The Grapevine: A Detailed Look at Arbor Day's History
By Rosalyn Queen on April 10, 2025 from The Grapevine
While browsing through my WVU Extension calendar I saw that April 22 is Arbor Day. I stopped for a minute and immediately I started thinking about trees and planting 10 free trees that were given to us through my days at East View Grade School. Now that is all I remember about that incident, but I started doing some research to satisfy my need to learn more about Arbor Day.
Arbor Day is a national holiday observed each year on the fourth Friday of April, this year being April 25. On January 4, 1872, Sterling Morton proposed a tree planting holiday to be called Arbor Day knowing that Arbor Day would have a positive impact on our planet.
During his term, President Richard Nixon proclaimed through proclamation the standardized observation of Arbor Day. Countries all over the world observe Arbor Day. With the recent fires out west and the tornadoes and other natural catastrophes we have had lately, we take a moment to think about how many trees have been destroyed. Can you imagine a world without trees? There is more to a tree than that poem “Trees.” It provides us with shade on that hot summer day, it contributes to sustaining energy, it keeps our hills from eroding and the list goes on and on.
The Arbor Day Foundation was founded as a nonprofit organization dedicated to planting trees with over three million members who have planted five hundred million trees. Its mission is to inspire people to plant, protect and celebrate trees.
Arbor Day represents hope for the future.
I encourage you to observe Arbor Day. Plant a tree on your property. It might be a fruit tree or a flowering tree or a pine tree that someday soon will help you observe the holidays.
As Joyce Kilmer said in her famous poem, “Trees,” she uttered the words, “I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree. Poems were written by fools like me, but only God can make a tree.”
I cannot imagine a world without trees. The beautiful cherry trees in D. C. The trees of West Virginia in the fall with their glorious colors and the list goes on.
There is one more week of Lent remaining and still time to observe it in your special way. For Easter Bread call 304-624-6881, available at the Progressive Women’s Association.
Give your kid an extra big hug today, stay healthy and until next week, “Now You Have Heard It Through The Grapevine.”
