One hundred years ago today – on August 16th, 1922 – 32 individuals gathered at Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison in order to initiate the Connecticut Tree Protective Association. These individuals, under the leadership of Cornelius A. Millane and Francis A. Bartlett and with the strong support of Walter O. Filley and W. F. Britton of the CT Agricultural Experiment Station, took the steps necessary to build a strong foundation for a tree care educational association that remains solid in numbers and accomplishments to this day.
It is intriguing to look back and think about how aware those early arborists were likely to have been as to where their efforts would lead. It is also powerful to be a part of CTPA and to connect to all of the tradition, effort, progress and vision that continue to be a defining feature of the organization.
100 years – it is quite an accomplishment. If anyone is interested in exploring this history, the CTPA Timeline has been posted. Today is a good day to climb a tree or to give one a hug. Or, just to take a close look at a tree – its crown, its roots, its bark, leaves and trunk – and appreciate how amazing these wonders of nature are. After all, it was what CTPA members have been doing for a whole century now.
Happy CTPA Centennial!
