May 7, 1934, Winnipeg Tribune
Today is Arbor Day in Winnipeg and Trees Winnipeg is hosting festivities in St. Vital Park.
Abor Day was created in Nebraska in the early 1870 by J. Sterling Morton and his wife, Caroline Morton. It was a day set aside for the planting tees in the state's fledgling towns and agricultural lands to improve their appearance and the environment.
It swept throughout North America and from 1886 to 1946 was a even at one time a provincial holiday in Manitoba!
May 7, 1920, Winnipeg Tribune
The effectiveness of Manitoba's Arbor Day holiday was often questioned and its timing, the first week of May, was a sore point for merchants and schools boards who already had three other holidays to contend with in a period of just a few weeks.
The "savior" of Arbor Day were the railways after they began running one-day trains to cottage country in the 19-teens. It took on a new life as a the unofficial first day of cottage season. The Winnipeg Board of trade got in the act by hosting a "Clean up, Paint-up" campaign for those who did not have cottages.
For more about the rise and fall of the Arbor Day holiday in Manitoba, read my Winnipeg Real Estate News Column: Arbor Day once signalled the start of cottage season.
Above image shows Arbor Day 1934. Winnipeg mayor Ralph Webb, with shovel facing camera, and parks superintendent George Champion, holding tree, plant a tree at McKittrick Park. In the background are students from Lord Roberts School. (Winnipeg Tribune, May 7, 1934)
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