For Malcolm Ryan the River St trees are much more than a shady place to rest in the summertime.
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Two of them were planted by him and are a precious reminder of one of Macksville's legends - Big Jim Armadas, original owner of the Bridge St Cafe.
When we were kids, Jim was our legend
- Malcolm Ryan
"We'd go over there at half time whenever we went to the movies ... he was respected and loved, he was everyone's father."
When Jim died in 1990, Malcolm and his friends made a collection to plant trees on his beloved riverbank.
"I owned the supermarket next door in later years and Jim and I used to talk about the festivals we could have here beside the river.
"We collected $147. The gardener at the hospital quoted us $150, so these two trees were what we could afford.
"We planted them here in memory of Jim and ever since more plantings have taken place, so now we have this truly beautiful riverbank."