The Pe-et Elm - University of Oklahoma - Norman, Oklahoma
Posted by: 
gparkes
N 35° 12.522 W 097° 26.744
14S E 641474 N 3897294
The Oklahoma University has an outstanding series of markers, explaining the names and events of different locations. This marker can be found in front of Evans Hall on the southern-most side of Parrington Oval.
Waymark Code: WM8AGT
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 02/28/2010
Views: 13
The narrative on this marker reads:
The Pe-et Elm
The elm tree that stood on this site for more than a century is believed to have been planted by the University of Oklahoma’s first President, David Ross Boyd, at the turn of the 20th century.
President Boyd not only busied himself with the building of an academic institution, but he himself planted the trees that became the forebears of this beautiful campus. In the spring of 1893, Boyd bought the entire stock of a bankrupt nursery with his own money to transform the landscape of OU’s undeveloped campus. In his efforts, he sowed not only the seeds of knowledge and opportunity, but also the seeds of history and tradition.
In September 1936, the Board of Regents officially named the tree the Pe-et Elm in honor of the Pe-et society. An ancient word with origins meaning “ten best,” Pe-et was founded in 1910 and is comprised of the top ten seniors, selected based upon scholarship, leadership, and community involvement. Pe-et has traditionally held their new member initiation at the site of the tree and it is often a place of assembly for the society’s members. When the Administration Building, the predecessor to Evans Hall, was under construction, it was the members of Pe-et who preserved the historic tree by keeping it from being cut down.
After becoming increasingly weak and diseased, however, the Pe-et Elm was removed in 2006. A special ceremony during the 2006 Arbor Day festivities honored the tree as well as President Boyd and his efforts.