Poisoning of the Treaty Oak

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Although over a quarter of a century has gone by, the bitter memory of the Treaty Oak’s poisoning still lingers in the minds of many Texans. Few recall, however, the dark motives of the man convicted of the crime.

The Treaty Oak is the lone surviving member of the Council Oaks, a grove where folklore holds that Stephen F. Austin met with Comanche and Tonkawa tribes to negotiate the first boundary treaty of Texas. The 600-year-old live oak is a belove Austin landmark. Before the poisoning, its branches spread some 130-feet wide.

Facebook/Cecilia Minden

John Giedraitis, at that time the arborist for the City of Austin, discovered dead grass under the tree in spring, 1989. After heavy rains caused the poison to penetrate the oak, leaves yellowed and sailed to the ground. Something was terribly wrong. Soon the malevolent cause of the tree’s illness was discovered, a revelation that shocked the Lone Star State.

Texas Heritage Tree Care working on tree

When news of the poisoning spread throughout Austin, residents were outraged. The tree was a treasured part of the region’s history: Before European-Americans settled the land around it, the tree was revered in Tejas, Apache, and Comanche culture. A plaque beneath the site tells the (unsubstantiated) story of Texas settler Stephen F. Austin negotiating a border treaty with Native Americans on that very spot in the 1830s.

2012 timeframe

In an attempt to save the dying tree’s life, the city launched a full-blown recovery campaign. The contaminated soil was replaced with fresh dirt and the damaged roots were treated with sugar. A sprinkler system was installed in Treaty Oak Park to provide the tree a steady supply of revitalizing spring water. Other efforts were less practical: a Dallas-based psychic named Sharon Capehart tried healing the tree by transferring energy into it. (In the process, she allegedly discovered that its spirit had once belonged to an ancient Egyptian woman named Alexandria.) Without any supposed psychic gifts or tree expertise to offer, some Austin citizens responded with good vibes.

Similar to this process undertaken in Auburn

Texans from far and wide arrived to pay their respects to the dying tree. Around its thick trunk, they left notes and gifts, as well as prayers for the tree’s recovery. The experts were unanimous: none of them believed there was any hope for the Treaty Oak. Billionaire Ross Perot sent Austin a blank check. The city would spend $250,000 in an attempt to save the tree, using radical, desperate methods.

As the public processed the shock and grief, the Austin police worked to nab the perpetrator. On June 29, 1989—a few months after the crime had been committed—they arrested their primary suspect: a 45-year-old local named Paul Stedman Cullen. He was convicted on a second-degree criminal mischief charge nearly a year later. His motive?

Cullen poisoned the tree as part of a mystic ritual. “Prosecutors said he used the herbicide in an occult ritual to kill his love for his counselor at a methadone clinic, protect her from another man, and pay back the state for outdoor work he was forced to do while he was in prison,” The New York Times reported in 1990.

Before pouring the Velpar on the oak’s roots, Cullen had placed objects that belonged to his counselor in a circle around the trunk. He told an acquaintance that every time he passed the tree and saw it dying he would “see his love for the counselor dying.” The jury had the option to sentence him to life in prison, but in the end they settled on a sentence of nine years (which he served a third of) and a $1000 fine.

Facebook/Barbara Garner

Witness Cindy Blanco testified that Cullen owned books on witchcraft and that he’d told her he had placed items belonging to the counselor around the oak’s roots before pouring the herbicide. When Cullen drove past the dying tree, Blanco claimed, it was as though he were watching his own unrequited love slowly perishing.

Cullen maintained his innocence and claimed the media was setting him up. His attorney made the case that Cullen had lied to Blanco in an attempt to appear impressive. The defendant faced the stark possibility of a life sentence.

From Austin History Center

The jury faced a difficult decision. They understood that a man’s life is worth more than any tree, even if the man in question is a criminal. Yet at the same time, the jury acknowledged a serious and disturbing crime had been committed and justice must be served. In May 1990, the jury gave Cullen a nine-year sentence and a fine of $1,000. He would serve only three years.

Perhaps prayers are stronger than black magic. In the end, the Treaty Oak survived. Though now a third of its original size, the oak is going strong and managed to produce acorns in 1997 for the first time since the poisoning. The Treaty Oak outlived Cullen, who passed away in 2001 at the age of only 57.

