James Briand
Trees for Watertown
The founder of Arbor Day, Nebraska corporate lawyer J. Sterling Morton, a transplant from Michigan, had his inspiration when he felt oppressed by the treelessness of his adopted state and yearned for the stately tree-covered streets of home. Using the high-flown rhetoric of the late 19th century, he celebrated the holiday’s founding in 1872 saying, “I value trees as missionaries of culture and refinement . living and unswerving symbols of integrity and genuine democracy.”
Morton saw democratic values in the way trees on city streets deliver beauty and comfort to all citizens regardless of wealth or social position. He also believed that Arbor Day embodied the fundamental optimism of the American experiment, observing, “All other anniversaries look backwards. Arbor Day looks forward.”
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