| Charles
Loring: Historical 'tree lover' in Minneapolis |
Lee
E. Frelich |
| Oct
20, 2006 12:09 PDT |
ENTS:
I just discovered a plaque in honor of Charles Loring, the
founder of the
Minneapolis Park System, and also the one who started the
tradition of
Minneapolis being the most tree covered city in the U.S. It was
not in
Loring Park, which was named after him, but instead is in
Minnehaha Park
east of the waterfall near Lock and Dam No.1 (!?). He died
around 1900 and
the plaque must have been made at that time, since it has a lot
of patina
and has turned green. I helped restore Loring's house, which is
a nice
little Eastlake Victorian style house that we had moved to the
center of
Loring Park several years ago.
The plaque has a strange looking tree on it that looks to me
like a hybrid
of a bur oak and a maple.
It has an interesting inscription:
In Honor of
Charles M. Loring
Tree Lover and Civic Enthusiast
Let dead names be eternized by dead stone,
Let living names by living shafts be known.
Plant thou a tree whose griefless leaves shall sing
Thy deed and thee, each fresh, unfolding spring.
Lee |
|