Wood from a walnut tree planted in the late 1890s by one of Pleasanton's first settlers has been turned into five community benches by a local Eagle Scout, the Pleasanton Weekly reported.
Why it matters: The project keeps a living piece of Pleasanton's farm-town history in public view.
How it started
Longtime resident and author Donna McMillon was biking down the Martin Avenue pathway toward Mohr Avenue last year when she saw the tree being cut down, the Weekly reported. It was one of several planted by her great-grandfather, Henry P. Mohr.
She learned Eagle Scout candidates often build benches and connected with Prithvi Sukamar, a Foothill High School senior in Scouts BSA Troop 941 who has been in Scouting since he was 6.
"It's almost emotional for me because now the community will know more about history and Henry Mohr," McMillon told the Weekly.
Building the benches
Sukamar designed the benches, got permits through the city and built them while juggling his junior year, with help from scout leaders and adults who cut the logs and lent tools. He finished before his 18th birthday, a deadline for earning the Eagle rank.
"The thing that tied it all up was the fact that this was going to be here for many, many, many years to come," he said.
Who was Henry Mohr?
Mohr was born in what is now Hayward in 1858 and settled in Pleasanton in 1894, according to Mohr Elementary School, which is named for him. His land eventually grew to 3,000 acres in north Pleasanton. He was known for grain, sugar beets and Clydesdale horses, patented a threshing machine, and helped found the First National Bank of Pleasanton, serving as its first president for 20 years. Pleasanton Avenue was renamed Mohr Avenue in 1959.