Toccoa celebrates Arbor Day

BY LAURA HEWELL
THE TOCCOA  RECORD
    Arbor Day in the City of Toccoa was celebrated on Friday, Feb. 17 with the planting of a red nut oak tree in Paul Anderson Memorial Park.
     The tree is replacing a previously 50-year-old oak tree that became sick last year and fell leaving a huge crack in the payment and an empty space in the park.
     Mayor David Austin made a few remarks at the ceremony, along with Roger Sheppard, president of the board for the Paul Anderson Park.
    Members of the student council from the Stephens County 5th Grade Academy were also present and made presentations about Paul Anderson, Arbor Day, and Tree City USA.
     Susan Russell from the Georgia Forestry Commission was also in attendance for the ceremony, even helping properly plant the tree.
     “I said this at the meeting the other night, but with trees it’s like raising kids – first you have those toddler days, then you have elementary school days where you’re putting out fires, and then you are trying to guide them through the middle school days and then after high school you hope that they have become really wonderful members of society and that’s what you’ve done, you’ve grown up and so we don’t have to worry about you which is a pleasure to come here every year and celebrate Toccoa,” Russell said.
    Other trees were planted this week in the park as well.
    Toccoa celebrates Arbor Day the third Friday in February so to keep in line with the annual tree planting season in Georgia.
     The holiday dates back to April  10, 1872 and is celebrated on April 28 in other parts of the country.
    Arbor Day was started in Nebraska by J. Sterling Morton at the annual meeting of the Nebraska State board of agriculture.
   It is estimated that on that day, 1 million trees were planted in Nebraska.
    Birdsey Northrop of Connecticut spread the idea around the world when he visited Japan in 1883.
   Later that year, the American Forestry Association made Northrop the chairman of the committee to campaign for Arbor Day nationwide.
   The tree planted in Paul Anderson Park is small right now but its growing progress can be viewed from Tugalo Street right before it turns into Big A Road.