Sugar maple replaces memorial elm outside Academy Building

SALISBURY — A new tree stands outside the Salisbury Association’s Academy Building on Main Street, continuing a memorial to Susan Getzendanner, the town’s only victim of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The Princeton American elm planted in her honor fell during the July 4 storm. Its accompanying plaque remained, but the loss of the tree left a gap in front of the building.

Getzendanner was a vice president at Fiduciary Trust. She was working on the 97th floor of 2 World Trade Center when the South Tower was struck on Sept. 11. Getzendanner divided her time between New York City and a cottage near Mount Riga, where she enjoyed hiking and gardening.

On Wednesday, Sept. 23, a crew from Whitetail Landscaping and Excavation of Salisbury came to the Academy Building to remove the elm’s stump and plant a 20-foot sugar maple donated by Old Farm Nursery in Lime Rock.

Whitetail Landscapingand Excavation donated its services.

Removing the stump left a sizable hole. The crew enlarged it to make room for the maple, then worked with shovels and a small excavator to set the tree in place.

Salisbury Association director Chris Abeel said he consulted members of Getzendanner’s family before replacing the elm. The original plaque honoring her will remain, he said, and the association will add a second plaque explaining why the memorial tree was replaced.

The new tree restores the living part of the memorial. After the crew had settled the maple into place, the association’s Lou Bucceri stepped back to take a look.

“It looks like it’s been there for years,” he said.