Walnut tree planted by pioneer Henry Mohr in the 1890s lives on as five community benches

A walnut tree that one of Pleasanton's first settlers planted more than 125 years ago has been turned into five benches for the community.

The tree stood along the Martin Avenue bike path until it was cut down last year, the Pleasanton Weekly reported Monday. Donna McMillon, a longtime resident who wrote *Cruising Down Memory Lane: Stories of Pleasanton in the 1950s*, noticed it was gone while riding the path toward Mohr Avenue.

She is a great-granddaughter of Henry P. Mohr, who planted that tree and several others in the late 1890s, and she went looking for a way to save the wood.

A pioneer's legacy

Mohr farmed in the valley and held a patent on a threshing machine, according to the Weekly. He helped found the First National Bank of Pleasanton and led it for 20 years, and in the 1920s he was a charter member and president of the board of trustees for the Amador Valley high school district. Mohr Avenue carries his name.

From logs to benches

McMillon learned that Scouts often build benches for their Eagle projects. Her neighbor, a scout leader, put her in touch with a Foothill High School senior in Scouts BSA Troop 941.

During his junior year, the scout designed the benches, got the needed permits from the city and built them, the Weekly reported. Fellow troop members, Scouting leaders and other adults helped him cut the logs and loaned him woodworking tools. He finished before turning 18, the deadline for an Eagle project, and a commemorative plaque tells Mohr's story.

"The thing that tied it all up was the fact that this was going to be here for many, many, many years to come," he told the paper.

McMillon said the project means a lot to her. "We have so many new people now in our community, and so now they can learn our history too," she said.

The article did not say where the benches will be placed.

Sources

pleasantonweekly.com