July 21, 2025 – Mariposa County Library officials announce an upcoming Memorial to the Trees event to be held at the Mariposa Library on Thursday, July 31, 2025.

Pictured below are Michael Carter and JeanAnnette Saulsbury, along with a buckeye survivor of the Oak Fire, currently on view at the Mariposa Library.

The second picture shows the same six-hundred-year-old valley oak before and after the fire.

Following the Oak Fire, Michael and JeanAnnette gathered tree stumps with burls that had been altered by fire. Each one is a stand-alone, awe-inspiring work of nature. To gather and preserve them was an astonishing feat, and a way for these two neighbors to process the significant loss from the fire.

On Thursday, July 31 the Mariposa Library will be hosting a Memorial to the Trees. This event is an opportunity to learn about Michael and JeanAnnette's incredible project, and to share your own stories of loss and remembrance related to the trees and landscape altered by the Oak Fire, which decimated our community in 2022.

All are welcome to attend.

If you'd like to join us, please register at the library's circulation desk or call 209-966-2140 to reserve your spot.

Memorial to the Trees begins at 5:45 p.m. on July 31st in the Board Hearing Room. The presentation and discussion will be followed by light refreshments and additional burl viewing in the adjacent courtyard.

You can currently view one of the remarkable survivors in the library, along with photographs of others.

Michael Carter and JeanAnnette Saulsbury, along with a buckeye survivor of the Oak Fire, currently on view at the Mariposa Library. 

The picture above shows the same six-hundred-year-old valley oak before and after the fire.

Source & photos: Mariposa County Library