A song of perseverance from Eastern Kentucky echoes across the state

The small, solitary, scrawny, pine tree grew out of an abandoned, rotting wooden train trestle tie in Whitesburg. 

But what it produced helped many people devastated by the floods that killed 45 people as the raging waters swept through portions of Eastern Kentucky, southwestern Virginia and southern West Virginia between July 25 and Aug. 1, 2022. 

Many homes and parts of some communities were swept away by the deluge.

It was said to be the deadliest natural disaster to hit Eastern Kentucky in more than 80 years – and an unlikely pine tree in downtown Whitesburg played a role in easing the hurt.

Roy Crawford, a local engineer and musician, noticed the four-foot-tall pine tree on a walk in late 2021.

He admired its persistence in living in a hostile environment.

So taken was Crawford that he adorned the tree with a few Christmas balls. He shared a photo of the decorated tree on Facebook with delighted friends. “People saw it as perseverance over adversity,” he said.

Crawford  even told then-Whitesburg High School band conductor Jason Griffith that he thought the tree was worthy of a song.  He asked Griffith to write one for it. Griffith declined and told Crawford he should do it.

Crawford did with help from Donald Sorah, a professor of music at the nearby University of Virginia’s College at Wise.  

“Donald did 95 percent of the composition,” said Crawford.

The two produced the composition “The Trestle Tree.” 

Cane River Music, a boutique prints music distributor in McKinney, Texas, says the song is replete with “uplifting, primary melodic ideas, reflecting the quiet strength and improbable life of the tree.”

It notes that the song “shifts into a minor key played distinctively by the brass and woodwinds, musically representing the heavy trials, struggles and everyday challenges faced by the community,” but “returns triumphantly to the main theme, symbolizing survival, recovery and enduring hope.”

The song’s world premiere was in Whitesburg on Memorial Day 2022 by KYVA Summer Winds, a professional wind and percussion orchestra. Based in southeast Kentucky, it features around 75 musicians—including public school music teachers, college professors, and advanced students—from Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, and Ohio. Griffith, the founder of the band, directed it that spring day.

The concert was held just a few yards away from the Trestle Tree.

Later, the local tourism commission cut down the weeds and other growth at the trestle site.  The pine tree was no more.

A deluge hits Whitesburg

Then the floods came. Whitesburg was hit hard. 

This is what the National Weather Service said happened:

“Between July 25th and July 30th, 2022, several complexes of training thunderstorms developed south of I-64 and brought heavy rain, deadly flash flooding, and devastating river flooding to eastern Kentucky and central Appalachia. These thunderstorms, at times, caused rainfall rates in excess of 4″/hr. across complex terrain that led to widespread devastating impacts.”

The NWS said resultant flooding led to deaths and “widespread catastrophic damage. Entire homes and parts of some communities were swept away by flood waters, leading to costly damage to infrastructure in the region. Over 600 helicopter rescues and countless swift water rescues by boat were needed to evacuate people who were trapped by the quickly rising flood waters.”

Crawford suggested to Sorah that they use the song to raise money for the flood victims.

They decided to sell sheet music  of the song with band and orchestra versions for $50 and a fee for performance.  They raised more than $5,000.

Area high school bands and several orchestras played the song.

The University of Louisville Symphonic Band performed it in September 2022 in Louisville, followed by concerts at The Dordt University in Sioux City, Iowa, in May 2023, and with Symphony of the Mountains in Pennington Gap, Va., in June 2023.

However, the crowning moment for the composition came when Louisville Orchestra director Teddy Abrams accepted Crawford’s request for the Louisville Orchestra to play it. 

Abrams added it to the orchestra’s “In Harmony Tour of the Commonwealth” program.

Launched in 2022, the tour has grown into one of the most ambitious and sustained orchestral touring initiatives in the state. It is supported by $2.1 million annually from the Kentucky General Assembly, It has reached more than 52,000 people across 49 counties in Kentucky through concerts, schools, libraries, and community partnerships.

Bringing the song to life

On the night of Feb. 26 this year, hundreds of people packed the gym of Western Hills High School in Frankfort to hear the prestigious Louisville Orchestra in one of its free “In Harmony Tour” performances.

The program included works by classical composers like Beethoven and Tchaikovsky.

And halfway through the program was the work by Sorah and Crawford.

Sorah was in attendance that night.

“A world-class orchestra brought it alive,” said Sorah. “I was enthralled from the first note and it just got better and better.

“I later told Teddy that I thanked him and the orchestra for treating it with so much respect, as they do with works by the classical composers. I already had a high opinion of him but it increased tremendously that night.”

After the concert, one of Sorah’s friends jokingly told him, “I saw your name and others on the Louisville Orchestra program. I know Sorah but who is that Tchaikovsky guy?”

In a recent email, Teddy Abrams said “The Trestle Tree” is “a beautiful example of how music can carry the story of a place and its people. Created by my friend from Whitesburg, Roy Crawford, and his collaborator Donald Sorah, the work is rooted in a very real Kentucky story. 

“What began with this small tree growing against the odds in Whitesburg became a powerful symbol of resilience for a community that has endured so much. ‘The Trestle Tree’ is exactly the kind of work we want to celebrate through the Louisville Orchestra’s In Harmony Tour.”

Abrams said the point of In Harmony to make sure the music played reflects the region.  

“That means creating space for Kentucky composers, artists, traditions, and stories to be part of the program,” he said. “The Trestle Tree carries a story of resilience and community and gives us the opportunity to share something that is authentically Kentucky with audiences across the state.”

The song that keeps giving

About half of the proceeds from “The Trestle Tree” song bought school musical instruments to replace those lost in the flood.  

The rest went to a Letcher County flood recovery group. Member Jeffery Justice of Whitesburg said the money helped flood victims whose homes were destroyed or damaged buy items like washers, dryers and shingles for roofs.

Kyle McQueen of Richmond saw a photo of the original “trestle tree,” heard the story and painted an image of it. 

His watercolor painting hangs today outside the office of Mayor Tiffany Craft in Whitesburg’s city hall. “I had it framed,” said Craft. “I think it is wonderful that these two men shared the character of this community in music.

“I hope a lot of people get to see the painting and hear about that tree.”

Crawford agreed. “It reminds people that we can get through hard times.”

Visit YouTube’s “The Trestle Tree (Sorah/Crawford) performed by Teddy Abrams and the Louisville Orchestra” in concert in Frankfort on Feb. 26, 2026, at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_D4Xo9kvto to enjoy the song.