Sitting inconspicuously on the ground as visitors enter into the last week of the Harvest Fest at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts lies the lumber of a recently felled tree. With one glance, it may not seem like much – just a rotted log with its leaves still firmly grappled to the branches, and a great portion of its stump still standing on the corner of Hurd and West Shore Road.

For some unaware few passing by, it may just be another downed tree. But for the many who visited the Museum at Bethel Woods or care for the history of the iconic music venue, they know the unassuming lumber to be some of the last remains of the once 60-foot tall red maple tree, more commonly referred to by historians as the “Message Tree.”

In a world where smartphones dictate all functions of society, it is nearly impossible now to imagine life without them. When someone loses cell service, it’s the first thing they might notice, now that they can’t text their friends their location, send a photo or look something up on Google. How could we ever find out what’s happening around us, or even find each other?

Well, thanks to that downed tree, the nearly half a million people over 55 years ago had no trouble in keeping up similar communication. The bark of the Message Tree was home to dozens upon dozens of nails and and other facets holding up handwritten notes, ideas, letters, requests and more. For three days and nights in 1969, it was a soapbox for hundreds of thousands of people. 

Now, seeing it lie peacefully on the ground in 2024, it is bittersweet to know that it had reached the conclusion of its role as a beacon of a place of peace, love and music for five and a half decades. But thankfully, this does not mark the end of the tree’s legacy, thanks to the historically-inclined leadership at Bethel Woods, whose hearts are eternally pointed in the direction of preservation. 

As the grafted saplings are planted and artists begin their attempts to earn their spot in being one of the few who are able to craft pieces out of the wood, we applaud all those at Bethel Woods who have seen to the masterful handling of the Message Tree in its later years. 

We have no doubt that what comes next will be nothing short of a labor of love.