Absent
ot
Arbor Day
Celebration
is fruitful
despite low
attendance
By Adam Klinker
Staff Reporter
NEBRASKA CITY - The trees
were blossoming, even though the
crowds weren't.
The big draws surrounding
Nebraska City and its 126th Arbor
Day Celebration this weekend may
have succumbed to another popular
Nebraska pastime - the Red-White
spring football game in Lincoln.
Attendance remained steddy
throughout much of Saturday after
noon. and participants talked about
the lull in the attendance compared to
past Arbor Day celebrations.
With the sun shining, a high tem
perature of 78 degrees and an expect
ed storm system that never came, the
day was pleasant for those who came.
"I'm so pleased with this weath
er," said Robert Smith of Lincoln.
“It's just a fantastic day."
Smith works in the membership
services department at the National
Arbor Day Foundation Lincoln
office.
Still, the question of where every
body was continued to concern some
Arbor Day enthusiasts.
After all. the national holiday did
begin in Nebraska City when .!.
Sterling Morton, then editor of the
Nebraska City News, decided a
healthy ecosystem of trees could
serve as windbreaks to reduce soil
erosion, provide wildlife habitat and
beautify the parched plains.
More than i million trees were
planted on the first Arbor Dav in
'1872.
"This is a slowdown from prev i
ous years." said Joe Rico, comman
der of the Nebraska City American
Legion, of this year's low attendance.
"It's hard to say if this trend will con
tinue. We hope it doesn't."
Rico said low parade attendance
could be attributed to factors includ
ing the Arbor Day Farm craft show
and the Huskers' scrimmage.
Rico also said there were fewer
school marching bands in the parade
this year, another possible factor in
the low attendance. Only one band,
the Nebraska City Middle School
band, played at the parade.
Students from local elementary
schools also marched in the parade.
“It was kind of embarrassing,”
said Nebraska City fifth-grader Kara
Schaulis, clad in an evergreen tree
costume.
Her classmate Samantha
Smulling agreed the costumes were
daunting.
“It's really hot (in the costume),”
Smulling said, “but it was fun.”
Rico said the parade was a suc
cess even though only one band
marched.
“It was still a really great
(parade),” Rico said.
Rico rode at the front of the
parade with Art Sackles, the com
mander of the Veterans of Foreign
Wars pest in Nebraska City. Sackles
also was running a popcorn stand on
the route. Sackles had a different idea
on the low parade turnout.
“There are too many politicians,”
Sackles said. “People don’t like to
watch politicians. They want to
watch the school bands.”
Groups representing Republican
gubernatorial candidates John
Breslow and Mike Johanns were
among the 87 entries in the parade.
Rep. Jon Christensen, Secretary of
State Scott Moore and lieutenant
governor candidate Dave Maurstad
also made personal appearances.
Still a success
Despite low attendance,
Nebraska City residents and Arbor
Day enthusiasts said the day was
fruitful.
Nebraska City Mayor Tim Hall
said Arbor Day was an excellent
example of how people in his com
munity pull together.
“(Arbor Day) really exemplifies
what Nebraska City is and how
everyone works together,” Hall said.
“With Arbor Day and Applejack in
the fall, it seems to happen flawless
every time.”
Noting that same sense of com
munity, volunteers from Nebraska
City High School helped with many
of the activities around Arbor Day
Farm. Downtown shopkeepers post
ed drawings by area elementary
school children in their windows.
Susie Wirth of Nebraska City, the
educational coordinator for the
National Arbor Day Foundation, said
she was very pleased with everyone’s
work.
At Arbor Day Farm, the center of
pre-parade action, volunteers’ hard
work allowed visiting arborist
groups, including one from Tulsa,
Okla., to tour the ground and eat
fresh apple pie from the farm’s pie
garden.
The group, Up With Trees, said
the day was an interesting look at
how the foundation was promoting
tree replanting after last year’s
October snowstorm.
Traveling by bus with 30 mem
bers, the group planted 105 trees
Saturday around Omaha.
“We had read about the bad storm
in October and thought, ‘Why don’t
k_.ii;_«
we come up?’ So here we are,”
said Jim Costas, an Up With
Trees member. “We’re having a won
derful time.”
“And this pie is delicious,” said
Joe Thompson, another group mem
ber.
Among other things to explore at
Arbor Day Farm were tree-climbing
demonstrations, environmental edu
cation games for children and the
snack bar, full of apple cider, pie and
other delectable goodies.
Free cedar tree seedlings were
available as a means of promoting
replanting and regrowth after the
October storm.
“You hear a lot about Arbor Day,
but you don’t know anything until
you go,” said Bellevue resident Deb
Bahr.
The Bahrs and their two children
have recently moved to Nebraska
from their home in Yellowstone
National Park.
“It’s not Yellowstone,” Deb Bahr
said, “but you’ve got a lot of different
trees here in Nebraska.
“We love it here.”
Kellie D. Bottrell/DN
TOP: BROTHERS ANDREW JEAN
NERET, 5, and Adam Jeanneret, 8,
spin a mosaic stained-glass ball
from Whimsical Expressions during
the Arbor Day Celebration Saturday
afternoon in Nebraska City.
Whimsical Expressions, owned by
Kim and Bryan Peters of Milligan,
set up one of the many craft booths
at the festival.
Dawn Dietrich/DN
BOTTOM LEFT: BRANDON ELL, 6, of
Lincoln, gets his face painted by
Sunshine the clown at the celebra
tion. The festival was the 126th
annual Arbor Day Celebration.
Dawn Dietrich/DN
BOTTOM RIGHT: RUSSELL LINCOLN
of Kirksville, Mo., makes kettle
korn at the celebration. Old Tyme
Kettle Korn is owned and run by
Lincoln and his family.
