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Friday, April 26, 2013

Take a Trip to Connecticut News from Lime Rock Park: Who is J. Sterling Morton?

Who is J. Sterling Morton?

And why should you care?

Okay, give us a minute to explain...
Mr. Morton, from Nebraska, was President Grover Cleveland’s Secretary of Agriculture. He’s the guy who came up with Arbor Day, America’s celebration and appreciation of trees. The first Arbor Day was April 10, 1872. Historians figure one million trees got planted that day. (Morton had a great PR team...)

So how does this connect to Lime Rock Park?

As part of our campaign begun in 2012 to celebrate our 55th anniversary – it’s called 55 Trees: Planting for the Future – we are offering the opportunity for folks to buy a tree in their own or someone else’s name, to be planted on the grounds of Lime Rock Park.

A permanent commemorative plaque in the name of your choosing is included.

The cost for your tree is $1,000. There are many tree- and location options to choose from; click here for the Park “tree map,” and here for the tree choices. The trees we plant range in width from 2 to 4 inches, and the starting heights are 5 to 11 feet. The trees reach functional maturity in 5 to 6 years.

We are almost halfway to the 55 goal: 22 people or families bought trees, including Lime Rock Formula Ford superstar Fred Stevenson and Grand-Am driver Rob Nimkoff (that's his Red Maple in the photo). Click here for the current list of purchasers and donors.

Would you like to be integral to Lime Rock Park’s ongoing legacy, having your own tree here? It’s a gosh-darn unique opportunity, if we do say so ourselves.

Click here to download the pdf to order your tree, or call us at 860.435.5000.

It’s a “Sterling” time to dig!

Oh, and what’s up with the word “arbor,” you might ask? It’s not as simple as arbor being Latin for tree. It’s actually derived from the Middle English word erber (“plot of grass”), from the French erbier, related to “herb.” It’s complicated... but there will be a test on Monday.

Think green!
The Huggers at Lime Rock Park

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