"It's been cut about 13 times because of disease, but it was such a beautiful tree," said Knight. "There were some bigger, but none more beautiful, with that nice straight trunk."
Knight thinks it's funny that stories about him and Herbie make him look like "the biggest tree lover."
Having been a pulpwood dealer and a woodlot owner, Knight said, he probably "has taken down more trees than anyone in Maine."
But there's at least one tree that he won't watch come down. He doesn't plan to be on hand for Herbie's last day.
"No," he said, "I don't need to see that."
