Saugus man helps restore cross section of historic Roby Elm tree

SAUGUS – A nearly 350-year-old cross section of an elm tree is back at the Roby Building in Saugus after a local resident spent almost a month restoring the historic “Roby Elm.”Carmine Moschella, 83, donated his time to bring the elm section back to life, which has a new pine frame with a honey oak finish.”It’s important because it’s a piece of Saugus history going back a lot of years,” said Moschella. “First I had to bleach it all out and then used the normal stain that it needs. We wanted it to contrast so that the log itself stood out and we didn’t want to paint it.”The Roby Elm is named after Parson Joseph Roby, a Saugus legend who planted it in front of his home on Main Street around 1770.Marilyn Carlson, a Saugus Historical Commission member, said the restoration will help keep Roby’s name a part of Saugus.”He was such a part of this town,” said Carlson. “The Roby School is named after Parson Roby. He was a revolutionary war hero who organized the militia in Saugus that went to Lexington and Concord. He’s Harvard educated, came to Saugus and served the parish for 35 years. He was loved by everyone and married thousands of people in Saugus.”A prominent preacher during the Revolutionary War, Carlson said Roby was known to deliver his sermons with his musket at his side.Old photos show the tree towering over Main Street, which used to be lined with elm trees just as big before the Dutch elm disease struck in the early 1900s.The Roby Elm still shows signs of its age, as a long crack cuts through the cross section. According to Moschella, the crack is a result of the elm drying out and shrinking over the years.It was placed back at the Roby Building, which serves as the Saugus Schools administration building, on Wednesday, and Moschella said it took four men to carry it into the building.”That’s pretty heavy,” said Moschella. “We figured it’s a couple of hundred pounds at least. If they dropped that on their toe they would have known about it.”Moschella has worked as a cabinet-maker for his entire life and his handy work can be seen throughout Saugus. Moschella built the selectmen’s bench, the war memorial outside Town Hall and the Sachem sign outside the high school just to name a few of his town projects.He also teaches a senior citizen’s antique restoration class on Tuesdays in the high school wood shop.”Anybody is invited to join,” said Moschella. “I have people from Saugus, Middleton, Lynn, Revere coming. A lot of them want to throw it away or paint it. No way. I tell them, ‘If you’re going to paint it don’t join this class.'”With the Roby Elm in place outside the School Committee meeting room, Carlson said she hopes to collect more Roby artifacts and photos to add to the area to make a small exhibit.”This is just the initial stage,” said Carlson. “We’ll be doing the exhibit over the next couple of months.”Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected].