The invasion began in 1931. The enemy traveled from Asia to Europe around 1920 and made its way to Cleveland, Ohio in 1931. The University of Illinois was attacked in 1951, with Rockford joining the battle in 1954. Within one year, Rochelle found itself on the front lines. Before it was done, the invasion accounted for the deaths of 75% of the Elm trees in the contiguous United States. The invader was a fungus and the battle fields were the Elm trees of North America. 

In the early 1900s the Elm was the preferred street tree. The Elm could grow three to six feet a year and reach 80 feet tall. The canopy would reach 120 feet and the tree had a life span of 100 years. Rochelle had been planting Elm trees since 1877 when they began replacing the dirt streets with gravel. The Lincoln Highway project of 1913 created the first cross-country highway from the east coast to the west coast and ran straight through Rochelle. To celebrate, Rochelle bricked Lincoln Highway and added street trees from one end of town to the other. The Meridian Highway, constructed in 1926, was the first hard-surfaced road from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian border, once again going through Rochelle. The city planted Elm trees from the south edge of town to the north end. When the trees reached maturity Rochelle could be proud of its tree-lined roadways. The trees created living tunnels of shade for both roads and sidewalks. 

Dutch Elm Disease (DED) was caused by a fungus. The fungus had one primary victim, the Elm. The fungus was believed to have traveled from France to the United States on shiploads of lumber. Elm was frequently used for quality furniture. The fungus lacked mobility but did not lack transportation. The furniture makers would use their saws to make furniture, they would use the same saw to trim Elm trees. The fungus merely rode the saw from one site to the next. Once the fungus was in the tree it would spread an irritant which the tree would try to block. The tree would block the spread of the irritant by blocking water-conducting tissue through the tree. The irritant was blocked but the limb would wither and die. The second method of transfer for the fungus was a small beetle, the Elm Bark Beetle. The beetle would bore into the sick part of the tree and set up housekeeping, breeding, feeding, and sheltering for the winter months. In the spring the newborn beetles would leave the nest and fly to trees of their own. The beetles were covered with the fungus and now provided the means for the disease to spread. 

The enemy was known and so was the remedy. Dutch researchers had identified the fungus in 1921, thus the name “Dutch Elm Disease”. The infested area needed to be removed and burned. Simple sounding but community after community failed to recognize the impact of the problem.

Rockford first identified Dutch Elm Disease in 1954. The “Forest City” went so far as to hire a city forester in 1955. The forester, John C. VanCamp, recommended a massive tree trimming, removal and burning program. In 1955 Dutch Elm Disease was found. In 1956, 128 dying trees were discovered and 528 by 1957. The City of Rockford quickly realized that things were getting out of hand, so they did what cities do; they quit counting. John resigned his position as forester in 1957. “Rockford tried looking the other way,” Rockford Register-Republic declared in 1963. “When the city looked back, its trees were gone.”

Rochelle was fortunate, they could watch Rockford and learn from their mistakes, or not. With the first sign of the devastating disease Rochelle began a tree trimming program. The Rochelle High School students did their part and art students prepared posters which were displayed in the windows at Alonzo Maginnis’ clothing store. The posters were very complete and served to explain the nature of the problem, how to spot it, and how to notify the city if you saw a tree in distress. 

By 1959, Rochelle had to make a choice, and they made that choice clear. “A lot of people are concerned about the Dutch Elm Disease, but the street department has some pressing business on the street first before it does any tree trimming,” said the commissioner of streets and highways. Later that year the commissioner once again refused to take definitive action. “Too many communities have spent huge sums of money with misguided ‘experts.’” He felt a committee of local citizens could help guide him and the city council in setting up a sound program and help seek out good professional advice and service. Trees were trimmed, cut down and burned, never as fast as they were being infested. The fires became so large and constant that local residents complained about the smoke. The fire department was called to extinguish the fires at night and the street department would try to relight the fire in the morning. 

It was estimated that there were about 77 million Elm trees in North America in the 1930s. After the Dutch Elm infestation, the number had dropped to less than 20 million. Rockford lost more than 47,000 Elm trees. The city was so devastated that they debated giving up the title of “The Forest City”.  Rochelle was still in the battle into the early 1970s, but the lack of response only prolonged the inevitable outcome; the Elm trees are gone. Hundreds of trees were removed and smaller, faster-growing trees were planted to fill in the spaces. For Rochelle, like so many others, the majestic Elm tree is a rarity. The towering trees with their massive canopies no longer block the sun. Rochelle will never again enjoy the majestic green archways over our streets. The battle was fought and the beetle (or fungus) won. Let us hope that a lesson was learned; nature is easy to destroy but almost impossible to replace once it has been lost. 

Tom McDermott is a Flagg Township Museum historian and Rochelle city councilman.