Family brightens holiday

WAKEFIELD - The corner of Nunnemacher Street and Ascherman Avenue in Wakefield shines in the dark winter night with a host of lit snowmen, Santas, various Walt Disney characters and a full manger scene ready to warm spirits and spread Christmas cheer.

The display directly west of the Wakefield Municipal Building is courtesy of Jason Gustafson, superintendent of the Wakefield-Marenisco K-12 School.

He and his wife, Stephanie, have two children: Alex, in tenth grade, and Katelyn, in eighth grade. Gustafson and his son take charge of decorating the yard.

In terms of decorations, they have a wealth of choices. Gustafson said they have "hundreds" of outdoor figurines that are wired for lighting.

In fact, he said they have several buildings "stuffed to capacity" with decorations, which they rotate to allow each year's display to be unique.

According to Gustafson, he and his son maintain no formal inventory, but he assured that, between the two of them, they know where everything is.

Late in the fall, they spend a couple weeks assessing their options. For about two hours a day, along with extra time on weekends, they clean the items they choose and also test and change bulbs.

"We draw our plan up on paper," said Gustafson, emphasizing that the project is very much a collaboration.

Then, they spend an additional couple weeks setting up their carefully crafted display. Gustafson said they love a "classic Christmas" look, and toward that end, they combine religious and commercial images in colorful, eclectic patterns with the underlying intent of expressing and producing joy.

Regarding the ongoing process, Gustafson said his wife is patient and supportive. Beyond that, he said, "She likes it all when it's lit up."

As for the expense of lighting dozens of figurines, Gustafson said he used to pay substantially higher power bills due to display months. He added, however, "I switched to all LED bulbs a couple years ago," and that reduced the monthly electrical cost from about $100 to $20.

Once the holidays wind down, Gustafson said he and his son also dissemble all items, although he does allow for one convenience: "I leave all the extension cords in."

The creative process doesn't end even then because, as Gustafson said, "We collect pretty much all year long."

He and Alex sometimes drive as far as Chicago to pick up figurines found on Facebook. Expensive shipping charges make the drive worth it.

Gustafson said some of their most treasured items are decorations retired from former use on posts in various cities. He especially likes a seven-foot bell hanging by their garage.

All of the effort by this father-son duo pays off, not just from viewer pleasure, but also in the form of a second prize in this year's Daily Advertiser holiday decoration contest (the home of John and Barb Siira, also in Wakefield, took first prize).

The home of Gustafson's parents, Gary and Sue Gustafson on Third Street in Ramsay, provided the impetus for their son's display mania. "I started building outdoor holiday displays on my parents' home in Ramsay in the mid 1980's," explained Gustafson.

"One of my Dad's friends always created a nice display in Bessemer, and that was my motivation for decorating," he added. "The display started out with a few strings of lights and a lighted Santa Claus on the porch."

Soon, he said, it grew to become "a much larger display" that attracted appreciative viewers from nearby towns.

When Gustafson purchased a home of his own, the display moved with him. He admits he was "ready to tame the display down" a decade ago, but his son, by contrast, "wanted to make it larger and brighter!"

He now expects that when his son becomes an adult with a home of his own, he will take many of the decorations and figurines with him to continue the same tradition on his own property.

In between Christmas seasons, the public also can enjoy the Gustafson guys' Halloween display, which is every bit as awesome.