Day of the "Treefids"
Have you ever heard of J. Sterling Morton? Morton and his wife, originally from Detroit, were lovers of nature and decided to start a new life by moving to the Nebraska Territory in 1854. Back in those days, the Nebraska Territory was sparsely populated with pioneer settlers scattered on a vast, treeless plain. So what was so special about J. Sterling Morton? Read on.
Morton was a journalist and soon became editor of Nebraska's first newspaper. Using that medium to express himself, he wrote helpful agricultural articles and about his personal enthusiasm for trees. His fellow transplanted settlers missed the beauty of their trees, too, but trees were also needed as windbreaks to keep soil in place, for fuel, building materials, and for shade from the hot sun.
The idea grows
Time passed and the Morton homestead soon flourished with planted trees, shrubs, and flowers. Morton not only advocated tree planting by individuals in his articles and editorials, but he also encouraged civic organizations and groups to join in. His prominence in the area increased, and he became secretary of the Nebraska Territory, which provided another opportunity to stress the value of trees.
On January 4, 1872, Morton first proposed a tree-planting holiday to be called "Arbor Day" at a meeting of the State Board of Agriculture. The date was set for April 10, 1872. Prizes were offered to counties and individuals for properly planting the largest number of trees on that day. It was estimated that more than one million trees were planted in Nebraska on the first Arbor Day. Thus an important, meaningful tradition was born - Arbor Day.
A national event
From that first celebration of Arbor Day as a legal holiday, other states took notice and passed legislation to observe Arbor Day, and the tradition began in schools nationwide in 1882. Today the most common date for Arbor Day observances is the last Friday in April, and several U.S. presidents have proclaimed a National Arbor Day on that date.
However, a number of state Arbor Days are at other times to coincide with the best tree planting weather, from January and February in the south to May in the far north. In the United States, it is estimated that 18 million tress are planted each year on Arbor Day, and the celebration has now spread beyond America and is observed in many countries of the world.
I have personally planted my share of trees to commemorate this special day that takes its name from the Latin word for "tree." Those of us that hold dear our natural resources and feel the magic when experiencing our forests are indebted to J. Sterling Morton. So this April 29th, plant a tree and remember what one person with a vision and the conviction to see it through can do.