Lanesborough Elm Given Lofty Name

Submitted photo

Third-grader Troy Massaconi looks
up at the tree he's named 'King Elmer.'

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The state's biggest elm tree now has a name suited to its majestic appearance: King Elmer.

Alice Spatz, co-chairman of the Lanesborough Tree and Forest Committee announced on Monday that the winner of the Name the Champion Elm Contest is Troy Massaconi.

Troy is a pupil in Anna Mello's third-grade class at Lanesborough Elementary School. The school's two third-grade classes participated in an Arbor Day event to measure the tree at the bottom of Summer Street to see if it could size up as New England's biggest elm. The committee awarded a book about trees to both of the classes that participated.

Each class submitted several names each to the committee, with Troy's being selected as the best fitting name for a champion.

According to the committee, "Therefore, from hence forth, this mighty Elm will be known as 'King Elmer.'"