Two trees that stand side by side on the campus of Oklahoma Christian University carry in their branches stories of hope after unimaginable twin tragedies.
An offspring of the American Elm that survived the Oklahoma City bombing stands next to a tree that grew from a cutting of a pear tree that survived the World Trade Center attack of 9/11 on the campus.
Oklahoma Christian, which is associated with Churches of Christ, is the only site outside of New York City to have survivor trees from both tragedies.
Just west of the university’s library stands a tall American Elm — an offspring of a tree that remained standing after the Oklahoma City bombing. The April 19, 1995, attack, an act of domestic terrorism that claimed 168 lives, destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, about 12 miles south of Oklahoma Christian’s campus.
After 9/11, volunteers from Oklahoma Christian assisted in relief, recovery and support. They asked if it would be possible for the university to get one of the cuttings from New York’s survivor tree.
City workers moved the tree, a Callery Pear, to an arboretum overseen by the parks department. Caring for the tree — which nearly toppled during a storm — and moving it to what would become the National 9/11 Memorial & Museum.