How a little oak tree brought Kelowna neighbours together this Christmas

One Christmas, Morgan and Kathryn Heaney felt the urge to do something a little different.

They had a new little oak tree in front of their Kelowna home and they hung a few Christmas decorations.

“We thought it was a cute idea and it just kind of grew from there, no pun intended. We (put on) resin balls only, and every year we keep buying more balls because the tree (keeps) growing,” Morgan said.

That was in 2005. It didn’t take long before the little oak tree wasn’t so little and as it grew, so too did the appreciation from the neighbourhood.

One day, a few 14-year-olds dropped off a Starbucks gift card thanking the couple, because it brought them joy to walk by the house on the way to school, Morgan said.

An RCMP officer stopped by one night too, thanking them for bringing joy through their tree.

“We get such incredible responses from it, we can never stop this. People honk their horn and they drop off thank you cards, it’s just one magical story after the next,” she said. "It’s unbelievable."

This year, they considered ending their little tradition. The little oak tree has grown so tall, they can’t reach the top. But with the pandemic, Morgan felt obligated to put that joy back out there for her neighbours.

“We just knew we had to, it was so important to bring that happiness for people,” she said.

But they still had the same problem about reaching the top. They were hanging Christmas balls from the tree one day last week when another one of those neighbours showed up.

“It’s been quite popular with people driving by and looking at it,” said Fred Jarvis. “And we’ve driven by and seen it.”

Morgan told him they’d need a lift truck to reach the top.

He thought the chances of the pair getting help from a lift truck was pretty slim, but he had another idea.

He ran home, got an extended pole complete with a hook and climbed the ladder himself to help put the final touches on the little oak tree that grew so big it brought neighbours together to decorate.

You can see the tree for yourself at the corner of Richter Street and Birch Avenue.

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