They were. It was 1989, the "Texas Treaty" tree; two-thirds of it died, but it apparently survived by removing all of the soil and power-washing the roots, along with injections of something to stop the poisoning. I read about this just this morning at Expert: Toomers trees may stand a chance, but the article has suddenly switched to subscription-only.
Winter-time dormancy means there may be hope for the Toomer's trees, too. War Eagle!
I was just wondering what happened to that tree ...