The fate of this 160-year-old tree will be decided by an appeal board this month.

The fate of a 160-year-old Black Barn Maple tree in Long Branch is being decided by an appeal board whose members are expected to make a ruling this month.

“The hearing to save this tree … is winding up with a decision expected in mid to late May,” according to a release from the Save the Black Barn Maple Committee.

The decision will be made by a Toronto Local Appeal Board (TLAB).

The committee said the City’s General Manager of Parks, Forestry and Recreation has the power to refuse to issue a permit for the injury or destruction of trees.

“This does not only restrict protection to only official Heritage Trees but whether or not a tree is a heritage or should be protected as a potential heritage tree, according to the committee.

“Trees are healthy. Significant vistas will not be adequately protected and preserved,” the group wrote, adding they have provided the city with documentation from a professional arborist and Forest Ontario Heritage tree program advisor.

Councillor Mark Grimes in a letter last month said ‘rumours’ that City Council can act to save the tree are both ‘false and misleading, there is no vote on this matter.’

“There is no settlement,” Grimes wrote. “The city is taking no position on the file since the city has no legal case to call. Urban forestry is no longer opposed.”

Grimes said the filing of a document to TLAB that the tree has been designated Heritage is not accurate and that has been confirmed by Forestry Ontario.

A community drive to save the iconic tree has caught on with residents, with many taking to social media to express their views.

“This tree is far too important to be cut down,” warns Diana. “It is part of our heritage and it puts smiles on people’s faces and a playground and sanctuary to our dwindling wildlife.”

“This is indeed a magnificent and rare tree,” writes Rasa. “It would be a crime to remove it.”

“I am backing my neighbours and residents in protesting the allowance of a heritage tree to be destroyed,” warns Chris Caldwell.

An application has been made by a builder to remove the tree to build a home on the lot.

The Black Barn Maple at the rear of 95 James Street has witnessed the many trials and tribulations that only a local old growth tree could. When it was a natural sapling in the 1860’s, James and Martha Eastwood purchased 500 acres of the Samuel Smith Tract, running south of Lake Shore King’s Highway from Etobicoke Creek to about Thirty First Street.

THE STORE that Tina and Italo and their family owned on Royal York Road for 62 years.

FAMILY PATRIARCH Italo Vigiliante came to Canada as a young man and married Tina in a great love story.

This a thank you to long-time Mimico merchants Tina and Italo Vigiliante, the owners of Tina’s Department Store, on 364 Royal York Road.

Family patriarch Vigiliante passed away earlier this year and the store Is slated to close. Such sad news.

Many customers for decades have shopped in Tina’s store. Loyal customers, as my mother, who would later become friends of the couple and received a peek at some of the many newcomer families the haberdashers helped to succeed on their arrival in Canada.

One of those immigrant families was ours. It must be more than five decades now, when we resettled in Canada from Trinidad and Tobago.

The couple never forgot the feeling of being alone and new themselves in a foreign country. And it is with such values that they lived their lives, traits which they passed on to their children.

My mother would recall that back then she was a young bank worker, who had arrived here with husband, Neville. They had left five children in Trinidad, as they worked at one or two jobs to earn enough funds to sponsor us here.

“They are great people,” my mother said of the Tina and Italo. “They were nice, genuine people who helped many families when they first arrived here.”

It was Tina’s Department Store to whom many newcomers, stunned by autumn’s falling temperatures, leaves and snow, would visit during their first days in Canada to obtain winter clothing, like boots, gloves and toques.

My mother, today in her 80s, will never forget being given clothing for five children on credit, which she dutifully repaid to Tina $100 each payday on her bank worker’s salary until the debt was paid off.

Simple and easy, it was the way business was conducted generations ago in South Etobicoke.

I only recently found out that our first winter gear in Canada was fronted to my mother by Tina, who took a chance on another arriving and thankful family.

“I went looking for her over the years,” my mom says. “I could never catch up with them.”

