OXFORD – “The best friend on earth of man is the tree. When we use the tree respectfully and economically, we have one of the greatest resources on earth.” This sage quote, originally said by Frank Lloyd Wright, was read aloud by student, Angelo Gonzalez at the 16th annual “Tree City USA” Arbor Day Celebration on April 25. Oxford Village held its Arbor Day ceremony that morning with a proclamation, giving away more than 300 seedling trees and presenting prizes to the Arbor Day poster contest winners.

Members of the Oxford Village Tree Board arrived at the LaFayette Park band shell early to set things up, while a crowd of people grew for the 9 a.m. tree give-away. It was an extraordinarily sunny and warm morning for the Arbor Day Celebration. Oxford Village Tree Board members who attended were Roger Monaco, Gray Stevens, Dale Johnson, Jeanie Petersen and John Godfrey. Marian Godfrey was there to assist and give away trees. Greg Owens the DEC Senior Forester from Sherburne was there for the Tree City presentation.

On the steps of the LaFayette Park bandstand, the Oxford Village Deputy Mayor Laura L. Begeal read the Arbor Day proclamation. Deputy Mayor Begeal was then presented with a new Tree City USA flag and a Tree City USA “leaf” for their plaque (in the Village Hall), by Senior Forester Greg Owens. Owens said that the work the Village Tree Board has done over 16 years, with tree documentation and securing grant money to plant more trees, shows its commitment to its trees. Oxford was named a “Tree City USA” by the National Arbor Day Foundation.

Oxford Academy fifth graders, winners of the 2009 regional Arbor Day poster contest, Misty Johnson, Adriana Rheinheimer, and Angelo Gonzalez read a lovely poem to the crowd along with their school’s principal, Katie Hansen. The poem, titled, “Trees of the Fragrant Forest” explained what trees do for our world. They then read wise quotes about trees by Thomas Jefferson, Martin Luther King, Jr. and other scholarly men.