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Published by NebraskaFilly

Army veteran (1976-1979), retired with entirely too much time on my hands

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157 thoughts on “Poisoning of the Treaty Oak”

  1. ” How often should I plan to have sex,” the young groom asked his grandfather on his wedding night. Grandpa said, “When you’re first married, you want it all the time maybe several times a day. Later on, sex tapers and you have it maybe once a week or so. Then, as you get older, you have sex maybe once a month. When you get old, you are lucky to have it once a year. Maybe on your anniversary.”

    “Well, how about you and grandma now?” the younger man asked. Grandpa replied, “Oh, we just have oral sex now.” “What’s oral sex?”

    “Well,” said Grandpa, “She goes to bed in her bedroom, and I go to bed in my bedroom. She yells, “F**K YOU,” and I holler back, “F**K YOU, TOO.
    ——————-
    A couple, both age 76, went to a sex therapist’s office. The doctor asked, “What can I do for you?”

    The man said, “Will you watch us have sexual intercourse?” The doctor looked puzzled but agreed.

    When the couple finished, the doctor said, “There’s nothing wrong with the way you have intercourse,” and charged them $50. This happened several weeks in a row. The couple would make an appointment, have intercourse with no problems, pay the doctor, then leave.

    Finally, the doctor asked, “Just exactly what are you trying to find out?”

    The old man said, “We’re not trying to find out anything. She’s married and we can’t go to her house, I’m married and we can’t go to my house. The Holiday Inn charges $90; the Hilton charges $108. We do it here for $50 and I get $43 back from Medicare.”
    ———————
    Bill, a 70-year-old extremely wealthy widower, shows up at the Country Club with a breathtakingly beautiful and very sexy 25-year-old blonde who knocks everyone’s socks off with her youthful appeal and outright charm while hanging over Bills arm and listening intently to his every word.

    His buddies at the club are all aghast. They corner him and ask, “Bill how did you get the trophy girlfriend?”

    Bill replies, “Girlfriend? She’s my wife!” They’re knocked over, but continue to ask. “So, how did you persuade her to marry you?” Bill says, “I lied about my age.” His friends respond, “What do you mean? Did you tell her you were only 50?”

    Bill smiles and says, “No, I told her I was 90.”
    ———————
    Four ‘Senior’ women were in a beauty parlor getting their hair done when in walks a young chick with a low cut blouse that revealed a rosebud tattoo above one boob. One lady leaned over to another and said, “She doesn’t know it yet, but in 50 years she’ll be wearing a long-stemmed rose in a hanging basket.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. I am adding a short daily prayer to the board. I would invite each of you, if you wish, to also add one or maybe two of your own liking. I do not want to stifle anyone but please limit yourself to one or two religious postings. here’s one I found that I liked.

    Liked by 2 people

  4. EXCERPT: “A formal complaint (obtained exclusively by Emerald Robinson) has just been filed with the Georgia State Election Board regarding “errors” in the vote counting in Fulton County that impacted the stolen 2020 election. This 84-page complaint (which is too long a document and too large a PDF file to include here) explains in detail how Fulton County failed to provide an accurate vote tally for the 2020 election, and it has been filed by investigative journalist Kevin Moncla along with Joseph Rossi.

    This SEB complaint shows that Fulton County’s vote tally for the 2020 election as recorded in November, and Fulton County’s vote tally for the recount that was conducted and certified in December, do not match. Let me repeat: the November results and the December recount results do not match.

    The entire point of an election recount, of course, is to confirm the previous vote totals on election day — and this did not happen. Fulton County was unable to do it. The original vote totals for Fulton County from November were: 528,777. The December recount in Fulton County found the vote totals were: 511,543. In other words, more than 17,000 votes could not be found.”

    https://emeralddb3.substack.com/p/exclusive-fulton-county-still-cant

    Liked by 2 people

  6. just got off the phone with my son…his new pup–Abby–is eating everything…LOL…
    he says she understands the command “leave it” meaning she shouldn’t touch it. BUT she gives him so much attitude when she does it…she barks, backs up…sneaks back up to whatver it is, barks again…and if he says leave it…she turns around and sits down with her back to him…
    I was cracking up–I said–KIDS! Did you think YOU were EASY???
    that made HIM crack up…

    Liked by 2 people

  8. freudian slip…pa gov vetos bill saying it encourages CHEATER INTIMIDATION (not voter intimidation)

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Liked by 3 people

    1. I can eat chili all year long! Which reminds me….I’ve used up my stash! Time to make more for my freezer! I had leftover broasted chicken from carry-out I grabbed a couple of days ago, with pasta and potato salad. That meal lasted 3 days!!!

