that was relocated from elsewhere on Mechanic Street. On a red garage in the yard are nail vintage license plates once displayed on vehicles the family owned.
Having lived her life on Mechanic Street, Westcott can only wonder how things will look when the beloved elm is trimmed, and know that it’s being done for everyone’s safety.