A piece of history was planted on the Qulin Elementary playground for the entire town and future family members to enjoy.
The Qulin Royal Riders 4-H Club received a Liberty Tree and celebrated the occasion by planting it with the elementary school in attendance as a part of National 4-H Week.
"This is a big day for the school, our club and the town," Elementary 4-H Leader Nancy Morse said. "It's pretty cool to think this tree's granddad was 800 years old when it died."
The tulip poplar Liberty Tree planted at Qulin Elementary was derived by the process of bud-grafting from a seedling of the last standing Revolutionary era Liberty Tree. The tree was estimated to be about 800 years old when it died in the aftermath of Hurricane Floyd in Annapolis, Md., in 1999.
About 30 elementary 4-H Club members, leaders and school administrators each took a turn shoveling piles of dirt to plant the historic tree during the celebration.
Squeals of excitement came from the students when Morse explained hopefully the students' grandchildren would be able to play under the Liberty Tree's shade someday.
Eddie Flanigan, 4-H Club leader, said his club of nearly 70 students in grades first through 12, will be in charge of taking care of the Liberty Tree by watering it as well as building a small fence around the piece of history to prevent damage from playground activity.
"I am very excited to have the tree here," Flanigan said as he shoveled the remaining mounds of dirt into the hole.
The Royal Riders 4-H Club received the Liberty Tree through a grant from the Missouri 4-H Foundation.
Stephanie Milner, 4-H youth development specialist at the University of Missouri Extension Center, presented the grant to the club in hopes to receive a Liberty Tree. Requirements included where the group planned to plant the tree and how it would be incorporated with the community.
"We plan to have history lessons around the tree," Morse said. "This is one of 30 trees in the state."
The Liberty Tree celebration concluded with Liberty Tree tea and popsicles for all the students.
The original Liberty Tree was a famous elm tree that stood near Boston Common during the Revolutionary era.
In 1765, the Sons of Liberty, a group of American colonists, staged the first act of defiance against the British rule under the tree.
This spawned the resistance that eventually led to the American Revolutionary War. During the war, several other towns designated their own Liberty Trees as support for the resistance spread throughout the colonies. These Liberty Trees became symbols of American Independence.