Quote:
Originally produced with a leafless tree, the tree proved to fragile to properly ship to dealers.

That 'leafless tree' - a true and accurate representation of the one on property - was the last to be sculpted personally by arbor artiste extraordinaire, Bob Younger. Therein lies its true rarity. Originally designed to be cast in titanium¹ to withstand the rigors of packaging, its production was hampered when a labor strike in the Polish city of Bialystok threatened world-wide manufacturing supplies of a special release compound used to ease the escape of titanium castings from their mold. Faced with the prospect of delay and angered by auditors discovery of loses sustained in going long on Taiwanese titanium futures, this event led Younger & Assoc. secretly to switch to pewter - a base metal and one, had he known of it, that Bob would easily have identified as too fragile for the clutches of aggressive styrofoam. It being his own fault that he did not consult his in-house expert, Bill was doubly irked at having to pay the overtime of replacement cost while also explaining the last minute tree substitution to younger brother Bob.

Herein lies exposure of the 'Bob Younger Memorial Tree' - a so-called 'tribute piece' - as a huge joke played on departed Bob by Bill. The Bob Tree is a common conifer - one whose creation would have posed no challenge to a first-rate tree sculptor. The fitting memorial to Bob would of course been a deciduous titanium model, perhaps a Pagoda Dogwood (Cornus alternifolia) such as Bob truly loved. Even in death, sibling rivalry lived on with yet another arbor swap. That Bob's memory is preserved by way of a smaller replica of the very tree that replaced his Old Field Point masterpiece is a subtle jibe heretofore lost on all but the Bobnoscenti.


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¹ Earlier reports suggested Bob had chosen platinum for the leafless tree, which would have obviated the need for special handling during manfacture. While some believe this is misinformation deliberately spread by you know who, new research, confirmed by his son Birch, now tells us that 'noble titanium' had always been Bob's first choice in metals.


© Selkirk Van Historical Society