City celebrates Arbor Day

Mayor Homer Nicholson presented an Arbor Day proclamation to Park and Recreation Director Eric Newell at Monday night’s City Commission meeting.

The proclamation recognizes Ponca City’s celebration of Arbor Week from March 25-31.

Arbor Day celebrations began in Nebraska in 1872 when J. Sterling Morton recommended to the Nebraska Board of Agriculture that a special day be set aside for the planting of  trees. More than a million trees were planted in Nebraska in  that first recognition of Arbor Day.

Nicholson’s proclamation urges all citizens “to celebrate and support efforts to protect our trees and woodlands; further, to plant trees to gladden the heart and promote the well-being of this and future generations.”