12/21/2006

Record-Eagle/Jan-Michael Stump
Dale and Sandy Herman's decorations started with a star on their house, and later a Santa and reindeer were added. "It just grew after that," said Dale.

Alight with love for Christmas

How one family's holiday display has grown over the years

BY CYMBRE FOSTER
Special to the Record-Eagle

Record-Eagle/Jan-Michael Stump
It takes Dale and Sandy Herman several weekends to put up all the lights on and around their Bingham Township home.

For Suttons Bay resident Dale Herman, the hunt for outdoor Christmas decorations is a year-round hobby.

He incorporates his finds into a holiday lawn display that has been causing jaws to drop for the last two decades.

"We started out about 20 years ago with a big star that we built and put on the peak of our house that you could see from M-22,” said Herman, whose home is about a mile and a half south of Suttons Bay. "Then, we just started getting more things.”

Today the decorations reach into the hundreds. With a front yard that is about 300 feet deep, there is no lack for space. And Herman fills it all.

Figurines of drumming soldiers, bears, seals, snowmen and Santa Claus share lawn space with gingerbread men, teeter-tottering elves and lighted reindeer. Lights hang from buildings, trees and fences.

Herman said his favorite display is probably the animated Claus couple showcased in a large window he installed in the top front of the garage. Behind the glass, a spotlighted Mr. And Mrs. Claus, with hands and heads that move, look out over the display. Kids also love it, said Herman.

Record-Eagle/Jan-Michael Stump

Herman has probably built as many of his decorations as he has purchased. If he can't find just the right addition in a store or if the price is too steep, he will design and build it himself, like his lighted church, giant candy cane and manger for the Nativity scene.

"I look around stores year round for something new and believe it or not, the new decorations start coming out the end of August,” he said. "Sometimes you have to get them then or they're gone.”

Over the years, the couple has also found inspiration and decorations from visits to Bronner's Christmas Wonderland in Frankenmuth, touted as the world's largest Christmas store.

Herman said he couldn't manage the collection without his wife Sandy, who loves Christmas as much as he does. The couple begin preparing the display at least a month before Thanksgiving, painstakingly checking the yards and yards of lights for burned out bulbs.

"It takes evenings and weekends,” said Herman. "People think you're crazy.”

Once the items are ready, Herman said it takes them two weekends to get everything in place. The display is lit on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, when the Hermans invite friends and family over for the event that sends the electric meter spinning.

In fact, the holiday extravaganza has grown so large that several years ago, Herman had a separate electrical line installed to handle the additional power surge.

"We put in a line off the house with a remote on it, and that has been nice,” said Herman, who said the electric bill is about $175 more a month during the holidays.

But, he said it is worth every penny to know that others are enjoying his gift.

"We love Christmas so we want to let people see it,” he added.

The Hermans live on Murray Court off M-22, just past Plantmasters. The lights come on about 6 p.m. and turn off about three hours later. They will keep it up until after the new year.