Even though the two live in different parts of Mississauga, they were never able to re-connect, only in memory and good thoughts.

This all came back recently on learning on the death of Italo Vigiliante, who could only receive a COVID-19 send off with less than a dozen mourners present.

My mother was shocked to learn of his passing at the age of 87.

“He was a really nice man,” according to my mother. “He and Tina kept that place running for many years.”

Their lives was a true love story. Vigilianti met his sweetheart, Giustina Viola, in April 1955, a month after arriving In Canada by ship from his hometown of Terracina, Italy.

The couple married and settled in Mimico to raise a family. Italo worked for Tip Top Tailor and Chubb Canada, before they opened their business in December 1958.

The store, which was named after Tina, has been a mainstay on the Royal York strip, from Judson to Evans Ave., for more than 62 years.

It is a sad loss for the community.

Tom Godfrey is the Publisher of The South Etobicoke News. He was a reporter at the Toronto Sun for many years before deciding to use his skills to work in community journalism. 

MONIKA says this is the season of love and to express yourself. Photo by Scott Falkowski.

May is for all the colours of love.

Love knows no boundaries. Love is universal. I’m sure you have heard these sayings before. But I say really think about them. Love is the one constant in this world. Maybe where we find love changes, but believe me, it is what keeps us ticking.

It’s no wonder the idea of love, giving and receiving love comes straight from the heart. Our heart, our life ticker, is what keeps us going. Love keeps us going. Do you share your love, your love of life, your love of the goodness in your life, with those you love? All it takes is a smile. In these trying times, a smile is the easiest, simplest gift we can give. Celebrate the gift of your heart with a smile.

“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” ― Thich Nhat Hanh

And how about a loud cheer, bless you and thank you to all the Mother’s of this world! We have all been born of a mother’s love. But, many of us forget how fruitful, how giving, how endlesss that love is. This month, we invite you to remember at least 3 moments in your life, when you felt your mother’s love, or a mother figure in your life. Remember them supporting you, cheering you on, boosting your confidence and helping you grow. Write the moments down. Reflect on them. How do you see those moments?  Do you see their wisdom? Do you see the patience? Do you recognize the energy, time, effort that went into showing you love?

We have all had at least one cheerleader that has paved the way for us to keep strong, to choose the next unknown venture.

I ask you to practice gratitude this month in a very specific way:

        take action. 

We have all heard the words: take action. Do it. But what do we usually do? Many of us will pick up flowers, or cake and a card for the mom in our life and offer it as a thank you. Let’s take it a step further and make this a month of healing and growth. Let’s take the step of action to grow our kindness towards others, in a time of stress. Let’s choose. Choose one small action you can take and offer someone this month. Act on it. Do it just because. Because it’s good for your heart health. For example, clean out that pantry for mom. Or stock up grandma’s book shelf from one of the small ‘Free little libraries”. Plus, there is the massive health benefit of helping someone!

Did you know there are actual improvements you feel in your life when you share your time or resources with another person?

For example, volunteering with a social community group, or community centre, delivering food for a friend, offering to do yard work for an elderly neighbour improves YOUR quality of life and decreases depression. Donating some of your time, extra clothing, or even tithing (donating some of your hard earned income) to a community group gives you a brain boost. It directly makes you feel good. The ‘commitment to generosity…can make people happier’ (Psychology Today May, 2018) In one study assessing the Keys to Happiness, those who prioritized spirituality/religion, and then relationships (with family, friends, neighbours) were happier than those that valued personal life goals first.

So, to grow your heart health…

Take a small step toward opening your heart to a loved one and fill this world with the colours of love, all month long.

“Everybody wants to save the Earth; nobody wants to help Mom do the dishes.” —P.J. O’Rourke

Contact Monika Meulman, of the Healing Muse Apothecary, at 2859 Lake Shore Blvd. W., or 416-347-5449, or @healingmuse or www.healingmuse.com