Show TO HONOR THE constitution PLANT TREES by ELMO SCOTT WATSON E EXT year car we the people of the united states will celebrate ate the one hundred and fiftieth J ama ad a adoption copti on of the constitution under which anniversary we have of been tile the governed as a nation for a century and a halt half and among other ways of observing that anniversary were going to lisay say it with trees at least it is so planned by the centennial commission which has charge of the celebration in a recent report to congress the commission said e A feature in the nationwide nation wide celebration which will be a part of every sesquicentennial celebration is the planting of trees the general plans for the tree planting project in operation cooperation co with the american tree association appear elsewhere in this report it is customary for many organizations to plant memorial trees as a tribute to their founders or to distinguished personages of history during this celebration these organized groups will join in the tree planting in commemoration of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the formation of the conati CHARLES LATHROP PACK aution each state and local community will have its anniversary id date ate when fitting ceremonies will be planned millions of trees will be dedicated to the memory of the framers of the constitution when plans were being bei ng made for the celebration of the washington I 1 bicentennial it was intended intended to plant trees in honor of the event but so popular did this idea become throughout the country that in the year 1932 some trees were actually planted in the united states therefore it is proposed to follow a similar program in celebrating the sesquicentennial qui centennial of the constitution As in the case of the washington bicentennial the president of the united states will be asked to plant a tree in the grounds of the white house and one win will also be set out in the capitol grounds it will be highly fitting too that the chief justice be invited to plant a tree in the grounds surrounding the new supreme court building thus inaugurating the movement it is planned to reach every city town and school the activities of the coni commission mission will be greatly assisted by the operation cooperation co of the american tree association this excellent organization will also operate cooperate co in in preparing a booklet explaining the planting of trees and providing a program for the dedication the millions of constitution trees thus set out during the celebration will prove a beautiful lasting and appropriate tribute to the constitution of the united states the american tree association has already issued the booklet mentioned in the foregoing report its called the constitution sesquicentennial tree planting book and recently several million copies were sent to club and organization leaders and school teachers throughout the country at the same time charles lathrop pack president of the association issued this statement like a great oak the constitution stands like a great oak it has weathered many storms it deserves a place next to the family bible in every home what could be more fitting than for the american people to begin now to make their plans for marking the sesquicentennial I 1 september 17 1937 by planting trees we are ready to distribute to school teachers or organization leaders or anyone else this constitution sesquicentennial tree planting book in it is the constitution and all amendments with every important date as well as george letter of transmittal to the congress with this are given details on how to select plant and care for trees and a suggested program for the dedication As the statement of the united states constitution com rai cission lis s s sion I 1 0 n points out nearly thirty five million trees were slanted to mark the bicentennial of the birth of george washington now we have another reason for planting then we honored the father of our country and now we mark the crowning achiever achievement nent of his great career the binding of the nation together under a constitution historians all agree he made the constitution possible in our planting plans we not only have the call of the commission to heed but we have the cooperation of thousands of organizations izat ions at this years meeting of the general Fede federation federate rati on of clubs mrs H G bogert of colorado national conservation chairman started a tree tr ee planting campaign reaching into every club in the daughters of the american revolution mrs avery turner of texas national chairman of conservation and thrift has called upon all chapter chairmen to push the program every year class in colleges and high schools as well as private institutions is being asked to plant a tree as class activity in the citizenship committees of various organizations tree planting will be a major activity one of the tree planting books has been sent to every camp in these days when we hear so much about dust storms floods and soil erosion causing hundreds of millions of dollars damages the american people must become tree minded and realize the value of forests in flood prevention the forests and their products support every industry commerce is impossible wit without hout these forest products so let us plant not alone to mark this important date in our history maybe the most important date but also to call the attention of new thousands to the value of trees ratification day mr pack also has sent to the governors of the original states ratifying the constitution the suggestion that ratification days in each state be marked 4 I 1 4 4 T T r 00 11 it 1 1 kf ra 4 4 U LAST OF THE 13 HORSE CHESTNUT TREES PLANTED BY washington AT KENMORE career came to an end in aug gust 1923 when the whole trunk cracked and fell while workmen were pulling a dead branch from it it was estimated that the tree was then more than years old numerous grandchildren but even though this historic