SEMO's Gum Tree continues to live on

The tradition of sticking gum to a tree at the top of "Cardiac Hill" on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University dates back to the 1960s and continues to this day.

However, the Gum Tree appears to be cursed. In fact, there have been four "gum trees" planted in the little patch of dirt at the intersection of Pacific and Alta Vista streets, all of which were killed by humans, weather or simply a failure to thrive.

Recently, a new "tree" was placed at the top of that hill. It is a steel sculpture made by a student, and university officials hope it will stand, allowing the tradition to continue for a long time to come.

According to a post on the university's website, Sven Svenson, horticulturist and professor of Agriculture at Southeast Missouri State University, researched the history of the Gum Tree in 2020. He discovered the tradition was born when Mark Scully, president of the university from 1956 to 1975, banned students from chewing gum inside campus buildings.

Svenson found that as students, who lived in the Towers Complex residence hall in 1966, made their trek up "Cardiac Hill" -- named for its steep incline -- they realized they needed to ditch their gum. As the story goes, Svenson said, they stuck it on the trunk of the tree at the top of the hill and went on their way.

More and more pieces of gum joined the first few. The Gum Tree tradition was born and continued for more than two decades. Unfortunately, in 1989, that first tree, a redbud, was cut down by vandals.

Their identity was never discovered but a new tree, another redbud, was planted a few months later in 1990, and students once again had a place to stick their gum.

In 2008, tragedy struck again when a severe storm brought Gum Tree No. 2 down, "leaving a jagged stump peppered with colorful bits of gum in its place," Svenson said.

Svenson said a Gum Tree committee was established to replace the prized piece of school history.

As a member of the committee, Svenson said a soil analysis and an autopsy of the second tree revealed the redbud suffered from heart rot, likely due to poor growing conditions.

Svenson said the tree's health wasn't affected by the layers of gum stuck to its bark. In fact, he said, the committee found the gum had no effect on the tree's health.

Sidewalks around the Gum Tree, lack of sunlight and salt run-off during winter months led to the tree's downfall, Svenson said and added all those factors made the area inhospitable to most tree species.

Following the committee's recommendation, a native species black gum tree was planted in the original location in August 2018. Resistant to salty soils and equipped with a deep root system, Svenson said this species would also be less likely to interfere with the surrounding pavement.

Unfortunately, the curse struck a third time. Svenson said Gum Tree No. 3 withered and died under drought-like conditions in summer of 2020.

Gum Tree No. 4, a tulip poplar, planted in fall of 2020, recently suffered the same fate.

This year the university found a heartier candidate for Gum Tree No. 5. Tonya Wells, assistant vice president for marketing and communications, said because of the challenges of the gum tree location, there were discussions of doing a sculpture rather than a real tree.

A student in SEMO's art program created a treelike sculpture in 2019. The student has graduated, and since he lives in China, the sculpture had to be left behind.

Wells said she was tipped off to the sculpture's existence by Rhonda Weller-Stilson, dean of the Holland College of Arts and Media. She said she and Lenell Hahn, director of admissions, "took a look and thought it was perfect."

The welded steel Gum Tree No. 5 stands about 9 feet tall and is ready for a new generation of students to adorn its metal trunk with a rainbow of lovingly chewed blobs of gum.