On April 1, 2016, WWII veteran and Springfield Masonic Community resident, Wayne Hause was awarded with a plaque recognizing the commencement of his dream project, the Wayne Hause Tree Farm. The meeting was opened with a prayer by Brother Hause (Lancaster Lodge No. 57) and although it had been some years since he had led a business meeting, he was in fine form as the group’s guide through the meeting, his wife of 38 years, Barbara, keeping the minutes.
The meeting’s agenda was to discuss plans for the Tree Farm, which will include several types of trees and flowering plants sown in raised garden boxes. Over the next five years, the seedlings will be cared for and allowed to grow to a height of five feet before they are moved to their permanent homes around the changing Springfield campus landscape.
“You want to grow them about five foot tall before you plant them in the ground. That way...can’t run them over. That’s the rule we live by, five feet,” said Wayne. Wayne and Barbara are both tree enthusiasts and members of the Arbor Day Foundation, a nonprofit conservation and education organization that inspires people to plant, nurture and celebrate trees. Some of Wayne’s favorites include Eastern Redbuds and Pink or White Dogwoods, Catalpas as well as Sugar Pines. As an avid arborist, Wayne has his own work bench and has even crafted his own gardening tool to create straight and evenly spaced rows when planting.
The Tree Farm Committee includes Wayne and Barbara Hause; Joe Licata, Ohio Masonic Home (OMH) Chief Operating Officer; Scott Buchanan, OMH Chief Financial Officer; Rob Lane, Corporate Director of Procurement; Jason Zielinski, Corporate Director of Marketing and Communications; Mike Fridley, Construction Manager and Kevin Moore, Director of Engineering and Environmental Services.
There are currently 250 seeds and 250 seedlings to plant and they are making plans to plant even more this fall!
