A photograph from the early 1940s on the wall of Loving Funeral Home at 350 N. Maple Ave. in Covington reveals a mature locust tree growing in the lot on the north side of Maple Ave.
Pat Loving, owner of Loving Funeral Home, cherishes the photograph that was taken when his father owned the funeral home that he inherited.
Pat and Lynda Loving, his wife, have three children, and Pat looked at the huge locust tree’s roots and observed, “Look at those roots that have grown over the initials of our three children.”
The roots have grown and broken the curb, covering the top where the initials presumably remain hidden.
Pat, who worked several years for the National Forest Service, has an abundance of knowledge concerning trees.
He pointed to the blue spruce that stands farther back in the lot from the locust and remarked, “We decorated the blue spruce with 2,200 lights for Thanksgiving, and I brought my granddaughter down here and let her pull the switch.”
The 2,200 led lights remain on the tree that served as a Christmas tree.
At any rate, Pat has a sentimental attachment to the huge locust tree that unfortunately has a hollow center and a destructive root system that has resulted in the City of Covington’s plan to remove the tree in 2023.
Allen Dressler, Covington’s new city manager, said, “We are working with Pat to remove the tree.”
He continued, “It is his tree, and we plan to cut some cross sections once the tree is down and present them to Pat.”
The cross sections could be made into tables or decorative pieces in remembrance of the tree that has withstood an estimated more than 100 years of storms, snows, rains, winds, freezing and thawing, weather elements that have shaped it, gnarled in places as it is.
Dressler noted, “Pat and I are in agreement that the tree needs to come down, and he has been great to work with on the project.”
Loving Funeral Home was established in Covington by Pat’s grandfather, R.M. Loving, Sr. in 1913, and Pat’s father, James Patton Loving, Sr., operated the business prior to Pat and Lynda.
Three generations of Lovings have viewed the locust tree that Pat admires. Pat concluded, “I hope that we get to see it blossom again this spring before it is removed.”
Locusts are deciduous trees known for their hard and durable wood that is conducive to building fences and structures. Split rail fences made of locust are known to resist rot for more than 75 years.