      Liked by 2 people

  16. arrested with 100 pounds of meth and released without bail…frickin NY
    FTA
    According to the criminal complaint, Estrada was arrested near the South Street Seaport in Manhattan shortly before 10 a.m. on July 5 lugging a suitcase with 40 pounds of the drug inside.

    On July 8, authorities said, Santos was arrested in Inwood in Manhattan with 100 pounds of crystal meth and a small amount of cocaine.

    Yet both men were arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court within a day of each other last week — and freed on supervised release.

    https://nypost.com/2022/07/11/feds-release-cartel-smugglers-with-1-2m-meth-due-to-bail-laws/

    Like

  17. EXCERPT: “Steve Bannon in June asked for a delay in the contempt of Congress trial set to begin next week, but a judge denied that request, along with any real chance of Bannon offering a defense. The trial, which has been referred to as “banana republic behavior,” is set to start on July 18.

    “What’s the point of going to trial here if there are no defenses?” asked David Schoen, Bannon’s attorney, after the hearing. The delay was requested by Bannon’s attorneys, stating that “It would be impossible to guarantee Mr. Bannon a fair trial in the middle of much-publicized Select Committee hearings which purport to broadcast investigative ‘findings’ on topics that are referenced in the indictment.”

    What Nichols will allow Bannon to present in his defense is far less than he disallowed, saying that Bannon, essentially, could provide evidence that he didn’t know the deadlines to respond to the Congressional subpoena. Judge Carl Nichols, who was appointed by Trump, rejected Bannon’s request to subpoena records and testimony from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and members of the January 6 Committee, chaired by Bennie Thompson.

    Nichols said that Bannon also would be prevented from introducing evidence that other of Trump’s aides were not charged with contempt. Additional defenses were also limited by the judge, who said that Bannon could not challenge the make-up of the committee itself, nor state that the DOJ was countermanding its own policies by launching the charges against him.

    Nichols also said that Bannon could not argue, in his defense, that he was following the advice of his attorneys, either in refusing to comply with the House subpoena, issued in September 2021. He surrendered to the FBI a few months later, facing contempt of Congress charges.”

    https://thepostmillennial.com/dc-judge-rules-bannon-must-stand-trial-next-week-for-refusing-to-speak-to-j6-committee-strips-exec-privilege-defense

    Liked by 1 person

  18. The Bee:

    “WASHINGTON, D.C. — America was saved in the face of overwhelming odds when former President Trump returned as Trump the White at first light Monday to drain the swamp, finally making good on a campaign promise from days of old. He was joined by Dutch farmers, Canadian truckers, and those who would carry the banner of freedom unto death.

    According to witnesses, there suddenly upon Capitol Hill appeared a rider, clad in white, shining in the rising sun. Behind him, hastening down the long slopes of the National Mall, were a thousand farmers and truckers; steering wheels and gear shifts manipulated with the ingenuity of patriots.

    “Behold the White Rider!” cried Ted Cruz.

    Rep Thomas Massie was encouraged but skeptical. “This is wizardry indeed! Come, I would look upon this ere the spell changes.”

    “Take heart, friend!” said Sen Rand Paul. “Dawn is ever the hope of men!”

    House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer shut their eyes against blinding light and covered their ears before the might of Trump’s highly articulate cries as they were driven back to the shadow. Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was not at the Capitol but seemingly dropped dead in horror when she later watched the event unfold on the news.

    Once the Capitol Building was secured, members of Congress stepped out into the light of Trump and were cleansed of the stain of corruption. The hope of men was restored and the great evil that once reigned was held back yet another day.

    At publishing time, Trump announced a new round of stimulus checks and COVID shots for everyone.”

    Liked by 1 person

    1. “LOS ANGELES, CA — Governor Ron Desantis has responded to Governor Gavin Newsom’s political ads in Florida by running political ads of his own in California. While Newsom’s ads were urging libs to move to California, Desantis is begging the libs in California to stay put.

