Celebrating Loring Day
On April 28, 1916, Minneapolis did not celebrate Arbor Day. Instead, the city went all out to celebrate Loring Day. Schoolchildren, public officials, and a who’s-who of local society planted elm trees throughout the city in honor of the “Father of the Minneapolis Parks,” Charles M. Loring.
Born in Portland, Maine, Charles Loring first arrived in the frontier town of Minneapolis in 1860. An active participant in local business and government, Loring was named the first president of the new Minneapolis Park Board in 1883. Loring’s leadership was praised early and often. In 1890, Central Park was renamed Loring Park in his honor, and in 1916 the Minneapolis City Council unanimously decreed (at the request of a local D.A.R. chapter) that that year’s Arbor Day become Loring Day.
In honor of the new holiday, elm trees were planted throughout the city--in parks, in front of schools, and along boulevards. The park board gave a tree to each public school, and students dug the holes and planted the trees themselves. In Loring Park, the mayor and park board president joined with members of the Old Pioneers to commemorate the park’s namesake. Each member of the park board personally planted a tree along Excelsior Boulevard near the Minikahda Club. Over 1,000 “Loring Elms” were planted as part of the celebration.
Charles Loring unfortunately missed the festivities. He was at his winter home in Riverside, California. He may have had other chances to celebrate, however. Riverside was celebrating its own Loring Day by 1919.
Photos from the Hennepin County Library Digital Collections.