EDMOND, Okla. (KFOR) – In the wake of tragedy, beauty blooms. Even if it takes a while, it eventually does bloom.
That can be said of Ron and Germaine LePree Johnston’s Survivor Tree.
Germaine is a survivor of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building on the morning of April 19, 1995.
The bombing, committed by Timothy McVeigh, took the lives of 168 people, including 19 children, and injured several hundred more people.
“It was the worst act of homegrown terrorism in the nation’s history,” said the FBI.
An American elm tree located near the Murrah Building, survived the blast from the explosion.
In the 25 years since the bombing, the tree has flourished, and stands as a living testament to strength and perseverance. But its legacy also lives on with numerous women and men who survived that tragic day, as well as Oklahomans who mourn the lives lost on that tragic day.
Mark Bays with the Oklahoma Forestry Department harvested seeds from the Survivor Tree in 1995.
“I received a sapling on the first anniversary, when they were only given out to survivors and victim’s families. Since then, they have been given to anyone who wants one and there are thousands of them all over the state of Oklahoma,” Germaine said.
Germaine and her husband planted the sapling in a pot that she kept on her patio for about two years.
On Thanksgiving of 1998, Germaine and her husband held a ceremony with their family and neighbors, and planted the two-year-old sapling in their yard.
Today, as the 25th anniversary of the bombing approaches, the once-sapling stands majestically, in full, vibrant bloom, reminding us that even from the darkest of times, beauty and strength will emerge.
