Beaver Avetstue, Sewickley — Fall of 1914. 



TREE PLANTING IN THREE 



BOROUGHS 



By J. Gerry Curtis 



WHEN Western Pennsylvania 

 is mentioned most people 

 think first of a country 

 devoid of trees and vegeta- 

 tion, where the steel mills, blast furnaces 

 and coke ovens are paramount. True, 

 with the advancement of civilization 

 the sturdy oaks which abounded in 

 that section rapidly disappeared and 

 the towns and cities were noticeably 

 lacking in proper shade trees. But a 

 change has come. During the session 

 of legislature in 1907 a shade tree law 

 was created giving all cities, towns and 

 boroughs in Pennsylvania the power 

 to establish Shade Tree Commissions 

 for the purpose of planting and main- 

 taining trees along the thoroughfares. 



The borough of Sewickley was the 

 first to realize the opportunity of the 

 new law, and in the Spring of 1912, 

 with the appointment of three commis- 



sioners the Borough Shade Tree Com- 

 mission was established. 



Since then over 1,000 trees have been 

 planted and today Sewickley boasts 

 of street after street lined with a uniform 

 planting of vigorous trees comprising 

 seven different varieties. 



The task of setting out the trees 

 each year and the care for same was 

 greatly lessened by the cooperation 

 of the property owners who, realizing 

 the value of the work, entered into the 

 spirit of the movement. 



The Boroughs of Wilkinsburg and 

 Dormont soon followed the example 

 set by the pioneer borough and each 

 year have planted several hundred 

 trees. 



The difficulties which have beset 

 this work vary in each borough. 



Sewickley enjoys a wide parking 

 space on the majority of its streets, 



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