In the 1960's I created a Memorial Tree Program for the town of Manchester, Connecticut. People were invited to send in a sum of money for which a tree or a shrub would be planted. This could serve to memorialize someone who had died or to honor a living person. The donor would be acknowledged by receiving a thank you card and having his or her name published in our local newspaper. The recipients family would also receive notification of the gift. Hazel Lutz drew the art work for the notices and made plaques to distribute throughout the town to publicize the program. I had noted similar programs in Camden, Maine and Memphis, Tennessee and thought Manchester could benefit from such a program.

As a result of the program several hundred trees and shrubs were planted throughout the city and it added greatly to the beauty of our City of Village Charm. The administration of the program was carried out by the Manchester Chamber of Commerce. Unfortunately, when our local newspaper was discontinued the program suffered and its effectiveness diminished. Recently, however, the town of Manchester has assumed the administration of the program and notice of this can been seen below in the brochure, along with some other information.

An article written in the local paper about the tree program:

A letter to the editor I wrote about the program:

A Town of Manchester brochure for the program:

A card of appreciation sent to the donors to the program: