For More Info...J. R. Dykes (1910-1980)
J. R. Dykes, a resident of Ozark, Alabama, served in law enforcement for over forty years. He was Dale County Deputy Sheriff (1935-1944), Dale County Sheriff (1944-1955), an officer in the Alabama Department of Public Safety (1955-1959), and Ozark Police Chief (1968-1975). He served as Assistant Director of the Alabama State Troopers and as president of the Alabama Peace Officers Association. His wife was Mrs. Bernice Dykes, and their children were Larry Dykes and Lane Dykes of Dothan, and Jimmy Dykes of Washington DC. Larry and Ronna Dykes sponsored this memorial tree.
LIVE OAK
Encompasses a number of closely related species of oak tree, though the true Live Oak is Quercus viginiana L. Native to the coastal plain of the Deep South, the Live Oak can grow to be 50 feet tall with a trunk diameter from 36 to 70 inches. The bark has deep, dark longitudinal furrows, and both bark and twigs darken with age. Live Oak is often seen with untrimmed branches that dip close to the ground and curve upwards. Because this species is salt-tolerant, it grows most iconically along the southern coasts, draped in Spanish Moss. Trimmed, as they are on the Troy University Dothan Campus, they are excellent shade trees. [Source: Guy Nesom, “Live Oak,” USDA / NRCS Plant Guide, http://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/pg_quvi.pdf (accessed August 17, 2015).]
uttall oak (Quercus nuttallii), not distinguished as a species until 1927, is also called red oak, Red River oak, and pin oak. It is one of the few commercially important species found on poorly drained clay flats and low bottoms of the Gulf Coastal Plain and north in the Mississippi and Red River Valleys. The acorn or winter buds identify Nuttall oak, easily confused with pin oak (Q. palustris). The lumber is often cut and sold as red oak. In addition to producing timber, Nuttall oak is an important species for wildlife management because of heavy annual mast production.” [Source - http://www.na.fs.fed.us/pubs/silvics_manual/volume_2/quercus/nutallii.htm]
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT OAKS
“The term oak can be used as part of the common name of any of about 400 species of oak trees and shrubs in the genus Quercus (from Latin "oak tree). The genus quercus is native to the northern hemisphere, and includes deciduous and evergreen species extending from cold latitudes to tropical Asia and the Americas. Oaks have spirally arranged leaves, with a lobed margin in many species; some have serrated leaves or entire leaves with a smooth margin. The flowers are catkins, produced in spring. The fruit is a nut called an acorn, borne in a cup-like structure known as a cupule; each acorn contains one seed (rarely two or three) and takes 6-18 months to mature, depending on species. The "live oaks" (oaks with evergreen leaves) are not a distinct group, instead with their members scattered among the sections below.
The Common North American Oak Species: black oak, bur oak, cherrybark oak, laurel oak, live oak, Oregon white oak, overcup oak, post oak, pin oak, northern red oak, scarlet oak, Shumard oak, southern red oak, swamp chestnut oak, water oak, white oak, and willow oak.” [Source - http://forestry.about.com/cs/treeid/a/the_oak.htm]
The “For More Info” Project
The “For More Info” Project is a joint venture of The Wiregrass Archives and the Troy University Libraries funded in part by a generous grant from the Historic Chattahoochee Commission Seed Grant Program. Begun in 2015, “For More Info” provides a place to find biographical information and images of the people honored in the Memorial Tree Program established by the Dothan Beautification Board in 1991 and continued at Troy University Dothan Campus.
“For More Info” also provides organizational histories and biographical sketches concerning named buildings, rooms, and other facilities on campus.