tree is dead it lives on in its children and grandchildren which are to be found in various parts of the united states on may 1 1876 a centennial tree which had been produced from the seed of the washington elm was presented to the city of cambridge by john owen two grandchild seedlings from the cambridge elm under which washington took command of the continental army are growing near his tomb at mount vernon there is one in in the yard of the governors governor s mansion sion in in annapolis md one in in front of the memorial church at valley forge and another at washington college at chester town md which was named for washington and which he once visited to receive an honorary degree another is thriving on the grounds of the D A R memorial continental hall in washington D C and still f i A al J X A R a w GEORGE washington the adoption of the constitution was the crowning achievement of his great career by organizing statewide state wide plans for tree planting in anticipation of the big program in 1937 among the thousands of trees which will be planted next year as a part of the constitution ution celebration undoubtedly there will be many elms this win will be especially appropriate in so far as this celebration also honors the memory of george washington since an elm tree marked an important milestone in his life it was under a tree of this his species in cambridge mass that he took command of the continental army on july 3 1775 and started on the career which led to the establishment of a new nation and his election as its first president under the constitution for nearly a century and a half this elm w was as a landmark and patriotic shrine carefully guarded and with every effo effort rt made to save it fro from m the ravages of time its long and honored another in the yard ot of the headquarters of the sons of the american revolution in the same city and clear across the country on the campus of the university of washington in seattle there is another of these grandchild seedlings brought there by an aluminous alu minus of the university besides the two cambridge elms the state of massachusetts is rich in tree memorials to the father of his country just outside the town of palmer on the boston spring field highway stands another famous old tree iree known as the mother washington elm it is claimed by some historians and the american forestry association that when washington was on his way to cambridge he stopped beneath this particular elm to rest many washington trees elm trees however are not the only ones which we associate with the name of washington deerfield mass has a button wood tree where washington watered horses A horse chestnut tree planted by washington still stands in the yard of kenmore the fredericksburg va home of betty washington lewis his sister it is the last of 13 such trees which he planted there to represent the thirteen colonies and to shade the walk between the cottage of his mother mary ball washington and kenmore eight years ago a washington friendship grove of 13 horse chestnut trees was planted in the national capital they sprang from the seeds of a tree which for more than years stood in bath pa as an emblem of friendship between washington and gen robert brown the latter was a frequent visitor to mount vernon and at the end of one such visit in 1781 washington with his own hands dug from his garden two young horse chestnut trees which he presented to his friend brown ca carried r the young saplings sapling acro across s s the mountains to his home where he planted them on the lawn only one of the trees however survived but it grew to a height of 70 feet and had an 85 foot spread of its branches tree of two nations on the grounds of the capitol in washington is an elm under which the first president is said to have sat while watching the progress in the building of that edifice on the grounds of the white house stands a tree which is also associated with the name of washington and which links the past and the present in an unusual manner this tree is the outgrowth of an acorn brought from russia and because of this and its unique lineage it is known as the russo american oak the tree from which th the e acorn was obtained stands in leningrad gr it grew from an acorn acor n produced proa by a tree at the tomb of washington at mt vernon the mt vernon acorn was sent to the czar of russia by se senator charles sumner summer of massachusetts chu and planted in the grounds of the imperial palace e by the czar as a symbol of russo american friendship in 1898 the tree which had grown from senator acorn was located by ethan allen alien hitchcock then american ambassador to st petersburg gathering and planting some of the acorns from this tree the ambassador sent a sapling of the new generation to president roosevelt for planting in the white house grounds the planting took place on april 6 1904 exactly thirteen years before the day on which the united states joined hands with russia and other european countries in the greatest conflict the world has ever known a conflict which led to the destruction of the old russia and the assassination of the royal family the young tree was planted by president roose velt himself in several parts of the country are trees famous for their association with friend marquis de lafayette one lafayette tree on the battlefield of brandywine derives its prestige from the fact that when the celebrated french general was wounded at brandywine his injuries were given first aid under this tree at annapolis is a tree under which a reception to lafayette was held with a distinguished company in attendance in the form of trees planted by his own hand general lafayette left many mementoes of his travels in america am erica one of these is now standing at concord new hampshire another is at yorktown va near a house in which are still to be seen cannon balls im bedded in the timbers during the siege of yorktown 0 wearn spa per dejon |