      “Listen, folks, it’s simple really — in Florida, we believe in clean sidewalks, and shrinking the homeless problem — NOT growing it!” said Governor Ron DeSantis in his California statewide ad. “So to all the woke libs out there let me be clear: do not come to Florida. Stay in California and indoctrinate your own kids — that is if you actually have kids you haven’t aborted.” Viewers are then treated to a shot of DeSantis wrestling an alligator.

      “Here in Florida, we do not want more crime, or taxes, or a racist school curriculum. We want citizens that are BASED and red-pilled,” continued DeSantis’s ad. “Still thinking Florida is right for you, Cali libs? Well, just remember that we have American flags all over our state, we LOVE guns — and most importantly — President Trump lives here permanently.” The commercial ends with a shot of DeSantis and Trump throwing commies out of helicopters.

      Upon watching these ads, millions of Californians fainted on the spot. According to sources, they were so triggered by the alarming levels of patriotism that their California brains couldn’t handle it.

      At publishing time, many of the libs who saw the ads are now trying to sue Ron DeSantis for emotional damage and trauma. Ron DeSantis has responded with plans to run the same ads on CNN and MSNBC.”

      Liked by 2 people

    2. WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senator Elizabeth Warren has decided to take matters into her own hands in the war against crisis pregnancy centers, personally smacking free resources away from pregnant women when they leave.

      “Not today, paleface!” shouted Ms. Warren as she tackled a pregnant mom, wrestling away her prenatal vitamins. “And what are these, free ultrasound pictures? How dare they!” she continued, ripping apart the pictures in front of the woman. “Always remember how I just saved you from pregnancy center abuse!”

      Senator Warren has declared an all-out crusade against crisis pregnancy centers, accusing them of not offering to kill babies. “These vile, so-called Christians offer free prenatal care, counseling, and support for years after birth – without even ONCE offering to murder the baby!” said Ms. Warren as she hid in the bushes. “Women should never be allowed to choose where they go for prenatal care, or they might want to be in a place that values the life of their baby! We must crush the support system for vulnerable women until there is nothing left for them but government-run abortion mills. To arms!”

      With her legislation currently stalled to stop pregnancy centers from providing free car seats, Ms. Warren has begun stripping the seatbelts out of cars parked in the pregnancy center parking lot. She has also set up an “abortion teepee” on the front lawn and has committed to chasing down every pregnant woman with a tomahawk and offering a free abortion.

      At publishing time, Ms. Warren was seen dumping free baby formula from the clinic into the Potomac while screaming “women’s rights!”

      Liked by 1 person

  20. God continues to use our feet of clay…I was checking for emails from my husband that I hadn’t read yet (my inbox is perpetually overflowing) & found this gem that seems really timely for the world we’re living in & especially so since I’ve recently become a grandmother! Be Blessed in Jesus’ Name!

    Subject: Your children with God’s eyes

    Don’t feel sorry for or fear for your kids because the world they are going to grow up in is not what it used to be.

    God created them and called them for the exact moment in time that they’re in. Their life wasn’t a coincidence or an accident.

    Raise them up to know the power they walk in as children of God.

    Train them up in the authority of His Word.

    Teach them to walk in faith knowing that God is in control.

    Empower them to know they can change the world.

    Don’t teach them to be fearful and disheartened by the state of the world but hopeful that they can do something about it.

    Every person in all of history has been placed in the time that they were in because of God’s sovereign plan.

    He knew Daniel could handle the lions den. 

    He knew David could handle Goliath.

    He knew Esther could handle Haman.

    He knew Peter could handle persecution.

    He knows that your child can handle whatever challenge they face in their life. He created them specifically for it!

    Don’t be scared for your children, but be honored that God chose YOU to parent the generation that is facing the biggest challenges of our lifetime.

    Rise up to the challenge.

    Raise Daniels, Davids, Esthers and Peters!

    God isn’t scratching His head wondering what He’s going to do with this mess of a world.

    He has an army He’s raising up to drive back the darkness and make Him known all over the earth.

    Don’t let your fear steal the greatness God placed in them. I know it’s hard to imagine them as anything besides our sweet little babies, and we just want to protect them from anything that could ever be hard on them, but they were born for such a time as this.

    ~Alex Cravens

    #CarryTheLight

    Liked by 1 person

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