Officially designated as a Manitoba Heritage Tree!
Read about it below and watch the video!

First nominated as a heritage tree in 1987 by Valdine G. Johnson, a Winnipeg resident. Planted on Arbor Day, May 1891 in the schoolyard of Point Douglas School in Winnipeg (now Argyle Alternative High School) by a nine year old girl named Bessie Goodman. Misunderstanding the concept of "tree planting" to be done by city officials, Bessie dug up a tree from the riverbank, when her principal explained that there was to be tree planting on the school's property. After the officials had left, the teachers decided to let a disappointed Bessie Goodman plant her little cottonwood by the school's water pump. The overflow water from the pump allowed the tree to survive and it grew bigger than all the other trees in the schoolyard. Now over 100 years old, the cottonwood still remains in the same place and continues to flourish. In about 1950, Mrs. Bessie Goodman's daughter, Mrs. R. Hixxon, came from Chicago to see the cottonwood tree and tell the Winnipeg Free Press about the story. It read "A Little Girl Tells Story of Big Tree" by Sonja Warenko.

Source: Manitoba Forestry Association. 1987. Heritage Trees of Manitoba. Canadian Forest Service. Winnipeg, Manitoba. P. 20.

Update: On October 1, 2015, the Point Douglas School Cottonwood, located on the east side of Argyle Alternative High School, 30 Arglye St., in Winnipeg, became the first tree to be officially recognized under the Manitoba Heritage Tree Program. The Minister of Conservation and Water Stewardship, Tom Nevakshonoff, was joined by Rob Altemeyer (Wolseley MLA), Gerry Engel (Trees Winnipeg), Patricia Pohrebniuk (Manitoba Forestry Association), Mark Wasyliw (Chair of the WSD Board of Trustees), and the staff and students of Argyle Alternative High School in announcing this special honour. Take a look at our photos!

Officially designated as a Manitoba Heritage Tree!
Read about it below and watch the video!

First nominated as a heritage tree in 1987 by Valdine G. Johnson, a Winnipeg resident. Planted on Arbor Day, May 1891 in the schoolyard of Point Douglas School in Winnipeg (now Argyle Alternative High School) by a nine year old girl named Bessie Goodman. Misunderstanding the concept of "tree planting" to be done by city officials, Bessie dug up a tree from the riverbank, when her principal explained that there was to be tree planting on the school's property. After the officials had left, the teachers decided to let a disappointed Bessie Goodman plant her little cottonwood by the school's water pump. The overflow water from the pump allowed the tree to survive and it grew bigger than all the other trees in the schoolyard. Now over 100 years old, the cottonwood still remains in the same place and continues to flourish. In about 1950, Mrs. Bessie Goodman's daughter, Mrs. R. Hixxon, came from Chicago to see the cottonwood tree and tell the Winnipeg Free Press about the story. It read "A Little Girl Tells Story of Big Tree" by Sonja Warenko.

Source: Manitoba Forestry Association. 1987. Heritage Trees of Manitoba. Canadian Forest Service. Winnipeg, Manitoba. P. 20.

Update: On October 1, 2015, the Point Douglas School Cottonwood, located on the east side of Argyle Alternative High School, 30 Arglye St., in Winnipeg, became the first tree to be officially recognized under the Manitoba Heritage Tree Program. The Minister of Conservation and Water Stewardship, Tom Nevakshonoff, was joined by Rob Altemeyer (Wolseley MLA), Gerry Engel (Trees Winnipeg), Patricia Pohrebniuk (Manitoba Forestry Association), Mark Wasyliw (Chair of the WSD Board of Trustees), and the staff and students of Argyle Alternative High School in announcing this special honour. Take a look at our photos!