Memorial Day Memories of Oak

This Memorial Day weekend, Will went to his college reunion and was struck by a newly renovated building on campus memorializing World War I battles. When he first visited the campus three decades ago, the inscriptions were just French names beautifully engraved in stone. Since then we've all had a chance to think about the sacrifices of soldiers over the years, as well as civilians. We've all been to reunions where dear friends or relatives are no longer present.

Another thing on the campus was the extensive use of white oak, including oak paneling and a set of bookshelves hand-engraved with the names of donors to the library, all in a beautiful serif font. Seeing so much dark oak, enlivened with the classic medullary ray pattern, was a reminder of how the textures of our surrounding are implanted deep in our consciousness, from one generation to the next.