Arbor Day is the last Friday in April. It’s the day when we’re supposed to plant a tree. Unfortunately, it hasn’t really put down roots the way other holidays have, like Presidents Day and the 4th of July.
For one thing, it’s not an official holiday. And even though the Arbor Day Foundation has more than a million members, there isn’t a lot of hype about it. You don’t see ads on TV telling you to rush right out and buy your tree before it’s too late.
When I was in the sixth, seventh and eight grades we had an Arbor Day observance at our school. The principle, dressed in his suit and tie, came out at recess, dug a hole in the yard beyond the swings and planted a small sapling. Then he poured water on it and after we all sang “America the Beautiful,” we went back inside.
That was it. Since school let out a couple weeks later, no one ever watered the tree again. And it died. The next Arbor Day the principle once again dug a hole in the same place and planted another tree. It also died when school closed for the year. I actually thought that was it, that Arbor Day was nothing more than a token tree planting. I never knew they were supposed to live.
Arbor Day began in 1805 in the Spanish village of Villanueva de la Sierra when the local priest planted a tree to beautify the village. The tree was a poplar and local lore has it that it lived for many years.
Nebraska just passed a law making Arbor Day a state holiday. It’s the only state to have done so. Presumably, they will plant a lot of trees and will water them throughout the summer.
