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ometimes in life, a small event or item can take on a life of its own. Such is the situation with the humble Redbud and the Rotary Club of Norfolk Sunrise (RCNS) in this area. In the 1950s, my mother Marjorie Wallace went to Landon’s Nursery on Norfolk Street South Simcoe and purchased a redbud tree (officially known as the Eastern Redbud or Cercis Canadensis). It was planted in our front lawn where its beauty could be enjoyed whenever we came home. It had three enjoyable seasons. In the spring, its hundreds of pink blossoms would turn the sky into an ethereal paradise of colour, the summer gave welcomed but not overpowering shade, and the fall season produced thousands of golden heart shaped leaves to again impress the viewer." Now, the reader is asked to go to the 'Read more ...' tab to find out how this story unfolds!
"As time went on, and the little tree matured. it produced seeds some of which landed in a rose bed nearby and because of the thorns of the roses a few were able to survive the hungry rabbits. At that time, the deer had not returned to our gardens. Over the years, a small redbud might survive and could be transplanted. When my wife and I moved here in 1989, I became aware of the little redbuds coming along. I also introduced redbud seeds and saplings from other areas in Norfolk so the current ones are perhaps descended from a variety of redbud trees rather than solely the one main one.
I had also become aware of Operation Eyesight Universal (OEU), a Calgary based Canadian charity doing work with Rotary around the world. As a fund raiser for OEU, when I would give a small tree to someone I would suggest that they make a donation to Rotary for OEU support. In the early years, the suggested donation was $20 and as decades passed and the cost of doing cataract surgery increased the suggested donation was $30, and eventually $50. Over the years, thousands of dollars have been raised through these little trees, and many hundreds of people have had their sight restored.
The RCNS has worked closely with Norfolk County to improve and maintain the walking trail that is such a wonderful asset to our community. For Rotary’s Centennial in 2012 when the district conference was held in Norfolk, a coordinated effort to plant 100 flowering trees along the trail involved Rotarians from across the District as well as exchange students from around the world. All helped to enhance our local environment.
Since then, another wish or dream has moved closer to fruition. In the same way that the Lilac Gardens in Hamilton attract hundreds people to get out and enjoy the exquisite beauty of nature, and in Japan the Japanese Cherry blossoms evoke the glory of nature, so might the RCNS create an area of beauty and at no cost allow people to bring a blanket and picnic lunch and slow down their pace and just enjoy the beauty of nature in spring and fall. The RCNS is close to bringing this to fruition. Next to the Lions Park, a wonderful facility in north Simcoe, there now is a stretch of many hundreds of Redbud trees, along with 14,600 daffodils that can be enjoyed by all at no cost. We are still developing this initiative.
It has been my opportunity to serve the community by raising/providing many hundreds of these trees along with my brother Jim Wallace, providing sight to thousands in distant parts of the globe, and enriching the quality of life locally. All because of the humble Redbud that took on a life of its own."
Reminiscence from 'Johnny Redbud' himself, contributed by Past-President John Wallace for publication on 14 May 2025.
