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Earth Day: Man finds way for tree damaged by storm to live on: By Judy Jenkins (Contact)
Originally published 08:18 p.m., April 21, 2009
 
Mother Nature giveth. And Mother Nature taketh away. That hard lesson was learned last 
fall by a majestic, century-old American Elm that graced the office area at the Audubon 
State Park. The tree, which saw the entire 20th century and then some, had managed to 
bend through countless storms during its life and could count itself fortunate that it hadn't 
fallen prey to the lethal Dutch Elm Disease.But its luck ran out ona September Sunday 
in 2008 when howling winds broke the elm's limbs and its pride.For so long it had been a 
thing of beauty and then, in mere moments, it was a mangled and torn victim.It could have 
been carted away, briefly mourned and ultimately forgotten. If, that is, a talented local 
woodturner named Sean Troy hadn't decided that the tree deserved an afterlife- a second 
chance to be both useful and lovely. There is no time better than this annual Earth Day to 
relate the happy meeting of man and tree. In Sean's hands- aided by various lathes and 
plenty of elbow grease- sections of the Elm havebecome unique vases and deep bowls with 
natural patterns and surfaces as smooth as silk. Some of the creations have been given to 
the park as a special keepsake, and others will be sold in the Audubon Museum giftshop 
to benefit Friends of the Audubon. Likely some of them will join Sean's exhibit at the park's 
annual Creative Arts Festival in the museum garden area on Saturday, May 16th. In 
addition to his crafts for show and sale, the Kingston, N.Y., native will display his techniques 
for transforming log sections into works of art. Foe him and his wife Cindy, a Henderson 
Academy teacher, and daughters Erin, 11 and Megan, 8, every day in a sense is Earth Day.
They love nature, and since they moved here from Phoenix, Ariz. three years ago, they've
enthusiastically explored this habitat that is so different from the one they left behind.
Sean has always been an outdoorsman, and in his childhood was befriended by an elderly women he called 
"Aunt Carrie" who shared with him her vast knowledge of flora and fauna. She no doubt would marvel at the 
things he's making in the backyard workshop of his Highlander Acres home. Sean might never have followed 
this particular path if it weren't for serious back problems that developed over a decade ago. At that time, he 
was a contractor who refinished natural stones such as Granite and Marble in homes. That job envolved heavy 
lifting and his back paid the price. Surgery and a lengthy recovery followed, and the doctors advised him to
get an office position. That wasn't for Sean, who already was interested in working with wood. He began 
making chess boards that sold faster than he could produce them, and he even fashioned the intricate chess
pieces. Then he met the president of the Arizona Woodturners Association, and the rest is history.
Sean was president of that group for two years, and later became a board member of the American 
Association of Woodturners. He'll tell you this is a hobby, primarily, and his passion is in web design. (You 
can visit his website at http://www.seantroy.com ) But he came perilously close to losing two fingers to this
wood interest, and it's clear that woodturning is a calling for him. Sean doesn't purchase wood for the items 
he crafts. He prefers rescuing wood otherwise "destined for the landfill" and dramatically transforming it.
Currently, he's got all of a large Cherry Tree that succumed to the historic ice storm this year and he's 
intrigued by the possibilites...