Monday, May 15, 2017

Shoe Tree

They can be found across North America in both urban and rural areas, and the trend has spread as far away as England and other parts of Europe.



The legend of the Shoe Tree is a native Canadian story shrouded in the mists of time. To the natives, attaching a pair of moccasins or shoes to these trees brought good luck. Different people attach different styles of shoes as can be seen by the variety of footwear on the trees. 


 

 Shoe trees are generally located alongside a major local thoroughfare, and may have a theme (such as high-heeled shoes). There are currently at least seventy-six such shoe trees in the United States, and an undetermined number elsewhere.

 
It has been suggested that the custom may have originated with members of the military, who are said to have thrown military boots, often painted orange or some other conspicuous color, at overhead wires as a part of a rite of passage upon completing basic training or on leaving the service.