I was relieved to hear others talking abut the tree removal along RR 967. I thought my sister and I were alone in our heart-broken response to the loss of those trees.
When I think of those trees, I think about the endless drives with my parents, Jack and Gay Dahlstrom, coming home to Buda when I was a child. My parents both grew up on ranches near RR 967 and married young. My father always told us he fell in love with my mother before she ever noticed him – around when he was eight. And Buda remained a constant pull for them regardless of where they traveled.
Home was the ranch and they headed for it whenever a free moment opened up. As a child, sitting in the back seat of the car, my family and I drove through Buda, passing the same brick buildings on Main Street 50 years ago as we do today. But, none of it mattered until we glided beneath the long hanging moss that hung from the cluster of huge old oak trees that grew along RR 967. I loved how their branches stretched out over the road. Then and only then did I know that I was home and would soon be seeing both sets of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins and the ranch.
