Arbor Day Celebration at Montrose • ‘Plant a tree, take care of it, watch it grow’


Thursday, March 19, 2009
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Arbor Day Celebration at Montrose
• ‘Plant a tree, take care of it, watch it grow’

By SUE WATSON
Staff Writer

Photo by Sue Watson

Opening remarks
Rev. Milton Boyd of First United Methodist Church in Holly Springs opens the March 10 ceremony.

There was a good turnout March 10 for the Arbor Day celebration in Holly Springs - the 28th consecutive celebration at historic Montrose, arranged annually by the Holly Springs Garden Club.

Susan Crell, president of the club, welcomed visitors, who included Rev. Milton Boyd presenting the invocation; Herb Simmons with VFW Post 5697 leading the Pledge of Allegiance; Marshall Academy sixth graders and Margaret Brown singing patriotic music; and George Boyd, guest speaker and public outreach forester with the Mississippi Forest Commission.

Milton Boyd’s message centered around seeking God’s will daily and remembering to help others.

George Boyd emphasized the need to preserve and nurture the environment, including trees.

This was the 31st Arbor Day program he has attended since president of a county forestry association, he told youngsters. His first introduction into garden clubs was when serving as part of a youth nature camp, he said.

Arbor Day is celebrated in Mississippi the second Friday in February, but can be celebrated anytime, George Boyd said. This year marks the 137th anniversary of Arbor Day founded by J. Sterling Morgan, who started planting trees when he moved to Nebraska and decided the state needed trees in 1872.

Sixty-five percent of the State of Mississippi, some 19.8 million acres, is planted in trees, he said.

“Plant a tree, take care of it, watch it grow and this land will be left to you to pass on to the next generation,” he told sixth grade students in attendance from Marshall Academy.

Each year on Arbor Day in Holly Springs, several trees are planted in the honor or memory of individuals, and school children are invited to help with the planting after listening to presentations about the many uses of tree products by mankind and benefits of trees to mankind and the environment.

Lauren Massey’s sixth grade class from Marshall Academy helped plant the trees - a magnolia planted in honor of Sarah Doxey Greer as a gift from Susan Crell; an oak planted in memory of Geraldine Gholson, and pine trees, provided by Eddie Pou, retired Marshall County forester.

Others helping plant the trees included Justin Dewberry, Roosevelt Galloway, R.C. Bownes, and Edwin Burton.

Also assisting in the program were Donald Pogue, president Marshall County Forestry Association; Janet Jolley, Mary Minor and Lemon Phelps with the Marshall County Extension Service; Ruth Kloha, arboretum chairman; family and friends of the late Geraldine Gholson and of Sarah Doxey Greer, recognized by Jane Callicutt, arboretum committee member.

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