Gilford will accept donation of Liberty Tree Memorial April 30 ceremony

The town is the recipient of a Liberty Tree Memorial and has been designated one of the country’s Liberty Tree Memorial sites. Gilford will receive a ceremonial 14 ft. to 19 ft. tall disease-resistant American Liberty Elm and commemorative bronze Liberty Tree plaque that tells the story of our country’s freedom. The gift is made possible by a grant through Elm Research Institute of Keene. The Liberty Tree dedication ceremony is being planned for Friday, April 30 and time will be announced. The public will be invited to attend.

As early as 1646, the colonists celebrated the planting of shade trees. Their favorite was the American elm, native to their new country. Boston’s famous Liberty Tree was planted in 1646, about 25 years after the landing at Plymouth Rock. By the time of the Revolution, it was over 100 ft. tall and had become popular as the rallying point for protests against George III and a meeting place for the "Sons of Liberty." In an act of revenge, the British troops cut down the "Liberty Tree" in August of 1776. Reflecting on that moment, General Lafayette said "The world should never forget the spot where once stood the Liberty Tree, so famous in your annals."

Elm Research Institute(ERI), Keene, a nonprofit organization is the sponsor and promoter of the Liberty Tree Memorials project. To date 388 towns have partnered with local youth oriented organizations to commemorate this first symbol of freedom. 1,000 Liberty Tree Memorial will be dedicated in 2010.

To qualify for the Liberty Tree Memorial project, a town must agree to establish the Liberty Tree Memorial in a prominent location and hold a public event at which time the Thomas Paine poem ‘Liberty Tree” is read. Elm Research Institute is currently accepting letters of interest from towns and civic minded nonprofit groups who wish to participate.

For more information about this national project, phone Elm Research Institute, 603-358-6198, visit online at www.elmresearch.org or write to 11 Kit Street, Keene, NH, 03431.