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Jim Hill, a former special agent for the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, is working on a case. He is assisted by a deputy
close to his heart, wife Carolyn, a chemist whose investigative
skills almost match those of her husband.
A gun and badge aren't necessary in this case, although the problem
involves infiltration of a foreign agent. Together, and with the aid
of other interested parties, Jim and Carolyn Hill are attempting to
solve . . .The Case of the Missing American Chestnut Tree.
There is little mystery associated with this case; certainly Jim Hill
has solved others that contained more danger and more intrigue, and
they won't have to dust for fingerprints.
This one is traced all the way back to 1904, to New York City, when
Chinese Chestnut trees containing a blight, a fungus were imported at
The Port of New York. The fungus spread rapidly as the trees were
dispatched, traveling at the rate of 40 miles per day, killing
millions and then billions of American Chestnut trees.
"By 1950," says Jim Hill, "99 percent of our American chestnut trees
were dead."
A naïve visitor cracks, "Good thing it didn't happen earlier, or Nat
King Cole would have had one less hit song. You know . . . 'chestnuts
roasting on an open fire.'"
"Right," says, Hill, barely smiling.
It is clear an aura of seriousness is involved. Jim and Carolyn are
nature lovers of the first order, and to violate the environment in
any manner is a crime worthy of listing as one to solve in the
quickest manner, especially for the former FBI agent.
Nature prevails in an impressive way in the Hills' world. Their
attractive, modern home is located maybe 10 miles from downtown
Calhoun, out Red Bud Road, amidst rolling hills, sky-reaching trees
of oak and pine, and neighboring farms where beautiful horses roam
between surrounding wood fences.
The address is Calhoun, but the Hills call it Paradise. "We looked
for a long time," says Jim, "but when we saw this area, we knew we
had found the place, land that we wanted to spend our retirement
years on."
He smiles. "It has been all that we expected," he adds to a positive
nod from Carolyn.
There are more windows than wallpaper inside the home, and the
interior is illuminated in feel-good manner by nature's best light.
It is a refreshing experience, to visit in such ambience, and it is
clear this engaging couple has not only found happiness here, within
the confines of their home and with nature bursting all around them,
but also have discovered a mission to help restore the stricken
American Chestnut tree.
It keeps life interesting, even worthwhile. This unsolicited mission
came about by way of an ad and article in a magazine informing
readers that an organization, The American Chestnut Foundation, was
being formed in the state.
Intrigued, the Hills investigated and, ultimately, became members of
the Georgia chapter, one of only 11 in the country. Jim is serving as
acting vice president of the Georgia chapter, while Carolyn designs
and contributes and keeps interesting and informative its Web site, www.gatacf.org."
We like to hike
in the woods, and we are avid gardeners," says Hill. "So, we are able
to combine our two hobbies."
Carolyn adds, "The mission is to find American Chestnuts healthy
enough to produce pollen that we can cross-breed with the Chinese
ones. By 2006, we should have produced some healthy ones (she knocks
on wood.) Maybe someday, we will have a Georgia Chestnut."
They have found existing American Chestnut trees, albeit not many and
can probably count them on one hand. There is, says Carolyn, one near
Rome and another in Dahlonega.
"But," cautions Jim, "we have never seen one in full health."
So, the mission is clear. Find trees large enough and healthy enough
to produce pollen. Cross breed, then plant. Ah, but it isn't that
simple. "The location has to be suitable," says Carolyn. "There must
be the proper soil that is well-drained, yet have sufficient moisture
and an acidity element that is right."
There is also a time of year that blossoms or burs from the American
tree can be found on grounds, although their usable existence is for
only about four days. Seeds are collected from those samples, stored
in safe environment and then planted. It is a time-consuming process.
"A problem is, you can't hurry Mother Nature," says Jim Hill.
The American Chestnut tree has numerous uses beyond the fact that
they add in a positive way to the environment, enough to justify
development of The Foundation, or TACF if you are into acronyms.
"At one time, before the blight, they were dominant throughout the
Eastern Untied States," says Jim. "They produce excellent wood for
building fences, for railroad ties, barns, a lot of things. And the
chestnuts provide food for livestock . . . and for humans."
The American chestnut tree was an essential component of the entire
U.S. ecosystem. A late-flowering, reliable and productive tree,
unaffected by seasonal frosts, it was the single most important food
source for a wide variety of wildlife, from bears to birds.
Rural communities depended upon the annual nut harvest as a cash crop
to feed livestock.
The Foundation depends primarily upon its members to support research
to develop a blight-resistant American Chestnut tree.
The Georgia chapter of TACF has about 200 members (there are
approximately 5,000 in the U.S.) from various backgrounds. They
include race car drivers to farmers. Attorneys to doctors to
professors. "Anybody," says Jim, "that is interested in nature and
the outdoors and in wildlife."
And, as the Hills point out, membership help to bring back the
species from the brink of extinction by locating local samples for
crossbreeding as well as by supporting the research being done to
produce trees that are blight-resistant.
"It takes all kinds, not just someone who likes to climb trees, to be
a member and have a good organization," Jim says.
Jim Hill retired from the FBI in 1997, with his last nine years spent
in Atlanta with that bureau. Carolyn, among other endeavors, was
sales director for Mary Kay Cosmetics.
Jim provides the investigative expertise and the leadership to guide
this Georgia chapter through productive discovery and research
necessary to reproduce the American Chestnut. Carolyn can put the
proper face on such a project.
And those are just the facts, ma'am.
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