For 24 years Larson Manufacturing has been celebrating Arbor Day in a big way.
Each year, every employee receives a tree or shrub to plant. A commemorative tree is planted at each manufacturing and office site. Over the years, LARSON has dramatically affected the landscape of our communities.
To date, Larson Manufacturing has given away over 21,000 trees to their employees. The tradition was started in 1992 by now retired LARSON employee Glenn Kuschel.
“Arbor day at Larson has always been tied to the replenishment of the wood we use in making solid core doors. We have given trees not only to the employees but others in the area to include, the city, Swiftel center, state fair, Lake Mills Park & Rec and many organizations,“ Kuschel said.
Kuschel noted, LARSON suppliers do a terrific job of as stewards of the land replacing three trees for each used, a truly commendable deed.
About Arbor Day
Arbor Day was founded in 1872 by Pioneer J. Sterling Morton, who advocated tree planting in the Nebraska Territory. Throughout his career, Morton worked to improve agricultural techniques in his adopted state and throughout the United States when he served as President Grover Cleveland's Secretary of Agriculture. But his most important legacy is Arbor Day.
Morton felt that Nebraska's landscape and economy would benefit from the wide-scale planting of trees. He set an example himself by planting orchards, shade trees and wind breaks on his own farm and he urged his neighbors to follow suit. Morton's real opportunity, though, arrived when he became a member of Nebraska's state board of agriculture. He proposed that a special day be set aside dedicated to tree planting and increasing awareness of the importance of trees. Nebraska's first Arbor Day was an amazing success.
More than one million trees were planted on that first Arbor Day. The tradition grew over the years and in 1970, President Richard Nixon proclaimed the last Friday in April as National Arbor Day.