What is happening with the heritage oak trees that once stood majestically at the former Clayview Country Club site at the intersection of Kansas Street and Blue Jay Drive reminds us of Shel Silverstein’s classic children’s book “The Giving Tree.”

Published in 1964, the book is the tale of a boy and an apple tree. The tree loves the boy swinging on its branches, sitting in its shade and eating its apples. In an ultimate act of sacrifice for the tree, the boy, now a man, cuts the tree down to make a boat so he can sail away. Years later, the tree, now just a stump, and the boy, now an old man, reunite.

The tree laments that it has nothing left to give the boy, but the boy, now older and wiser, replies that all he needs is a quiet place to sit in the shade to rest. And both are happy.

Like the apple tree, the Clayview oaks once provided acorns for squirrels to gather for the winter, shade for family picnics, a model for artists to sketch, branches for children to climb and fallen leaves to nurture the soil.

Although they are no longer living and growing, with their roots buried deep in Clay County’s history, the stately oak trees that once graced the grounds will now live on in different forms for perhaps another 100 years or more.

Because some sections of the trees were dropped off at Ruth Moore Park in anticipation of a possible rebirth, something worthwhile is happening with the discarded oak chunks.

Local historian Jay Jackson, along with his son Miles, are cutting the tree trunks into logs to build a small log cabin in Missouri City. This has not been an easy task. The wood is dense and heavy, and not easily harvested. But Jackson is a determined man.

He is excited that his cabin will be a part of the trees’ enduring legacy. There are also other plans for the wood. Juarenne Hester, whose late husband, Frank, was the longtime club manager, plans to have a large salad bowl carved out of one of the tree’s nodes. It is hoped that pens, key fobs, wine stoppers, Christmas tree ornaments, plaques and other items will be made from the scraps for fundraisers.

There are still a lot people who are unhappy about the fate of these oaks, but at least some small good has been salvaged from the downed trees.