Trees to celebrate Kin Clubs of Canada’s 100th Anniversary
In recognition of the Kin Club’s 100th anniversary, the Florenceville-Bristol club will celebrate the milestone with the planting of two Vimy oaks at cenotaphs in Centreville and Florenceville.
The trees, grown from acorns of the original oaks that stood on the Vimy Ridge battlefield in France, will stand as a tribute to the Kin organization and those who served in wartime, and continue to serve today.
The Vimy oaks’ acorns were initially brought to Canada in 1917 by Leslie Miller. Miller was born in Ontario and served as a first Lieutenant in the 5th Battalion during the First World War.
After winning the battle of Vimy Ridge on April 12, 1917, Miller gathered up a handful of acorns as a souvenir of the victory. Upon his return to Canada, Miller’s father gifted him 25 acres of the family farm. There, he planted the acorns, naming his land “The Vimy Oaks.” Ten of those original oaks still stand today.
In honour of the 100th anniversary of the First World War, the Vimy Oaks Corporation was formed with a mandate to repatriate the original Vimy oaks saplings to Vimy Ridge, where the original trees had been destroyed during the war. They also wanted to distribute the saplings to commemorative sites across Canada.
In 2019, Jody Foster, a member of the Florenceville-Bristol Kin Club, wanted to do something special to celebrate the upcoming 100th anniversary of the Kin Club of Canada.
The Kin Club was founded in 1920 by Harold Rogers, a veteran of the First World War. Rogers fought on Vimy Ridge while serving in the 54th Kootenay Battalion.
Foster, who had been loosely following the Vimy Oaks Corporation, came up with the idea of honouring the legacy of the Kin Club by purchasing and donating a Vimy oak tree to each of the local cenotaphs.
Unfortunately, the Florenceville Kins Club encountered numerous roadblocks, including the discovery that the Vimy Oaks Corporation had dissolved after fulfilling its mandate, and the idea had to be shelved.
However, Foster said he couldn’t give up on the idea.
“It has always been in the back of my mind since then,” he said.
In September 2025, Foster said he wanted to “put the idea to rest.”
He called Scott’s Nursery in Fredericton to see if the club could purchase two English oaks, native to France.
“They wouldn’t be Vimy oaks, but the significance would still be there,” said Foster.
In what can only be described as sheer providence, Foster was put in touch with an employee named Dianne Earl. As Foster explained what he was looking for and why, Earl shared that both she and her husband were Royal Canadian Air Force veterans and had attended a Vimy Oaks planting at the Governor’s House in Fredericton in 2024. She offered to put him in touch with Jim Landry, a founding member of the Vimy Oaks Corporation, who chose to carry on the project after the original corporation dissolved.
“Jim (Landry), like so many Canadians, has a family connection to the battle of Vimy Ridge, where his great-uncle fought and died,” said Foster.
Foster and Laundry began talking via email, and Landry told him they had several saplings ready to be planted and agreed to donate two — one for each cenotaph.
“These are direct, second-generation descendants of the original Vimy oaks,” shared Foster.
The only condition for receiving the trees was that local children must be involved in the planting. Foster explained that Landry continues to involve schoolchildren in the project because he wants it to be a teaching moment where the children learn about urban canopy, diversity, and why these trees are being planted.
Foster arranged for members of the Upper River Valley 4H Club to participate in the ceremonial planting of the Vimy oak trees in Centreville and Florenceville.
“We’re inviting everyone,” said Foster, noting the events are open to the public.
The planting ceremonies will take place on Saturday, Nov. 8. A ceremony at the Centreville cenotaph will occur at 12:30 p.m., followed by one at the Florenceville Legion cenotaph at 2:30 p.m.
