I sadly never got to see the original shoe tree, but the tradition has been carried on, and I wrote a note on an old pair of Vans and tossed my contribution up. Though beware, after tossing I looked down at the pile of old shoes and saw a snake starting to move under one layer directly beneath my feet!

[Image description: a tree with dozens of pairs of shoes hung from the trunk and branches, with more piled in a small gulley at the base of the tree.]