'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
What's a Barnacle? It's yellow, sticks and screams if you try to pry it off your car
Barnacles, bright yellow devices used to make sure parking scofflaws pay their tickets, could soon be making their way to cities across Canada.
Verdun Airbnb listing taken down amid complaints, fines and frustration from neighbours
An Airbnb in Montreal's Verdun borough was the source of much frustration from neighbours who say there were constant parties at the location. It has been taken down from the app, but housing advocates remain upset about short-term rentals.
Man who set himself on fire outside Trump trial dies of injuries, police say
A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former U.S. President Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said.
They were from different countries and barely spoke each other's languages. More than 20 years later, they're still happily in love
He decided to spend Christmas somewhere that wouldn't involve snowstorm disasters. She was spending the holidays with family, travelling for the first time outside of her native country of Venezuela. 23 years later, they're still in love.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
Fire in Labrador town under control, officials tells residents to stay away
RCMP say the fire that prompted a state of emergency in a Labrador town is now under control.
12 students and teacher killed in Columbine school shooting remembered at 25th anniversary vigil
Thirteen victims of the Columbine High School shooting were remembered during a vigil Friday on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the shooting that was the worst the nation had seen at the time.
Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza city of Rafah kills at least 9 Palestinians, including 6 children
An Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza's southernmost city killed at least nine people, six of them children, hospital authorities said Saturday, as Israel pursued its nearly seven-month offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.