Aquetong Spring Tree Planting Ceremony

Barbara Bluejay Michalski as she prepared the location for planting an Eastern Red Cedar tree next to Aquetong Spring.

This tree replaced a decayed cedar that had been planted by Barbara Bluejay Michalski's grandfather, Chief Whippoorwill, Bill Thompson, three decades before. The cedar and a sugar maple were special additions to fulfill a request by the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania for use in tribal ceremonial practices. Aquetong Spring, a site of Lenape activity for centuries before the Europeans arrived, continues to play an important role in tribal ceremonies. Ms. Michalski, who is a liaison between the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania and the Aquetong Spring Park Advisory Committee, blessed the trees on April 19th, just prior to the park’s closing for several months of construction. Attending the planting ceremony were other members of the Aquetong Spring Park Advisory Committee, Township Manager Dennis Carney (who arranged the logistics) and Peter Schalwm and staff of PLS Landscaping in Solebury.