New Roly Bird 'Tree of Good Fortune' Planted at Burlington City Hall
MAYOR MEED WARD'S TAKE:The original tree was planted as a sign of friendship and good fortune. In 2019, I took up the late former Burlington Mayor Roly Bird’s tradition of gifting a horse chestnut from the tree to citizens, visitors and political dignitaries, during the Official Burlington Delegation trip to Itabashi, Japan in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the twinning of our cities. I gifted a chestnut souvenir from the original tree – and crafted by a Burlington resident – to Mayor Takeshi Sakamoto. It is great to see this symbol and great piece of Burlington history replanted and the legacy of friendship and good fortune continue in our city.”*Please see below a news release issued by the City of Burlington.
Burlington, Ont. — Oct. 14, 2021 — Good fortune will continue to bloom within downtown Burlington with the planting of a new “Tree of Good Fortune” at City Hall in the greenspace at Brant and Ontario Street. The new Horse Chestnut tree has been planted in the same spot as the original tree and is marked by the original plaque.About the Tree of Good FortuneThe City of Burlington’s first Tree of Good Fortune was planted from a Horse Chestnut tree seedling from Burlington resident Dr. Wilbur Weaver many years ago. In 1992, the Tree of Good Fortune was dedicated to former Mayor of Burlington Roly Bird (1978-1991), in honour of the faith and ambition he instilled in the recipients of the tree’s fruit.During Mayor Bird’s term of office, he gathered the horse chestnuts from the tree in the fall and presented them throughout the year to citizens of the city, visitors to Burlington and political dignitaries.When Mayor Bird honoured someone with a souvenir chestnut, he offered the following words of wisdom:
“This is the fruit of THE TREE OF GOOD FORTUNE. If you accept this fruit and believe, have faith and work very hard in life, you will achieve all of the goals and objectives you set for yourself, and everything that you aspire to will come to pass. You must, however, continue to hold on to the fruit of THE TREE OF GOOD FORTUNE, to have belief, great faith, and especially work hard, and the fruit of THE TREE OF GOOD FORTUNE will greatly assist you as you move through this life.”
Sadly, the original tree had to be removed for public safety in early 2020 due to age, rot and damage from a 2018 windstorm.Residents are welcome to visit the new Tree of Good fortune.RELATED LINK:
- What Happened to Burlington’s Roly Bird Horse Chestnut Tree?
- City of Burlington Forestry Operations: burlington.ca/forestry
--*Posted by John Bkila, Mayor's Media and Digital Communications Specialist