Happy Birthday, America! In honor of 250 years since 1776, the Ohio Commission for the U.S. Semi quincentennial (America 250) has chosen a different theme each month to highlight and celebrate Ohio’s rich history. Each month, The Dawes Arboretum’s History Team will be dropping a new collection to our archives that align with those themes. The November theme is Ohio Serves: Remembering Veterans, First Responders & Front-Line Heroes. Read about four veteran Tree Dedicators at Dawes.
The Arboretum has had over 40 Tree Dedications for veterans. At all veteran Tree Dedications, there’s a medallion holding an American flag that represents the war or branch of the military they were in. This month, we’re highlighting four: General John Pershing, Admiral Richard Byrd, Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King and Major John Clem.
- General John J. Pershing was the 13th Tree Dedicator at The Arboretum, dedicating ‘Christine Busiman’ elm entrance trees on Dec. 22, 1929. Now iconically known as The Arboretum’s “Pershing Avenue,” this is where most of The Arboretum’s veteran Tree Dedications are located.
- The 18th was Major John Clem, Newark native, who dedicated a tree on Sept. 19, 1930, honoring the Army of the Cumberland in 1930. Clem joined the Union Army and became known as one of the most famous drummer boys of the Civil War. Drummer boys served the vital function of communication by performing drum calls signaling a variety of commands.
- The 27th was Admiral Richard Byrd, a naval aviator and a polar explorer who dedicated a white fir on March 29, 1932. Byrd discovered and named the Rockefeller and Edsel Ford mountains, and the western portion of Marie Byrd Land, named for his wife in 1929 in Antarctica.
- The 56th was Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King was an Ohio native and Chief of Naval Operations in World War Two. His tree was dedicated on Oct. 4, 1946. During his dedication speech, he said, “May this tree planted this day flourish and prosper for many years as evidence for the patriotism, valor and fidelity of the Navy, the Marine corps and the Coast Guard who can be relied upon – in the future as in the past – to protect, uphold and defend the American way of life – Government of the people, by the people, for the people.”
To see these archival materials and more on the digital archive, click this link or go to the Advanced Search page and type out “America 250-Ohio” in Search Terms to view the entire collection. For questions concerning the digital archive, please email daweshistory@dawesarb.org.
Are you interested in doing in-person research at The Arboretum? Do you have a history question that you can’t find the answer online? Don’t hesitate to use the Department’s History Research Request Form, where you can get answers to all your Dawes history-related questions and research requests.