
Cut Leaf Weeping Birch 

American Elm 
Living Memorials 
One good day the present War will end. When 
the world is quiet again the communities of this Na- 
tion will feel a need to express the abiding conscious- 
ness of the sacrifices which have been made for it 
and for us. 
After every war the same urge is felt. Frequently 
the task of planning is placed in the hands of citizens 
who have the best will in the world but who do not 
have the experience or the specialized knowledge to 
bring to the effort the long range planning and imag- 
ination so essential to usefulness and permanency. 
As a result, the memorials of each war have left an im- 
pression of the era in which they were erected. While the 
memorials of the American Revolution, the War of 1812 and 
the Civil War are somewhat similar, consisting mainly of 
battle monuments, battlefields, and stacks of cannon _ balls, 
the firsts World War marked a distinct change in the con- 
ception of war memorials. Many of them embodied an ex- 
cellence of architectural and landscape beauty still revered 
today. The trend to utility combined with natural beauty, 
however, was not emphasized sufhciently after the last World 
War to give these memorials the greatest usefulness and 
esthetic value. Therefore, the first and most important con- 
sideration in planning a memorial is to be sure that it is de- 
signed with foresight and that every detail is considered before 
actual construction begins. In most communities it’is better 
to plan large, co-operative memorials than a number of scat- 
tered insignificant ones. 
There are any number of forms which a memorial may 
take. Below is a list of suggestions: 
Arboretums 
Avenue plantings 
Bird sanctuaries 
City parks and squares 
Forestry projects 
Parks and parkways 
Picnic grounds 
Roadside plantings 
Conservation areas (game 
refuges, soil conser- 
vation projects) 
For avenue plantings, city parks, 
parkways, picnic grounds and road- 
side plantings, the American Elm or 
the Minneapolis Park Elm are out- 
standing as memorial trees. 
There is no greater thrill than to 
drive down a broad avenue, bor- 
bored with stately arching elms 
whose branches come _ together, 
forming a canopy of green. 
These trees preserve for all time 
the memory of those boys who 
served in World War II. 
Some of those beautiful elms 
planted in your boulevard, lawn or 
outdoor living room will be a fitting 
memorial for your loved ones who 
have served. 
Get together with your neighbors 
and plan for some Memorial Plant- 
ings this spring. Begin plans for a 
new memorial park, a new roadside 
planting program at the entrances 
to your town, or a memorial picnic 
and recreational area near one of the 
lakes or rivers which will be enjoyed 
by all, in memory of their boys who 
served so valiantly. 
Don’t let a single year go by with- 
out starting some of these memorial 
plantings. Plant this spring. 
[28] 

Norway Maple 
Mlaut 
ptadrews 
Shade aud 
Lawu “freee 
at 
Geauty aud 
Permanency 

They are 
Truly 
Living Memorials 

Schwedler Red-Leaf Maple 
