PHOTO OF THE DAY: HISTORIC VIEW
This photo from 1912 is remarkable on so many levels. We’re sharing it this week with Arbor Day being observed Friday, April 25.
It shows Freeman College, the structure that was home to South Dakota Mennonite College (later Freeman College and Freeman Academy). Today we know that building as Music Hall. The photo was made looking north and shows the trees planted as part of Arbor Day 103 years ago.
We are struck by the lack of trees and houses in the surrounding area. The school, which was built in 1903, was still largely on the outskirts of town at that time.
Also, note the church on the horizon; that’s St. Paul Lutheran, which stood in the area that today is First Interstate Bank.
Arbor Day has its roots in Nebraska; it’s an intriguing story dating back to the early 1870s in Nebraska. Julius Sterling Morton, a journalist moved to the state with his wife, Caroline, in 1854. They purchased 160 acres in Nebraska City and planted a wide variety of trees and shrubs in what was primarily a flat stretch of desolate plain.
On January 7, 1872, Morton proposed a day to encourage all Nebraskans to plant trees in their communities. While his proposal was accepted and spread to other states, it wasn’t until 1970, when President Richard Nixon issued a proclamation designating the last Friday of April as National Arbor Day.
He noted that as “we as a people are becoming more concerned with the quality of our environment, it is fitting that we give more attention to the planting of trees in rural and urban communities. In crowded city streets or suburban shopping centers they stand as things of beauty and as reminders of man’s inseparable link with nature.”
This photo comes from our archives, filled with books, documents and photos that help trace our community’s history. Our archives are available during our regular hours. We’re open weekday afternoons from noon to 4 through April. In May we start our summer hours – 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.
