‘Maple Leaf Forever’ tree will live on
Leslieville’s fallen giant will become everything from canes to a Blue Rodeo guitar
It doesn’t matter that historians dispute that the Leslieville tree that was toppled in a windstorm in July 2013 was the one that inspired Alexander Muir in1867 to write his “Maple Leaf Forever,” Canada’s almost-national anthem.
Let the historical chips fall where they may. The legend, the song and, now, the Laing St. Silver Maple tree associated with both will live on.
On Saturday in the Todmorden Mills Heritage Site, where Upper Canada’s first paper mill once sat nestled below what is now Broadview Ave. and Pottery Rd., a sapling from the seed of the tree was planted. But 150 or so projects will grow. In attendance were local city councillors Paula Fletcher, Mary Fragedakis and Mary Margaret McMahon, members of the Toronto Emergency Medical Services and Queen’s Own Rifles, in which Muir saw action as a captain, children and teachers from Leslieville Junior Public School, where Muir was the first headmaster, Blue Rodeo’s Colin Cripps as well as woodcarvers and carpenters.
All were on hand to accept branches, logs, planks and even sawdust from the tree — all to be fashioned into everything from ceremonial drill canes for the EMS to a House of Commons bench to honour the late leader of the NDP, Jack Layton.
Cradling his plank like a perfectly good guitar, Cripps explained that he and a friend, Dave Fox, would design a distinct instrument that would be unmistakably Canadian.
“I think when people see it, they will love it,” he said, adding that he would regularly pass the living tree which was not far from his home. “We want to give it a new life, and a real life where it’s being used.” The intent, he added, is for Blue Rodeo to keep the guitar for a year and then hand it off to another Canadian musician or band for a year and then another band.
“It’s got to be a great guitar that people want to play.” So far, some 75 projects have been confirmed. It’s hoped that, by the time all the wood is distributed, some 150 projects in total will turn out over 5,000 individual items. “The tree was a big part of our tradition and history,” said Leasa Adams, principal of Leslieville School which marked its 150th anniversary this year. “We’re thinking of having our first schoolhouse etched on this,” she said, holding up a large wooden disc from one of the upper branches. Woodcarver Tom Fidgen loaded many pieces into his van. He’ll be fashioning some into lecterns for the Parliamentary library plus the bench honouring Layton. However, he’ll need more than what he can get from the famed maple so he’ll be gathering wood from different tree species around town. “This will reflect Toronto’s diversity,” he said. Probably the most ambitious project is by the Ontario Woodcarvers Association. It has a large chunk of the hollowed out trunk, about two metres high and a metre in diameter. Pointing to a hole where she believes raccoons got in, project leader Emma Perlaky described the concept as a tower of Toronto history, to be festooned with a spiral of carved maple leafs, each etched with a different period beginning with pre-colonial times until today.
The wood workers will take turns at the tower at the Ontario Science Centre, where the public can watch the project take form.
“We will be in the public eye,” Perlaky said.
“We might even ask visitors if they want to make a chisel cut. But just one.”
More pieces from the tree, all of which have been inventoried, are available for a donation to an urban forestry initiative. A catalogue can be downloaded from yourleaf.org. Project proposals should be sent to greentech@toronto.ca.