John M in Mid Mich
Dave:
I suspect you are talking about wild black cherry (Prunus serotina), not fruiting cherries as the other replies seem to assume. I have plenty of 50+ year old trees at my place about 30 miles from you (15 mi East of Lansing). Have had a tree die now and again, but usually traceable to having rotten core combined with some major weather event. I did notice a worm infestation in the trunks of many of the cherries a few years back that appears to have subsided. Won't know the impact on lumber quality 'til I mill one. Having seen the loss of the chestnuts, the elms, and the ash, wouldn't it be awful to lose another? We blame it on bugs and fungi, but I wonder if we humans aren't doing something that weakens defenses...