A Gift from the Friends of the Oakdale Library

The Reading Tree Mural is a vibrant and meaningful addition to the Oakdale Library, generously donated by the Friends of the Oakdale Library. Installed on November 15, 2025, this beautiful mural enhances the library’s outdoor patio, creating a welcoming space where visitors can gather, reflect, and enjoy the connection between art, literacy, and community.

Painted by local artist Lindsey Wetenkamp, the mural brings color and life to the library’s Outdoor Learning Environment. Inspired by the joy of reading and the growth it nurtures, the artwork reflects the spirit of curiosity, imagination, and lifelong learning that defines the Oakdale community. As Lindsey shared during the unveiling, “I think it has brought a happy feel to the space with all the colors.” Visitors are invited to experience that joy firsthand by stopping by the library patio and taking in the mural.

The mural was formally presented by the Friends of the Oakdale Library Board and supporters, including:
Sharon Arpoika, Michael O’Neal, Tricia Turner, Diane Korupp, Sofia Hudson, Teri Curtis, Barbara Craig, Janet Wade, Bri Swan, and Jessica Brennan.

The dedication ceremony celebrated not only the artwork itself, but also the strong community partnerships that make projects like this possible.

As part of the celebration, guests enjoyed a special “Poem in Two Voices” reading of Overstory (the poem can be found below) by two distinguished poets and former Modesto Poet Laureates:

– Gillian Wegener is the author of multiple poetry collections, including Lifting One Foot, Lifting the Other, The Opposite of Clairvoyance, and This Sweet Haphazard. She is the founding president of the Modesto-Stanislaus Poetry Center, served as Modesto Poet Laureate from 2012–2016, and is a two-time recipient of the Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Prize. A longtime educator, she has deep roots in the Oakdale community.

 – Stella Beratlis, author of Dust Bowl Venus, previously served as Modesto Poet Laureate from 2016–2020. Her first collection, Alkali Sink, was shortlisted for the Northern California Book Awards. In addition to her work as a poet, she is a librarian at Modesto Junior College and formerly worked at the Oakdale Library early in her career.

Visit the Mural

The Reading Tree Mural is located on the outdoor patio of the Oakdale Library and is open for the public to enjoy during library hours. Whether you’re stopping by to read, attend a program, or simply relax, the mural offers a colorful reminder of the power of community and the importance of supporting our local library.

Overstory

Let’s talk of trees, and
of how a library starts with knowledge,
heft, history,
sapling, slender branches
leaves, each its own story,
reaching over time,
each veined and chlorophylled,
each alive, spreading to cover.
Let’s talk of trees, integrity of bark, trunk, canopy, crown.
Let’s talk of Friends as arborists,
of sapwood and heartwood,
tending up into treasure of branches, profusion of leaves,
their pithy cores. Branches as resting places.
And tending down — that royalty of soil, mycorrhizal wonder.
Wind through the branches,
always present, nurturing
The creaking music of the branches,
in waves of successive generations;
The whispering of the leaves
covering walls in richness of color.
Let’s talk of trees, how they shelter,
how they proliferate — tossing helicopter seeds, pinecones;
how they lean toward the light,
landing far into the distance
how they grow toward each other,
their natural deep intelligence.
Let’s listen: they talk to each other
through roots, through leaves, through wind.
Carry stories, like pages carry stories
of this world—
Stories open to the wind, stories into open hands
shared among friends
and strangers who will soon become friends.

–Gillian Wegener and Stella Beratlis