Today is National Arbor Day! The last Friday of April is traditionally set aside as a day for planting and caring for trees.
First celebrated in Nebraska in 1872, the original Arbor Day was the brainchild of journalist and politician J. Sterling Morton, who wanted to encourage tree-planting as a community benefit to the prairie pioneers. On April 10, 1872, Sterling held a contest to see which counties and individuals could plant the most trees on the day. More than a million trees were planted that day as a result.
Betty Ford planted a tree on the North Lawn of the White House in commemoration of the American Bicentennial on October 20, 1975. The seedling had been specially cultivated from an American Elm tree planted by President John Quincy Adams, which was the oldest and tallest tree on the White House grounds.
Image: First Lady Betty Ford Planting a Seedling from the John Quincy Adams American Elm Tree on the North Lawn of the White House, 10/20/1975 (National Archives Identifier 30805907)
