Help plant an apple tree at Col. Palmer house Sunday

The Crystal Lake Park District along with the Crystal Lake Historical Society, is hosting a Johnny Appleseed tree-planting ceremony at 11:30 a.m. Sunday at the Colonel Palmer House, at 660 E. Terra Cotta Road in Crystal Lake.

The ceremony will honor the planting of a "Rambo" apple tree, propagated by a graft taken from a 140-year-old apple tree planted in Ohio by John Chapman, the real Johnny Appleseed.

Visitors also will enjoy a visit from Johnny Appleseed, informal tours of the Col. Palmer House and refreshments.

This planting of a Rambo apple tree at the Col. Palmer House is made possible through a generous donation by Countryside Flower Shop and Nursery.

Though the history of the tree to be planted began 140 years ago, it was in 1994 that Jeff Meyer located a "Rambo" apple tree that had been planted by Johnny Appleseed on an Ohio farm.

Aided by the owners of the farm and the Ashland County (Ohio) Historical Society, it was determined that the tree was planted by John Chapman, a frequent visitor to the farm. By the time the tree was rediscovered, it was struggling against age-related problems, but was able to provide usable cuttings for the Famous and Historic Tree Program.

The tree was since destroyed in a storm in 1996, but not before it provided the program with 10,000 new grafts. The tree to be planted at the Col. Palmer House comes from one of these grafts.

For more information about the Johnny Appleseed tree-planting ceremony, contact Ann Viger at (815) 459-0680, ext. 205, or e-mail to aviger@ crystallakeparks.org.