In 1972, my grandparents, Otto and Alma Betke, my best friend Dan Danner and I were bumping across the Nebraska pasture when we discovered a giant Eastern Cottonwood, so big I took a photo of them, stretching their arms against the trunk to show the massive size.
Grandma reported it to the Nebraska Fish and Game – they measured it: 38 feet around the trunk! That same year, the Cottonwood became Nebraska’s official state tree.
Coincidence?
Maybe.
Gram also wrote to Nebraskaland magazine about our discovery, asking how many trees this big existed in Nebraska.
Today’s record holder? 37.2 feet.
About the fishing trip – yes we caught bass, crappie and bluegill, but the biggest catch of the day was the story of a tree so grand it might still hold the record!
Story by Kirk Walter