The stirring brass of a regimental band and the whir of a powerful saw marked the next phase in the life of Canada’s most beloved tree, the silver maple that — legend has it — inspired Alexander Muir to write the poem and song “The Maple Leaf Forever” in 1867.

Evergreen Brick Works hosted the first milling of the logs Saturday morning, creating segments to be kiln dried for eight weeks and then put into the hands of artists, carvers and woodturners.

They’ll transform the tree into some 150 projects for public display (and personal use) in museums, historical societies and public buildings across Canada, from wig stands for cancer patients to a lap desk for the Speaker of the House of Commons.

“I see before me a bunch of tree huggers,” joked Barbara Heidenreich, natural heritage co-ordinator with Ontario Heritage Trust, adding she was delighted to know craftspeople are “taking a piece of that (tree) and making it last forever.”

Among them was sculptor Neil Cox. Several craftspeople were on hand for the Brick Works ceremony, proudly showcasing items from pens to elaborate carvings made from reclaimed wood. Cox laid claim to a hollow piece of trunk that “nobody else was really interested in” for a project to be undertaken in public view at the Ontario Science Centre. He’ll do a series of relief carvings chronicling historical scenes from Muir’s time.

Even the smallest pieces of the tree can be used, explained Michael Pinto, a member of the Woodturners Guild of Ontario, whose members will make 30 wig stands to be donated to cancer patients.

“From the smaller pieces, we can make pens out of that . . . we already make pens and send them to the troops overseas so they can use them to write letters home,” said Pinto.

Rob McMonagle, senior adviser in Toronto’s economic development and culture department, which assumed stewardship of the tree, said artists and craftspeople will create “an heirloom for the city” with the remains of the maple, which fell during a storm last July on Laing St. in Riverdale.

Before the first cut was made, the Toronto-based regimental band of the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada, in which Muir served during the Battle of Ridgeway in 1866, proudly played “The Maple Leaf Forever,” a patriotic song that almost became Canada’s national anthem.

“It is so ingrained in our regimental culture,” explained commanding officer Lt.-Col. Peter St. Denis, adding he uses the strength of the storied maple as an allegory for his soldiers.

The event meant a great deal to the regiment, which sprang into action to help save the maple when it fell. It shows that “the tree lives on,” he said.

McMonagle said trees that come down in heavy weather — for instance, after December’s ice storm — or those removed because of disease are wrongly thought of as waste. The city hopes to change that mindset.

“The idea is can we turn these things into beautiful pieces that become family heirlooms,” said McMonagle. “What we’re trying to say is that virtually any tree can be turned into valuable products.”

The city publishes a Toronto directory of urban wood products and services that can be downloaded at www.toronto.ca/urbanwooddirectory.

The historic Muir maple had enough wood to make 50 dining tables, McMonagle said, and it would have all gone into the wood chipper or landfill had people like eco-woodturner Michael Finkelstein not stepped in to save it.

Finkelstein, who works exclusively with recycled trees, was also on hand for the Brick Works ceremony, and proudly showed off a deep bowl with a mirror finish he had made from reclaimed wood.

He’ll be making four sets of nesting bowls from the Maple Leaf Forever tree. One set will go to the Royal Ontario Museum and another to the Ontario Heritage Trust. Two others are as yet unspoken for.

Toronto-Danforth MP Craig Scott, whose riding was home to the tree, said the maple will be used in several projects around Parliament Hill, including a new flag stand in the House of Commons, along with book stands and a display case in the Library of Parliament.

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“It’s kind of rare that you can find something that is supremely local and supremely national at the same time,” said Scott. “The Maple Leaf Forever . . . is part of Canada’s story, and I tend to think of it as having generated in our collective mind the maple leaf that ended up on the flag.”

It was an important day for Heidenreich, who said she was “sobbing” when the tree came down.

“It does live on, and that’s what important. It was going to be mulch,” she said. “This is the maple leaf forever.”