'Plant a rose bush': Victoria community remembers Alfred 'The Flowerman' Sillem
A longtime Victoria resident known for his colourful floral bouquets that earned him the nickname "the Flowerman" has died.
Over the last 40 years, locals and visitors alike may remember Alfred Cornelius Sillem stopping by downtown restaurants, bars and hotels, wearing a tuxedo and selling flowers.
He was part of the city itself. The kind of guy you felt you knew, even if you didn't.
If you went out for a night on the town anytime between the 80s up until a few years ago, you probably saw Sillem offering flowers at every bar and nightclub in Victoria.
He was an entertainer, he loved to sing and to dance.
"He'd belt out a tune, whether you liked it or not," said Grant Olson, owner of the Sticky Wicket in Victoria.
He may have been known to us as the Flowerman, but to Janet Atchinson, he was dad.
Though that wasn't always the case.
"I was a street kid and I met Alfred," said Atchinson.
"I thought he was an adult who might actually miss me if he didn't see me," she said. "I went to tell him I'm leaving town and he asked me not to. He went and asked his wife, who'd never met me, if I could become part of the family."
The man who went from a father of three kids to four overnight, died Friday. He was 77.
On social media, tributes poured in.
"He did something I'd never seen done before. Found a niche, he created it, and he did it professionally. I think he loved it," said Olson.
Sillem did his best work before social media, before nights out were seen through a phone.
There's not a lot of video to share, but that's not what's important.
"It's how he touched people," said Atchinson. "We're honoured with the outshow of love and support we've been getting."
So raise a glass, or better yet "plant a rose bush" says Atchinson, in memory of a man who made the Garden City just a little bit more beautiful.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Average hourly wage in Canada now $34.95: StatCan
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
This iconic Canadian song is turning 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Oprah Winfrey: I set an unrealistic standard for dieting
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Toronto police called to Drake's Bridle Path mansion for another alleged intruder on Thursday
Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.
Flat tire on a highway? Here's why you shouldn't try to fix it
If you're cruising down a highway and realize you have a flat tire, you may want to think twice before stopping to fix it on the side of the road.
Storm-battered U.S. South is again under threat. A boy swept into a drain fights for his life
Dangerous storms crashed over parts of the U.S. South on Thursday even as the region cleaned up from earlier severe weather that spawned tornadoes, killed at least three people, and gravely injured a boy who was swept into a storm drain as he played in a flooded street.
Broadcaster and commentator Rex Murphy dead at 77: National Post
The National Post is reporting that Rex Murphy, the pundit and columnist who hosted a national call-in radio show for decades, has died.