On April 22, 1971, Mayor Gordon N. Johnston took his turn in shoveling dirt onto a newly planted tree at the 38th St. interchange on the freeway. Symbolic "Earth Day" trees were planted at eight sites around the state including Tacoma; the trees were donated by the State Highway Department to call attention to roadside beautification projects. These Earth Day trees were part of the 24,030 trees that were scheduled to be planted during the biennium ending June 30th.
