Reflections on the Ginkgo

At Birmingham-Southern College, Alabama, a pair of Ginkgoes have been part of the landscape for decades, bearing fruit, providing shelter, brightening the skyline with fall and spring color, passing into local legend. Members of the 'Southern community like to reminisce about the late Dr. John Strohl, chemistry professor, who started dozens of seedlings from these trees and passed them along. A campus treasure, the Ginkgo tree just west of Munger Hall glows during fall. Anyone who has given a gift to the college for a minimum of five consecutive years becomes a member of The Ginkgo Society. Members of this select society will receive a special recognition marked with a Ginkgo leaf—a simple symbol, a timeless memento, a badge of honor for those who remember what we are about in this place and who choose to commit themselves to the faithful nurture of excellence that endures.