Naming Trees for History
Puyallup students stage an elaborate ceremonial planting for Arbor Day.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Arbor day was observed by all the schools in Puyallup. At the Central school, children gathered in double rooms for speaking and singing. County Superintendent Cox was present and made an interesting speech. During the exercises, the trees stood gaily decorated with names, banners, flags, and colors, each grade wearing a rosette of their color. The names of the trees were: first grade, Columbus; second, Washington; third, Longfellow; fourth, Lincoln; fifth, Garfield; sixth, Emerson; seventh, J. G. Whittier; eighth, L. M. Alcott; ninth, Pocahontas; and the tenth, Class of '93. At the close of the exercises, each grade, with tree and banner in advance, marched to their position on the campus—all the trees were planted near the front entrance—and stood in a circle around their respective trees. At a tap of the bell, all trees were lowered in place, and at a second tap, the earth was thrown in.
“At a tap of the bell all the trees were lowered in place, and at a second tap the earth was thrown in.”
Arbor Day was a cornerstone of civic education in the late 19th century, reflecting a era where city building and nature were seen as essential partners. Today, the ritual of planting trees remains a fixture of community identity in the Pacific Northwest, though it has evolved from a grand ceremonial school mandate to a modern focus on urban canopy preservation.
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