Paramount Tutors Come To You

Paramount, California sits between the industrial cities of Long Beach and Compton, with downtown Los Angeles looming on its northern horizon. In this cross-section of busy urban sprawl is a medium-sized city with historical roots in agriculture and hay production. As one would expect, evidence of this past has long since been built over with homes, shopping centers, high rises, and roads that would give no indication that in Paramount’s earliest iterations, it was a community of open fields and ranch land. But one marker stands out among all—a gentle reminder of days gone by—known locally as “the hay tree.”

The hay tree is a 50-foot tall camphor tree, which is often described as the last vestige of the hay industry that once thrived in Paramount. At 120 years old, is it certainly the oldest living thing in city limits; southern California’s obsession with all things bigger, brighter, and newer has not affected this shady tree.

The hay tree is designated as a California landmark. Its plaque, located at the base of the trunk, reads: he 120-year-old, 50-foot-tall camphor is one of the few remnants of the once-thriving dairy and hay industry that dominated Southeastern Los Angeles County and Northwestern Orange County from the 1920s through the 1950s. Each morning beneath the wide-spanning branches of the Hay Tree, the price of hay was set for the region’s diaries; that price was then quoted in hay markets around the world.

One can almost see the excited residents and settlers of Southern California in the early twentieth century gathered under the sturdy branches of the hay tree to discuss pricing, production, and transportation of the hay that Paramount was ready to supply to international markets. What an exciting time to be alive—when hay meant being able to afford a home in southern California! By the early 1930’s, in fact, the Paramount region boasted the largest hay market in the world, handling 135,837 tons in 1932.

The hay tree has withstood the test of time, standing taller every year as more homes go up, more strip malls crowd out Paramount and its surrounding cities. It is a reminder not only of the city’s past, but also of its resiliency in the face of urban development. Paramount works hard to preserve its small-town roots, with the hay tree of the utmost importance to preserve and protect.

Parmount has its hay tree that visitors can visit at any time—what may be more important, however, is the notion of an individual hay tree for struggling students. The camphor tree in Paramount is a symbol of success. What symbols of success might you look to in order to turn around faltering grades? A motivational song? A new study technique? A tutor? Tutors in Paramount are trained to encourage motivation and talent in each of their clients, and act as a rallying point for many who are unsure where to go or what to do. They are younger, certainly, but no less strong than the camphor tree of Paramount, ready to serve the community with all they are able.