A beloved piece of Cochrane history has returned to the place where it stood for centuries. A commemorative bench made with wood salvaged from the community’s Grandfather Tree was unveiled Tuesday at the tree’s original location in the historic Cochrane Ranche. The approximately 300-year-old white spruce fell during a windstorm on Jan. 16, 2025. The tree had become a gathering place for generations of residents and was also known by some in the community as the wishing tree. “It’s amazing. It’s beautiful,” said Cochrane resident Patricia Papadoulis after seeing the bench. “I wondered what they would do, and this is just awesome tribute.” The town preserved pieces of the tree after it fell and commissioned local woodcarver Brian Widahl of Widahl Woodcraft to create the bench. Widahl said much of the tree remains where it fell and the bench was constructed using larger branches and other salvaged pieces. “It was an extreme challenge to not only find out what material was the most stable and suitable for it, but just kind of what all worked together,” he said. The legs and backrest were assembled from several pieces that were laminated together to create a solid structure. Widahl estimates he spent more than 250 hours on the project, including designing the bench, selecting and milling the wood, carving and finishing it. He said some of the material he initially planned to use could not be incorporated once the milling process began. “The biggest one was just incorporating so many just miscellaneous pieces of material to make one uniform, structural, solid piece of bench that you know will last the test of time,” Widahl said. The bench was given multiple protective coats and coloured to help prevent ultraviolet damage. Widahl grew up in Cochrane and remembers spending time near the tree when he was younger. “I was pretty honoured to be contacted about creating this piece for sure,” he said. His wife, artist Sarah Dubois, designed the image of the Grandfather Tree carved into the backrest. She drew the design, Widahl carved it and Dubois then painted it using neutral colours intended to work through every season. “We really wanted to capture the unique shape and all the characteristics of the grandfather tree and just make sure that we got the roots just right and the branches just right,” Dubois said. Dubois also grew up in Cochrane and said the couple felt a responsibility to create something that represented the tree and its importance to the community. “We want to make sure that this piece really does represent this area well, and that everybody will enjoy it,” she said. Cochrane Mayor Morgan Nagel said in a news release that many residents have memories of walking past or spending time at the tree. “This bench is how we honour those memories,” Nagel said. Resident Erica Jacks, who visited the site Tuesday with her son Emmanuel, said the tree had been a special place for her family. “It was such a beautiful place to come with my children,” Jacks said. “They really appreciated the history of it, and just seeing this very old piece of nature to explore.” Jacks said the bench will allow people to continue enjoying the site while remembering the tree that once stood there. “I think it’s such a beautiful idea, so people can continue to enjoy it, and you know, have a bit of history that people can still come and pay tribute to the beautiful tree that was once here,” she said. An interpretive sign sharing the Grandfather Tree’s history was also installed beside the bench. Other preserved wood from the tree has been incorporated into public art in Cochrane, including the Hereafter installation at The Station and an artistic representation in the town’s Bricolage installation. The bench and sign are now open to the public.
