Wisconsin School of the Air; Afield with Ranger Mac; 28

The Wisconsin School of the air invites you to go afield with a range of Mac today boys and girls. We're going to be a modern Paul Bunyan's So to take you on another rodeo hike down the nature trail here is your guide to Ranger Mack. Hello boys and girls. This is your day. So up and away years ago when boys and girls would gather at homes for their social good times. One of the popular games along with spinning the platter 20 questions clap him clap out west telephone for the game of telephone. The guests would arrange themselves in a long row perhaps seated the player at the head of the row would whisper a message it to be sent down the line to the last one in the row. He would whisper the message to the next in line who in turn would whisper it to the next and so the message was relayed down the line. But each player would add a little flavoring to the message so that when it

reached the end of the line it would be a laughable aural composition to which each player had made some contribution in thought and change of wording. It was an interesting game. There years are a telephone line. Some man way back performed many unusual deeds that started people to talk about his exploits and these stories were told to others and to children each added some glamour to the tables a bit out of his own imagination. In that way the stories became tall tales of tall deeds as the years passed. That's just what happened to Paul Bunyan. Paul was a real person a Frenchman who lived in the province of Quebec Canada where the French had settled. And when Queen Victoria came to

the throne of England the French rebelled. The man who distinguished himself in this rebellion was a log or by the name of Paul Bunyan. He was a huge bearded man a log. Strong of muscle loud a voice an example of fearlessness and he raged among the Queen's troops like Sampson among the Philistines. And when the rebellion was over he became the boss of a lumbering of a logging camp. He was a great leader of men. He could get lots of work out of his men and make them like it take a pride in their accomplishments. He became the hero of his men and they talked about his exploits while seated about the bunk house on the long winter nights. Each story teller

tried to outdo the other and the tales grew taller and taller as time went on and the story spread to the logging camps across the border into America into the camps in Maine and in the Great Lake pineries at the Americans outbid their neighbors in magnifying palls exploit and they made Bunyan a true hero of camp night's entertainment. They gave prog babe the Blue Ox that measured 42 axe handles and a plug of tobacco between the horns and had paws scooped out Lake Michigan as a drinking place for the Blue Ox. When the Blue Ox lost a shoe. Paul carried the shoe to the camp. A sinking need deep been solid rock at every step. So the stories ran wild stories they wear and the men caught the

spirit of the stories and worked hard and recklessly taking trees off the land. Now these tales originated in camps when our country was growing and there was a great demand for lumber at the treeless prairie's needed lumber lots of lumber. It had to be cheap to get the trees to the market regardless of what was done to the forests. It was the great. Quite wisely that was too expensive. No protection was given in the soil from millions of acres of beautiful forest were laid bare in every Northern state to meet the need for lumber more lumber cheap lumber. America was being built. It was a reckless time at the high handed spirit of Paul Bunyan seemed to prevail in the forests. It

is hard to believe that men could be so thoughtless of a heritage that nature had built up over the centuries. But the plain fact is they were. They helped to build America to be shot are but at the but at a cost that left the nation poorer in trees and denuded soil for us to be mown. What took place in our forest in those days is like crying over spilt milk. We know now that we cannot live without trees. We need forests not only for lumber and the thousands of uses wood can provide but because forests are a protector Randon richer of the soil they hold the moist air where the raindrops fall and prevent floods. They are the homes and larder of wildlife. They sweeten the air and their beauty and riches the soul of

man a nation cannot be strong without trade. If you feel an urge within you to render a pit service to your country you can start right at home. You can plant and protect these guardians the trees. These guardians of our land they tell me that the students in our schools will plant over two million trees this spring. Some will be planted by 4 8 club members on their farms in wood lots that have been abused by grazing and unwise cutting. There will be planted as windbreaks and shelter belts to protect homes and the soil from the force of the wind and they will be planted on hillsides to prevent erosion and in places unsuitable for crop land. A million of them will be planted in school chorus of which there are

273 in the state. Many of you trail leaders will be among those planters. Give each small tree your greatest care planted well. Give it a good start in life. Spread out the roots pulverized the soil pass the soil firmly about the roots then wish the tree well with this little prayer grow a little tree grow. You will then be a modern Paul Bunyan using the spade instead of the axe. A builder and restorer instead of a destroyer. You will be a worker with nature in making America more beautiful. America will be a part of you and you a part of America. What has become of Arbor Day. And once it was a part of school life the children look forward to

when the people from the forested areas of our country migrated to the prairie states they missed the trees that had become a part of their lives. In Nebraska a man by the name of J Sterling Martin took the lead in getting the planting started in a law was passed. Setting aside a day each year for schoolchildren to plant trees on the school grounds to rate and tidy up the grounds. The idea spread to other states and eventually reached Wisconsin. Let the children clean up. Ban beautified their own grounds purchased start conservation where children work and play. That was the idea back of Arbor Day. There was a time when our State Department of Public Instruction published the practive Arbor Day and bird manual that was full of helpful suggestions on Arbor Day

observance and on appreciation of nature's gifts. Generally it was a Arbor Day was a good old fashioned observance that is fast growing dim in memory and so I am afraid that most of today's school children will never observe this day never know the meaning of Arbor Day and have been a part of their happy memories of school days. We older folks are responsible for removing this from them. One of the finest things we can do for children is to give them good things to remember. Wouldn't it be fine to revive the day to plant a tree with ceremony and help make beautiful the place where we spend so money of the precious days of childhood. 3. A selected corner of the school ground for the tree where the children will

not harm it in their play. If the soil is good and a hard maple which is the state tree by a good tree from some nursery put it treated like a child should get a good start in life. Plant the tree with the ceremony getting the ceremony written and practicing the songs to be sung and parts to be re cited would be a joy to the school and to the community a day to be remembered years from now school children made their lunches beneath the protecting shade of that tree. And robins are state bird that love the companionship of people may build their nurseries there. Spring is the childhood of the year the Easter time the renewal and resurrection of life. When every clod of dirt feels a stir of mine it is a TIME TO START treaty life

where trees should grow old. If you do not have the chance to plant trees maybe you can take a field trip to an area where planting will be done. Twenty five million trees will be planted in the state this spring. Some of them in areas near your school people are feeling the need for getting trees back on the land with all possible haste. Planting machines have been perfected that plant 10 to 20 10 to 15 acres a day. At these printing machines are Paul Bunyan's in reverse and they put trees back on the land as fast as Paul Bunyan took them off. If you can take such a field trip you may catch the thrill that comes to those who help to keep America green. And you too may want to join the ranks of modern Paul Bunyan's and plant trees each spring at a school forests planting ceremony. We were seated on the ground an old man whose life was near

its and rose to his feet with much labor and made this confession. I have lived all my life in the land of trees. I have cut down thousands of trees but have never planted a tree. In the second childhood of my life now I have come to be with you children on this occasion to plant my first tree I want to do it while I still have the strength to do it. And so we come to the end of our trail for the day. It is bordered with trees and whatever the weather may be says here whatever the weather may be it's the songs we sing and the smiles she wear that make the sun shine everywhere. Whatever the weather may be and so may the Great Spirit put

sunshine in your heart today and for evermore our heat much the familiar Indian farewell brings us to the end of another trip afield with Ranger Mack. He'll be back again next week at the same time to be our guide for another rodeo a trip down the nature trail when he'll tell us all about the might of the lonely. This is the Wisconsin School of the air.