Tour of lights

The holiday season brings plenty of activity.

In Jay County, it begins with Winterfest on the weekend before Thanksgiving and carries through Christmas and New Year’s Day. There are concerts and plays, programs and parties, musicals and live nativities.

But a holiday evening out doesn’t always have to involve a scheduled event. The fun can be in the journey, like grabbing some hot chocolate or milkshakes and hopping in the car for a drive around the city to look at Christmas lights. It’s an easy evening out if you know where to look, because the most elaborate displays aren’t always in places drivers would stumble upon in their everyday travels.

Consider this a guided Christmas decoration tour of Portland, starting from the south side of the city near Portland Golf Club.



Head north on Meridian Street and you’ll find the first sizable display in short order.



1348 S. Meridian

The display at this home on the west side of Meridian Street is easy to spot. Just look for Santa waving from his perch atop the roof. Trees and bushes in the yard are decorated with lights, and a few new trees, made of green lights, have popped up as well. There is a reindeer in the yard, and a lit-up wreath highlights the house as it sits between two windows.

Several neighbors also have lights in their yards.



Continue north on Meridian Street and then turn left on Eighth Street.



119 W. Eighth

There’s not much frontage along this property on the south side of Eighth Street, but what space is there is plenty festive. It features pairs of candy canes and nutcrackers on the steps leading up to the door. There are also a variety of lit-up figures, including a penguin, two dogs, a snowman and Santa carrying a green sack. Candles sit on the corners of the property.



Turn right on Shank Street and right again on Seventh Street. As you reach Seventh Street’s intersection with Wayne Street and Boundary Pike, there are several homes with light displays. Stop for a moment to take a look and then turn left on Wayne Street.



Hudson

Family Park

509 S. Wayne

Several years ago, a set of Christmas decorations was donated to the city for display at the park. As you pull in the main driveway, you’ll see angels blowing horns, children ice skating and rabbits sledding in front of the replica of the Arch Bridge. There is a large nativity scene on the south side of the driveway.



There are additional decorations as you leave the park and continue north on Wayne Street to Water Street. Turn left on Water Street and then left again on Boundary Pike. Then turn left on Mangold Lane, which ends in a cul-de-sac.



108 Mangold Drive

Kevin and Joyce Brinkerhoff have been decorating their yard for years, though Kevin said the display has gotten smaller as he’s grown older. It all started when he got involved in a bit of contest with neighbor and fellow decorator Steve Jellison.

“Him and I competed then,” said Brinkerhoff, nothing that the dueling duo was once featured on “Jay Today.” “I’d put out something, he’d put out more. I’d put out something, he’d put out more. And then he moved away, but I kept on doing it.”

The yard, which is lined with luminaries, is loaded with holiday-themed items, including a Santa snowglobe, Mickey and Minnie Mouse hugging a snowman, a bear holding a gift, and plenty of lights. Kevin’s favorite is a sunglasses-wearing Santa who is flying an open-cockpit plane. Joyce found that one during the annual June garage sales in Fort Recovery.

“I found it over there and it was brand new, still in the box … and got it real cheap,” she said.

Several of the Brinkerhoff’s neighbors have smaller displays, with a nativity scene, Santa and snowman at 107 Mangold Lane and a Christmas bear at 105 Mangold Lane.



Head back out of the cul-de-sac, turn right on Blaine Pike and then left on Western Avenue. Turn left on Water Street, right on Park Street and then right on Arch Street.



1015 W. Arch

This is one of the more understated displays on the route, but it’s effective. It features white lights hanging like icicles from both levels of the house.

On the west side, Santa sits in his sleigh behind a team of reindeer who are ready to take off at any moment. Behind the jolly, old elf and his reindeer is a line of lit-up evergreen trees.



Continue east on Arch Street and then turn left on Middle Street, where you’ll see Jay County Hospital all lit up in front of you with “Happy Holidays” across the top between a pair of bells.

Turn right on Votaw Street, left on Franklin Street and then right on Glassford Avenue.



213 Glassford

Shane Stinson got into the Christmas display game after he and his wife Stacy got married. His father-in-law, Roger Corle — his home is next on the tour — was already a fanatic.

“It became kind of a thing, decorating all this together,” Shane said. “We help each other out.

“From there it just escalated. Every year we’d get more and more stuff for Christmas and it became kind of a joke back and forth.”

Tracy’s favorite items are the variety of Christmas-themed dogs — she had one coming as a Christmas gift this year, but got it early so that it could be part of the display — while Shane most enjoys the hunting snowman and other hunting-related items. Every part of the yard is used as the display includes a Darth Vader, a Minion, Spiderman being chased by a monster and a Christmas robot.



Continue east on Glassford Avenue, turn left on Ben Hawkins Drive and then turn right on Lafayette Street.



115 and 121 W. Lafayette

This display was featured in these pages a couple of years ago, but it’s always worth a look. Santa is sure not to miss it, both because of the vast amount of lights and the red “Santa STOP Here” sign on the front porch.

It includes multiple Santas on all sides of the yard, a nativity scene, several snowmen, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, a mouse, angels, a penguin, a nutcracker and a variety of other animals, including a Christmas dolphin.



Continue east on Lafayette Street, turn right on Meridian Street and then turn left on Rogers Street.



264 E. Rogers

If the plethora of decorations isn’t enough to tell you it’s the Christmas season, step out of your vehicle and you’ll be greeted with Christmas music, with “Here Comes Santa Claus” and “Sleigh Ride” among the selections. Shane Geesaman added that feature three years ago.

Candy canes surround the house, and there are carolers, penguins, snowmen and a Snoopy. The display includes a “Santa’s Workshop” sign and a child putting a letter to Santa into a mailbox.

Geesaman, who also decorates at his parents’ house on Division Road, hopes the display is inspiring and uplifting to those who drive by or stop to look.

He considered giving up the annual tradition once, but …

“One of my friends goes, ‘Don’t quit doing it, because my wife loves it,” said Geesaman. “I do it for the people.”



Continue east on Rogers Street, turn right on Wayne Street and then turn left on Votaw Street. Turn right on Morton Street and then turn left on Arch Street.



709 E. Arch

This property on the east side of the city features a bunch of inflatable figures, the largest of which are a Santa and a snowman.

Snoopy makes another appearance along with Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Other items include a polar bear, penguin, reindeer, gingerbread man, multiple dogs and a nativity scene.



Continue west on Arch Street and then turn right on Hayes Street and you’ll see your final stop straight ahead.

504 through 516 E. Race

These yards are loaded with decorations, with the heaviest concentration at the northwest intersection of Hayes and Race streets, and, like Geesaman’s, visitors are greeted with Christmas music.

One selection being played this week — “What Child is This” — seemed especially appropriate because the decorations at 516 E. Race St. feature a nativity scene that entirely blocks the top of the stairway to the front porch. It is complete with straw and an angel hovering above, and makes perfect use of the star that hangs as a permanent decoration on the house.

The rest of the decorations in the two yards varies greatly but includes an enclosed “Happy Holidays” carousel with a penguin, snowman and Santa Claus riding on reindeer. There is a Winnie the Pooh, several Disney characters, snowmen, a polar bear, a mechanical reindeer that dips its neck to eat some grass and a Christmas train.