Dennis Gunn recalls falling asleep as a storm rolled in on April 1. But it wasn’t just any storm.
The National Weather Service confirmed that an EF-1 tornado touched down at 6:59 p.m. near the intersection of Riverton Road and Woodside Lane in Cinnaminson, where multiple trees were snapped and uprooted.
“Every pole on the street came down and our electricity was out for days,” Gunn recalled of his neighborhood.
The storm also took its toll on a cedar tree in his New Albany Road backyard. It was the tallest in the neighborhood and had existed for about 80 years. Gunn said it took him a bit of time to realize the tree had fallen, because “everything was on fire out front.”
“I didn’t hear anything,” he said, noting he had recalled telling his late wife that the tree would never come down.
The tornado had different plans for the tree. It traveled east-southeast toward Cinnaminson High School and Eleanor Rush Intermediate School, and expanded across surrounding neighborhoods.
The strongest wind damage occurred near the intersection of Wynwood Drive and Locust Lane, where most of the roof covering was peeled off a single-family home.
The tornado ultimately traveled six miles in Cinnaminson and Delran, and ended at 7:03 p.m. in Moorestown, where minor tree and limb damage was observed near John Pryor Field. The tornado’s width was calculated as 600 yards, and its estimated wind peak was 95 to 100 miles per hour.
Power was out for four to five days, giving Gunn time to access and decide what to do with the tree. He spent May, June and July cutting it up with help from a neighbor.
“When it fell, it kind of hopped forward a little bit,” he explained.
Gunn spent some time trying to get the tree stump to stand straight. Once that happened enough to his liking, he inquired about preserving it by carving a lifesize Eagle on top of it. With a quick search online, he found Heath Bender at Cedar Mountain Designs in New York state.
Bender came in on a Friday, chainsawed all day Saturday, and came back on a Sunday to refine, paint and detail the work.
As to why he decided to preserve the cedar tree that way, Gunn jokingly noted that he has no one to say “no” since his wife passed away. The Eagle represents his love for Philadelphia’s NFL team.
People who walk on New Albany Road often do a double take at the carved Eagle. Birds apparently do, too.
“Hawks were barking at it the other day,” Gunn said.
The homeowner created a stone base garden around the tree and a night light. He plans to sell the cedar tree’s wood.
