The Tree House

The tree house is located at the base of The American Tree on its south side. The knothole on the north side is actually a window into the base of the tree, which allows light into the little living room, and warmth out from the hearth. Large enough for an adult to crawl into, the tree house protrudes slightly out from the south side base and is the perfect venue in which to entertain children.

Around the south side entrance of the tree house is the constant aroma of hearth-backed cookies, kept fresh in the walnut firkin. These of course are for the children as they gather around the tree house hoping to catch a glimpse of the tree whisper. And as always the tree whisper will appear and regale the children with a story from The American Tree.

No one knows how old Tommy Thom is or where he came from, but when the tree house was completed, he appeared as if from with in the tree it's self. And ever since he has been taking care of the stories of The American Tree, and sharing them with his guests, the children.

One of Tommy Thom’s favorite stories is of an 8-year-old boy named Allen. Allen grew up in a far away place where the skies were big and the land met the sea. In the 1940’s as a little boy he was captivated by the large, slow moving loud airplanes that would fly overhead. They would fly together as the geese did forming a V in the sky. Allen being somewhat creative tried to copy what he saw in the sky and made his first model of an airplane. He carved it out of pieces of driftwood and assembled it with glue and string. It was no larger than a small kite and as light as a seagull. He took his model airplane to the hill at the end of town and waited

for the airplanes to show up as they did every day at this time. And when the thrumming hum of their engines grew closer and Allen could see them overhead, he thrust his model airplane into the sky and watched it glide to and fro on the wind’s currents. As it slid through the air he imagined that he was flying it and that he was a part of that group of airplanes flying overhead. His imagination would take over and he would then be piloting his aircraft up those halls of air while chasing the sunlight and laughing. He would call out to his friends in the other airplanes “tag your it” and they would play chase in the sky. He of course was the fastest of them all, piloting his own hand made aircraft, which flew silently. And then while he watched his airplane leave the company of the others, it descended gracefully and landed on the grass. As the days came and went, other children began to gather at the top of the hill to watch the airplanes fly overhead. This was great fun for all. One day when Allen and his friends were taking turns at casting his model into the sky the wind swept in and carried it farther than it had ever gone before. Everyone watched as it flew further and further towards the sea, until it was out of sight. Excited and concerned Allen and his friends ran down the hill, past the old orchard trees towards the rocky beach and began looking for his model airplane. They did not find it and after some time of searching for it Allen and his friends decided to go back to the top of the hill and wait for the airplanes to fly overhead. But on this day for some reason the planes did not come nor did they fly overhead ever again. Disappointed at this, Allen and his friends went home.

When Allen grew up he left this far away land and came to America where he began a new life. Here he experienced success and was happy. One autumn day he returned to his old homeland and visited the hill where he had enjoyed so many days playing with his friends. And as he walked down the path from the hill towards the beach he noticed an object stuck in the crook of the last orchard tree's trunk and its largest bough. As he approached it he realized that it was his old model airplane. He climbed up to the bough and collected his old friend. Having been lost underneath the branches and leaves for all those years, Allen was amazed to find it in good condition. He brushed off the leaves and took it back to the top of the hill and cast it one last time into the air. It flew, and it flew. When Allen returned home to America he brought it back with him. And years later when he had heard about The American Tree Foundation, he eagerly donated it along with its story.

And that is the story of Allen and his wooden model airplane.

As The American Tree grows so will the stories told by Tommy Thom the tree whisper. Children and adults will become familiar with this feature of The American Tree as it evolves into a hybrid puppeteer and animated television series, which will focus on education and children’s entertainment.