(SitNews) Ketchikan, Alaska - Fifteen years after planting "The Giving Tree" at Ketchikan High School, a re-dedication ceremony took place last Tuesday attended by Mille Campbell from Florida whose idea spawned the project. Campbell's daughter Jessica Mathews, a Ketchikan resident for many years, also attended the re-dedication and read the short story "The Giving Tree", which was also read at the time of the planting in 1999.

White Cliff teacher Krys (Martin) Jurbelon's class in 1999 pose after planting the "Giving Tree". The small tree, a Dwarf Weeping Cherry tree, is pictured behind the class, left of the door.
Photo courtesy Mille Campbell

The story of the "The Giving Tree" began in 1999, with a project idea to share information between Campbell's students and students in Ketchikan. Campbell enlisted the aid of her daughter, Jessica Mathews, to arranged a contact for Campbell and a Ketchikan teacher Krys (Martin) Jurbelon. Once a working contact was established the project came to fruition. The two teachers set up a "giving" project for the first grade students of Jurbelon's of Ketchikan and Campbell's first grade students from Alta Vista Elementary school in Haines City, Florida.

Every month during the school year the students of the two schools would share information about the areas they lived in, writing about their area's history, weather, animals and habitats, lakes, their writing projects and just general conversations with their pen pal partners.

Mille Campbell (Right) with her grandson Hunter Mathews and Heather Dalin. To the left is pictured "The Giving Tree".
Photograph by Carl Thompson ©2014

For Arbor Day in 1999, Campbell had the idea of providing a "Giving Tree" for Jurbelon's class. The "Giving Tree" selected by Campbell was a Dwarf Weeping Cherry tree. After discussion with the high school principal, at the time Larry Eklund, it was decided to plant the tree at Ketchikan High School in a location outside the office door due to lack of planting space available at White Cliff Elementary School.

That day, in 1999, the elementary students walked over to the high school for the planting. As is likely in the rainforest of Southeast Alaska, it rained on their planting parade, but the event went on. Introductions were made and the story "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein was read by Mille Campbell's daughter Jessica Mathews who attended the 1999 event. The White Cliff Elementary students helped dig the hole, while some held the tree and others had the job of packing the dirt around the tree.

Plaque to commemorate to 1999 project
Photograph by Carl Thompson ©2014

During the re-dedication on Tuesday, April 23rd, a plaque was also presented which will commemorate the project and the planting of the tree in 1999 by a class of first grade students who, 15 years later, have graduated and are now young adults.

Edited by Mary Kauffman, SitNews

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Ketchikan, Alaska

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