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FALL 2019 | 25
GYM DANDY, continued from page 21
A DAY IN THE LIFE
This warden's inmates
have bark but no bite
BY THOR JOURGENSEN
Gene Gardiner nudges rotted
bark off a beech tree and the look
on his face tells you he thinks the
tree behind Town Hall has clearly
seen better days in its almost 200-
year lifespan.
"I'm sure it's infected," he
announces. Tree warden for 20
years and the senior employee
in Swampscott's Department
of Public Works by virtue of
his almost 35 years on the job,
Gardiner has sap, not blood,
running through his veins.
His father, James, worked as
a tree surgeon with Dodge Tree
Service in Wenham before going to
work for the town of Swampscott.
He taught Gardiner everything
about trees from stump to trunk to
branch to leaf.
"I followed in his footsteps,"
Gardiner said.
He helped his father out on jobs
involving cutting down or pruning
trees, but quickly learned after being
hired by the town that tending trees is a
dangerous job that does not abide mistakes.
This tree behind Town Hall is on a long
list of trees on public property that Gardiner
periodically checks on and trims and prunes.
The town commissioned a tree study
in 2016 focusing on 2,926 roadside trees
and ranking trees' health, designating some
for pruning and labeling others as priority
removals.
The survey identified 72 different
tree species in Swampscott with maples,
especially Norway maples, cherry trees and,
surprisingly, pear trees leading the pack.
There's also a purple beech tree, a
Mimosa tree and a couple of Japanese black
pines.
PHOTO | OWEN O'ROURKE
Town Tree Warden Gene Gardiner oversees 2,926 roadside trees, some
in need of pruning or cutting.
The survey found that fewer than 10
percent of the trees are in poor enough
health to warrant chopping them down. But
20 percent of the trees are ranked in poor
condition and need monitoring and pruning.
The study's lengthy conclusion includes
tree maintenance and planting ideas for
Gardiner and Public Works to pursue.
Iron-clad rules of the trade underscore
safety first: Never walk under a tree when
someone is cutting in it; tie off limbs
properly before cutting them, and gauge the
direction in which a tree is going to twist
before it falls.
"When I first started the job, a piece
from a stub I was cutting took out a
window," Gardiner said.
Gardiner's main job as warden is to
handle work orders filed by town
residents with the Public Works
office on Paradise Road and clear
away trees and limbs downed during
storms.
His first job in responding to
a work order is to make sure the
tree is on public property. Making
that determination can occasionally
be tricky and his arrival on a town
street can easily set off a chainreaction
of tree tending requests.
"We'll go down the street and
do a work order and someone will
come out say, 'Can you do this too?'"
he said.
Town tree care received high
marks from resident Annette Levitt,
who appreciates efforts to keep trees
like the stately red oaks towering
over Thomas Road in good shape.
"I love them. They're so graceful
and magnificent," she said.
Gardiner likes doing the work
he learned from his father and
spending his work days in what he
calls "my outdoor office" even when
storms mean facing the elements in all of
their fury.
Gardiner draws the line at climbing into
a Public Works bucket truck with its 55-
foot height reach during extreme weather.
"If it's real cold I don't go out unless it's
an emergency," he said.
Responsibility for town trees has made
Gardiner an expert in trees like the aging
beech next to Town Hall and a variety of
other town trees, including maples and
cherry trees, as well as ginkgos and London
plane trees.
If he has any say in the matter, the beech
still has a few more good years.
"We've been pruning it over the years, so
we'll see," he said.
Jameson DeMagistris fills up his tank as he plays in the BKids play area.
her business she completed a two-year
program.
It was kismet, when two women
from A Performing Arts Academy
dance studio in Salem offered her space
to rent. She jumped at the chance and
soon had more than 100 gymnastics and
cheerleading students. Then, 10 years ago
at age 22, she opened Burke's Tumbling
Academy (BTA), which today has a
clientele of more than 1000 ranging in
age from 2 months to adult. This year's
summer camp saw 1500 kids have the
time of their young lives weekdays from
8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Four years ago, the DeMagistris'
first child, Jameson, was born. They saw
PHOTOS | SPENSER HASAK
firsthand the struggles moms and dads
have to squeeze in a workout. "For us,
starting a family gave us the perspective
of how busy life is," said Rob. So,
they paired childrens activities with
parents workouts under one roof but in
different rooms. It was, and is, hugely
successful.
"It's amazing how it's grown," said
Jen. "I started out as a single woman.
It's amazing how I and my family have
grown. I would not have been able to
do it without Rob and my parents and
my instructors. When we started I told
everyone, 'Don't call me your boss. We're
all in this together.' And that's how it is
and will always be."
Callie Doucette, 4, of Nahant, left, and her sister Madison, 5, have fun in the grocery store of the new
BKids play area at Burke's Tumbling Academy.
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123 Pleasant Street, Suite 105
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781-797-0935
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