Missing Bicentennial Tree Replaced; Restores Tribute From 50 Years Ago

September 23, 2026

by Andy Kirkaldy

BREWSTER – A while back, Brewster resident Mark O’Neil was at his dentist’s office, across Main Street from Brewster Town Hall. He was waiting to have his teeth cleaned when he saw something that took him back in time 50 years, something that wasn’t quite right.

O’Neil in 1976 was a fourth grader at Brewster Elementary School in the building that is now town hall.

Like students across the nation, in that year his class studied the nation’s bicentennial. In a week-long unit, he and other fourth graders marched in period clothing. Some learned to play fifes. They honored the patriots who helped create a new nation. And the fourth graders also helped plant 13 trees in front of their school, right along Main Street, one for each of the original 13 colonies.

But sitting in the waiting room O’Neil saw a problem with the trees.

“I was thinking those [trees] are looking big now,” O’Neil recalled. “And I started counting the trunks, and I was like, there’s only 12. It was supposed to be 13. That was the whole thing.”

O’Neil reached out to the folks at Brewster Town Hall. He was looking for permission to spearhead an effort to plant another tree for the 250th anniversary. But he got better news.

“And I thought we’d just get together and buy a tree and put it in, just to get the numbers right,” he said. “And then the town took it, and said we’ve got it. We’ll take care of it. So here we are. Pretty cool.”

Where was O’Neil when he told the story? On Thursday morning, Sept. 17, he stood a few feet from Main Street in front of town hall at a gathering to formally celebrate the planting of a new linden tree that restored the count of lindens and maples to 13.

Joining him were a few classmates, several town officials and other interested adults, and the current fourth graders from Stony Brook Elementary School, who walked over with their teachers to shovel ceremonial dirt onto the base of the tree and learn a little history.

The 1976 fourth graders said the event brought back meaningful memories of learning about the bicentennial.

Pam Dubois, one of the 1976 fourth graders, recalled hands-on history lessons and the planting of the trees.

“It was a whole week-long celebration,” Dubois said. “We dressed up. It was significant to the 13 colonies. It was very special. I can remember being this age and doing it. It was fun.”

Dubois’ school classmate Cheryl Avery provided a written statement that said she has shared the story of the trees with her children and grandchildren, one of whom was a fourth grader there with his friends.

“I stood on these grounds when we planted the 13 trees,” Avery said. “Just the significance of this and that (50 years ago), and passing it on so they can remember to pass it on to the generations for the community, with the history…It’s just amazing. I just love it.”

In her comments, historical commission member Faythe Ellis dropped historic nuggets related to Brewster and the Revolution. Ellis started with the facts that in 1776 Brewster was actually part of Harwich, and that in 1778 a British warship ran aground in Truro, and its captive crew was marched through the town on the way to Boston.

Also, she said 40 residents of what is now Brewster served in the Revolutionary War; one joined in the Boston Tea Party, and his two sons fought in George Washington’s army. Another joined the sharpshooters in the battle of Lexington; two residents helped write the Massachusetts constitution under the leadership of John Adams, and “that document they helped write is the basis for the United States Constitution.”

“So there’s a lot of history here today,” she said. “and I’m so excited you guys are here.”

Brewster Department of Public Works Director Alex Provos also spoke, with his most popular line among the pupils being, “Anyone here like to throw dirt?”

He described O’Neil’s discovery and told the fourth graders why they were there.

“He said there are only 12. Do you think we can plant the extra tree?” Provos said. “We (town officials) thought that was a delightful idea. And because Mark O’Neil, and Cheryl Avery, and Pam (Dubois) over there were all in the fourth grade [that year], we decided the fourth grade was special this year and invited you all down to help us plant the tree.”

When Provos said one of the trees had gone missing, curiosity was sparked.

One of the fourth graders asked the obvious question: “Why did the tree disappear?”

Provos had a suggestion.

“We don’t know,” he said. “That’s a mystery you can investigate.”

Provos told the students that neither he nor anyone else is aware what happened to the missing tree. No one The Chronicle spoke with knows what happened to the 13th tree either. A storm? Someone who really needed firewood?

Another question for Provos came from the young crowd: “Did someone rob it?”

“Someone may have robbed it,” he conceded.

In the end, that question didn’t seem to matter much to the 1976 fourth graders. Avery concluded her written statement with these words:

“May these trees continue to stand as a reminder of our history, our community, and the importance of passing along both to the next generation.”