A special tree at Maclay Gardens opens door to Tallahassee fairy tale

From a classic bedtime story read by Mom or Dad, to the first books you shouldered through in first grade, to adventure tales, dramatic novels, plays, movies, and even never-ending video games — humans are enthralled by stories. The great religions knew it and of course, history is nothing but the continuing story of all of us.

Perhaps that is why, when way back in the dark COVID days of 2021, visitors to Maclay Gardens State Park who happened by a massive oak tree along a remote forest trail were stopped in their tracks by a small red door hung on the ancient tree’s trunk.

No explanatory sign or reference, simply a little door that appeared to offer entry into the interior of the tree. And as happens with human beings, their imaginations were sparked.

Soon, small notes were being tacked to the tree, one of the oldest oaks in the park. Given the miniature scale of the whimsical ranger-hung door, many notes assumed a fairy, perhaps a gnome or an elf had taken up residence. Often the notes requested replies.

Who wouldn’t want to be pen pals with a magical creature? And the little notes came from both children and grownups.

Friend of Maclay steps in

This is where lifetime Friend of Maclay, Nancy McClure, comes in. McClure, who lives close to the park says, “I walk the trails most every day. Have been doing so for 35 years.”

McClure’s husband Rick is an inveterate rower and one of the founders of the Tallahassee Rowing Club that practices on Lake Hall. “Our family’s anniversaries and birthday parties, recreation time, and quiet time are all spent at this park,” she says.

The sight of the dozens of notes gathering near the oak suggested an opportunity to McClure, herself a daughter of Southern storytellers and one herself. “I asked the Maclay office if someone could begin answering the little notes from people wishing to communicate with creatures they chose to believe lived in the tree.”

There was vetting to become a Maclay volunteer — “a background check and references,” but by this time, Nancy McClure was already imagining stories in her head about the “fairies, gnomes and elves” who just might live in the tree, little fantasy creatures with whom children might identify and come to love the park.

Scottish roots of Wee Ones

“My “back story” for what I called the Wee Ones came from a visitor who reminded me that the Maclay family was originally from Scotland, and that Scotland was famous for its imaginary population of magical creatures," McClure said. "And so, I devised the origination story of a clan of Wee Ones who hid in the quilts of the original Maclays who sailed from Scotland to New York and finally arrived by car in 1923 at the Florida lands the Maclays would originally call Killearn Gardens…and where the Wee Ones would find a home in the live oak.”

McClure even worked with professional storyteller, Linda Schuyler Ford to make her stories of magic and the Wee One’s adventures as engaging as possible.

Soon, along with the park ranger who presented information about the animals and the interaction with plants, trees and water, the pair would present monthly programs for upwards of 50 children — and dozens of adults who stopped to listen to both fact and endearing fiction.

But McClure wasn’t out of creativity yet. Looking for opportunities to bring others to the park and perhaps raise funds for its programs, she decided a book about the tree and its tiny residents was just what was needed.

Booklet and nature activities

Enter Helen Errahali, who volunteered as “illustrator, editor, and project manager” for what would become a 30-page booklet. For the next months they researched Maclay’s history, its interesting original Scottish personalities, tartan kilts, and even butterfly wing types for the means of locomotion of fairies.

The result, all financed by the pair with proceeds going to Maclay, is a charming, child-size booklet with colorful paintings of the tree’s residents and visitors and how they came to choose the Maclay Gardens tree. There are age-appropriate activities in the back related to conservation and diversity, to expanding a child’s imagination, and with a song to hum about the Clan Maclay.

Mary Ann Lindley, a former Tallahassee Democrat editor and County Commissioner, says the "child's book will not only benefit Maclay Gardens State Park through sales over the years, but also creates an absolutely new piece of its history written to educate and enchant countless Wee Ones who come to visit.”

Despite May’s tornado damage which brought a limb down near the tree and smashed its mailbox, a visitor salvaged the “communication” notebook beside the oak that has become the chronicle of the nearly 1,200 messages McClure has responded to over the last years.

“I… well, one of the Wee Ones, has written a note back to each and every one,” McClure said. And “they” plan to continue.

While there is no gift shop at Maclay Gardens the booklet can be obtained at WeeOnes23@yahoo.com. It is $20.

On July 14 at 9:30 a.m., Nancy McClure and a park ranger will present “Lightning and the Very First Gray Squirrels’ Feast and Reunion,” a program for children and adults at Maclay’s Pavilion across from the Visitor’s Center at 3540 Thomasville Road. Call 850 482 4556 to register for the program and following excursion into the Maclay Gardens.

To learn more

What: Presentation by Nancy McClure and park ranger on Lightning and the Very First Gray Squirrels’ Feast and Reunion,” a program for children and adults

When: 9:30 a.m. Sunday, July 14

Where: Maclay’s Pavilion across from the Visitor’s Center at 3540 Thomasville Road

Register: 850-482-4556 to register for the program and following excursion into the Maclay Gardens

Booklet: $20, an be obtained via WeeOnes23@yahoo.com

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Maclay Gardens tree sparks fairy tale about 'Wee Ones'