| World War II had a tremendous impact on the arboriculture industry. The labor
force was decimated almost overnight as young men left for military service.
Supplies and tools were scarce and gasoline was rationed. Tree companies joined
the war effort by volunteering their services for camouflage duties and by
registering their equipment for possible service in fire brigades or transport.
The leaders of NSTC and the National Arborist Association (NAA), formed in
1938, advised arborists to lay in adequate supplies of fertilizers, fungicides,
and insecticides. Conservation was also called for. Waste from spraying had to
be reduced to a minimum; care and efficiency in every practice had to be
reviewed.
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Following World War II, the well-dressed tree surgeon wore surplus military
britches and high-lacing boots. Climbers used manila ropes, and a bowline on a
bight served as a saddle until bosun's seat and barrel stave saddles were
introduced. |
Early chain saw demonstration at the 1949 NSTC conference. |
The war provided one bright light for arboriculture — line
clearance was declared an imperative for national defense. Power for war
industries was essential; telegraph and telephone communication was vital, as
was railroad and vehicular transportation for rapid supply and transport. More
than two-thirds of the remaining personnel in arboriculture would be performing
line clearing work before the war ended. This had great significance on the
survival of many tree companies.
By the 1940s, Proceedings and Arborist’s News had become respected means of
transferring the latest arboriculture research findings into practice. Soon the
organization would begin publishing books and other nonserial publications, the
first being Transplanting of Trees and Shrubs in the Northeastern and North
Central United States. It was published in 1943 in cooperation with the
National Arborist Association in bulletin form in response to a request from
the Camouflage Division of the Armed Forces.
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In 1946, the NSTC marked two significant events in its history: the
adoption of a Code of Ethics for Arborists and the creation of a fund for
research. The Code of Ethics was seen as an important step toward advancing
arboriculture as a respected profession. The Memorial Research Fund was
formally established on December 12, 1946, with two thousand dollars
transferred from the general fund of NSTC. This research fund represented a new
opportunity and an obligation for arborists to sponsor at least part of the
research from which they were the principal beneficiaries.
In 1947, the NSTC adopted an official emblem centered on a green deciduous tree
with a full crown and trunk enclosed by a circle including the organization
name.
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Educational sessions have always been a critical part of the ISA experience.
Baltimore, 1949. |
Early chain saw demonstration at the 1949 NSTC conference. |
Membership growth was stimulated through chapter development, with the NSTC
exceeding one thousand members for the first time in 1948.
In 1949, executive secretary Chadwick took the occasion of the Conference’s
25th anniversary to assess the state of the NSTC. In commenting on certain
strengths and weaknesses, Chadwick saw great value in establishment of
chapters, noting the increase in national membership with the proliferation of
additional state and national meetings. He stated that the two principal
publications of NSTC, the Annual Proceedings of the National Shade Tree
Conference and the Arborist’s News periodical, were the foremost sources of
arborist literature in the world.
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