Story and photos by Gareth Kelly
With so much doom, gloom and, what seems at times, evil filling the news these days it can be hard to find those glimpses of what we know makes humanity so special. Unrequited love, hope, compassion and selflessness, to name but a few. However, as bleak as the rest of the world may look, we know here on the Central Coast things are usually different.
Take a walk or a drive around a certain neighborhood that lies beneath the shadow of Bishops peak in San Luis Obispo and look hard enough you will find a beautiful oak tree upon which hang hand written notes or ‘wishes’ from people within the community. This is the wishing tree started on Valentines weekend by husband and wife Jim and Kathy apRoberts.
“Years ago I had read about a lady in San Francisco that had started a wishing tree,” said Kathy apRoberts. At the time I never did anything about it but it stuck with me for years. A few weeks ago myself and Jim discussed the idea, proposed it to a few of our neighbors and their kids and decided to go for it.”
Quite simply this Oak tree stands at the end of the apRoberts driveway. A small sign under the tree reads, ‘Wishing Tree. Wishes, Hopes, Joy, Gratitude shared here ’ and next to the tree is a small table upon which a box of scrap paper, pens and instructions sit. People are directed to write their wish on a piece of paper, stick it in the box and the apRoberts will kindly laminate said wishes and hang them upon the tree.
“We really wanted to give something to the neighborhood but it’s taken off in a way we could never have imagined,” said Kathy apRoberts. “The very first day people just kept coming and coming. We’ve had people bring their kids, three year olds all the way up to people in there eighties. The wishes are great. ‘Stop bullying,’ ‘I wish my brother to have a long life,’ and ‘more love.’ All really nice stuff. It really empowers the kids. They love reading the wishes and adding more and more. The tree has really taken on a life of it’s own. We are simply the custodians of it now. We’re not really sure how we are going to stop it or even if we could.”
Even during the recent rains the tree was still attracting its usual 20 to 25 new wishes a day. As word has spread more and more people find themselves drawn to the wiley oak.
“It really has generated such a positive energy and vibe around the community,” said Jim apRoberts. “We’ve had requests from people all over the world asking us to put a wish on the tree for them asking to start their own trees. What’s cool is, no one owns this idea. Its not political, it’s not religious and it’s not for profit or a charity. It’s simply a way for people to express what perhaps they carry around with them daily but don’t always share. It’s really given us so much more than we ever expected and it really does give you faith in humanity.”
The apRoberts are both retired teachers and rather talented artists in their own right. Originally from Southern California, they fell in love with the area after sending their two sons to Cal Poly.
How long will the wishing tree remain in operation? They really don’t know. Not wanting to divulge the exact location of the tree the apRoberts hope people will continue to organically discover this wonderful piece of positive energy in the community. Happy hunting!
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