Canada 150 is supposed to be a celebration of Canadian history and heritage. A time for Canadians to come together and share their pride in their country.
But one alleged act of theft in King City, just north of Toronto, stands against all that.
Black Forest Garden Centre on Keele Street has been run by the Kohnen family for 31 years. Proud Canadians who immigrated from Germany in 1968.
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“It’s the best,” said 82-year-old Gerhard Kohnen to Global News, referring to the country he’s called home for almost 50 years.
A country so important to him that even a recovery from knee surgery couldn’t keep him away from his work of planting, growing and tending to 50 red and white canna lilies in the shape of the Canadian flag in the centre’s roadside display.
The lilies had just come into full bloom last week, when staff came in to find almost all of them stolen overnight.
“Everybody was upset,” said Gerhard.
“It’s extremely un-Canadian,” said George Kohnen, one of Gerhard’s sons and a manager at the store, who felt bad for his father more than anyone else.
“To see (Gerhard) having his display destroyed, it was hurtful.”
The 43 stolen lilies are estimated to be worth between $800 and $1,000.
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Karl Kohnen, another one of Gerhard’s sons who works in the store and runs its social media pages, described the act as a “shameful theft … by a shameless coward” in a post on its Facebook page.
He also speculated that the theft must have been carried out by “a landscaping company or estate gardener who couldn’t find such beautiful quality anywhere else.”
Despite their anger, the family chose not to notify York Regional Police.
“It’s a big deal, but it’s not a big deal,” said George, adding that the concern is more the emotional impact than the monetary one.
“To report something like that and to use (police) resources where they could be used much more efficiently for greater crimes, I think is more important to us.”
What bothers the family more is not the loss of the flowers but the feeling of having their trust violated; and that Gerhart’s work was all for not. It’s too late to bloom new canna lilies in time for Canada Day now, and because of the popularity of this year’s holiday, they don’t have any more red and white ones in stock anyway.
Gerhard said he hopes the thieves suffer a “guilty conscience,” for ruining the Canada Day display, but he’ll get over it.
“The anger went a little bit away but disappointment stays,” he said.
“I refuse to dwell on the shameful act … The disrespect of other people.”
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