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Family replacing Hollidaysburg trees

Henrys donate sycamores in memory of grandson

HOLLIDAYSBURG — Acid rain and old age have taken their toll on the 80-year-old oak trees that tower over the Hollidaysburg Area Junior High School.

“The beautiful oak trees are beginning to die,” Super­intendent Bob Gildea said during a school board meeting in the senior high school library this week.

However, the district does not plan to remove them immediately. They are not yet unsafe, Gildea said.

But already, the district has planted new trees between the oaks. Seventeen trees in all were donated by George and Gwen Henry. Ten have been planted. The other seven will be planted in the spring.

“We want to thank them,” Gildea said.

George and Gwen Henry, grandparents of a Hollidays­burg Area graduate who died tragically at age 22, donated new trees to be planted in memory of their grandson.

Jason Henry died after crashing on Chimney Rocks Road early on Aug. 22, 2013.

In the years since Jason’s death, the Henrys have offered scholarships in his memory but decided to donate sycamore trees from their lawn care and tree service after they learned the trees at the junior high are dying.

The cost of the trees was minimal, Gwen said.

“We would pay a million times more just to have him,” she said.

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