HISTORY

Pottstown had thousands of street trees in early 1900's, but most were gone by the 1970's. In September of 1983, The Mercury published a series of articles about the loss of street trees. Mercury publisher Robert Y. Kurtz convened a group of civic leaders to form the board of Trees Inc. The original Trees Inc. board members included:

• Robert McKinney, former borough manager – President
• Robert Kurtz, Mercury publisher – Secretary*
• Raymond Elliott, president of First Federal Savings – Treasurer*
• Rita Banning, Montgomery County Commissioner
• Paul Bartle, chairman of the Montgomery County Commissioners
• Willard Bickel, vice president, Pottstown Memorial Medical Center
• Thomas Harwood, assistant borough manager*
• State Sen. Edwin G. Holl*
• Thomas Hylton, Mercury reporter
• Charles Lewis, president of Lewis Industries
• Benjamin Longaker, president of Schuykill Valley Oil Co.*
• Ronald Reynier, Pottstown solicitor
• James Rodgers, Pottstown police chief
• Barbara Vroman, Mercury managing editor
• George Wausnock, State Farm insurance agent
* Robert Wood, Pottstown nurseryman*

* now deceased

Trees Inc. began a campaign to raise $500,000 to purchase and plant street trees. The first trees were planted in the spring of 1984. After tentative tree planting locations were identified, letters were sent to affected property owners to ascertain if they would accept a free street tree. The major portion of the tree planting took place in 1984, 1985 and 1986.

Trees Inc. has planted more than 2,500 street trees. Since the late 1980's, Trees Inc., has mostly planted replacement trees.

In the 1990's Trees Inc. turned its attention to tree maintenance. In 1991, an inventory was conducted of all Pottstown street trees. All dead trees and stumps - more than 75 - were removed. Tree wells were enlarged to provide more room for the roots to grow. Trees Inc. volunteers watered young trees during the droughts of 1988, 1995 and 2002 with aid of the Phillies Fire Co. In 1995, Trees Inc. began a program of maintaining all Pottstown street trees, not just the ones it planted.

Since the Trees Inc. fundraising campaign ended in the 1980's, Trees Inc. received state and county grants totaling $59,000 to plant and maintain trees in the 1990's. From 2001 to 2007, the Borough of Pottstown contributed about $21,000 annually to Trees Inc. for tree maintenance and replacement.  The contribution was terminated in 2008 as an economy move by the Borough.

In 2008, the board of Trees Inc. decided to start slowly spending down its $100,000 maintenance fund over a period of years to perform essential maintenance.  When the economy recovers, we hope the Borough will resume contributions to Trees Inc. for tree maintenance.

Download a pdf of the full illustrated history of Trees Inc.