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The people of Alexandria are rallying behind one of their civil treasures, challenging the township of North Glengarry to reinstate one tree’s honour.
It’s called the “shoe tree,” and its name says it all. For eight or nine years, on the corner of Kenyon Street and County Road, residents of Alexandria have been tossing their shoes over the great heights of the towering catalpa tree as an expression of freedom and a new step in life.
“There’re all kinds of urban legends attached to it,” said Alain Lauzon, the owner of Raage Skate Co. and the tree’s longtime neighbour and landlord. “For me, the one I follow is that we’ve been somewhere, we’ve walked in these shoes, and we want to take a step in a new direction.”
But over Christmas the township of North Glengarry designated the shoes a safety hazard, worrying for its costly snowplows and for people walking underneath who fall prey to the horde of dangling shoes.
“We have a $170,000 snowblower. The last thing I needed was a steel-toe boot to go through it and mess it up,” Ryan Morton, the North Glengarry public works director, told the Glengarry News.
For many like Lauzon, the tree and its shoes represented an artistic expression for people living in the area, especially skateboarders. The “shoe tree” was also a landmark for local fundraisers and food drives.
“People took photos of the tree and it made them happy,” Lauzon said.
Lauzon recalled the times he saw passerbyers take pictures of the tree, only to then go into their own trunks, grab a pair of shoes, and toss them over the exposed branches themselves, joining in the unspoken, proverbial fellowship of shoe-throwers.
“When we first started off throwing shoes, I thought there was so many of them that it was very artistic,” Lauzon said. “But it’s art — or at least it should be.”
At the end of the day, the township maintains that public safety trumps this particular piece of public art. “We understand the tree has many meanings for other people, but our concern is for public safety,” said Daniel Gagnon, the chief administrative officer of the township of North Glengarry.
The township is currently undergoing a “beautification and rejuvenation” process under its community improvement plan, according to Gagnon.
For now, warnings from the township that the shoes will be removed immediately has stopped any recent attempts to restore the shoes. Lauzon, however, has his suspicions that people of Alexandria can expect to see some shoes hanging over the maple tree on Kenyon Street in the spring.
查看原文...
It’s called the “shoe tree,” and its name says it all. For eight or nine years, on the corner of Kenyon Street and County Road, residents of Alexandria have been tossing their shoes over the great heights of the towering catalpa tree as an expression of freedom and a new step in life.
“There’re all kinds of urban legends attached to it,” said Alain Lauzon, the owner of Raage Skate Co. and the tree’s longtime neighbour and landlord. “For me, the one I follow is that we’ve been somewhere, we’ve walked in these shoes, and we want to take a step in a new direction.”
But over Christmas the township of North Glengarry designated the shoes a safety hazard, worrying for its costly snowplows and for people walking underneath who fall prey to the horde of dangling shoes.
“We have a $170,000 snowblower. The last thing I needed was a steel-toe boot to go through it and mess it up,” Ryan Morton, the North Glengarry public works director, told the Glengarry News.
For many like Lauzon, the tree and its shoes represented an artistic expression for people living in the area, especially skateboarders. The “shoe tree” was also a landmark for local fundraisers and food drives.
“People took photos of the tree and it made them happy,” Lauzon said.
Lauzon recalled the times he saw passerbyers take pictures of the tree, only to then go into their own trunks, grab a pair of shoes, and toss them over the exposed branches themselves, joining in the unspoken, proverbial fellowship of shoe-throwers.
“When we first started off throwing shoes, I thought there was so many of them that it was very artistic,” Lauzon said. “But it’s art — or at least it should be.”
At the end of the day, the township maintains that public safety trumps this particular piece of public art. “We understand the tree has many meanings for other people, but our concern is for public safety,” said Daniel Gagnon, the chief administrative officer of the township of North Glengarry.
The township is currently undergoing a “beautification and rejuvenation” process under its community improvement plan, according to Gagnon.
For now, warnings from the township that the shoes will be removed immediately has stopped any recent attempts to restore the shoes. Lauzon, however, has his suspicions that people of Alexandria can expect to see some shoes hanging over the maple tree on Kenyon Street in the spring.
查看原文...
