Forty years ago, Janice Olson, and her sister-in-law, Darla, set up an outdoor Christmas display like many people do to make the holiday more colorful and extra cheerful. Some of the first display pieces were a gingerbread house and a gingerbread man.
At the time of their first display, Janice had been fighting a rare type of cancer for six years, being diagnosed at fourteen years old. She was only able to be a part of two Christmas displays, because she passed on one year later at the age of 21.
To assist in keeping Janice's memory alive, Janice's dad, Clayton, and her sister, Shirley, continued decorating. According to Shirley's daughter, Mary, "As the years grew, so did the decorations. My mom is the mastermind behind all this. She has put so much time, blood, sweat, and tears into all of these years. If it wasn't for her, this would not be what it is today."
Shirley's favorite decoration is the nativity scene, which is the first display she created 30 years ago. Mary said that every year they have added more plywood cutouts, lights, and inflatable decorations. The Christmas trees that are in the yard are real but not planted. The family gets the trees from a local tree farmer. "We make a hole and kind of shimmy the tree in and usually we have to add a few stakes or shims to keep it upright and stable. The trees usually freeze into the ground, but this year is a different story," Mary remarked. While all these decorations started in memory of Janice, "Now we decorate in memory of all the family we've lost," Mary shared.
The family definitely has a lot of time to think of those long lost loved ones while working on the large display. They start setting up on November 1st and usually have it ready for viewing, with all the lights on, by the first week in December. Shirley is outside for hours every day getting the job done. Mary and her girlfriend, Nicole, help when they are done with work. Mary's sister, Jaccqlyn Ratzlaff, and their father, Thomas Ratzlaff, also help when they can. However, it is not only family that gets involved. Their neighbor, Tommy Morgan, lives directly across the road, and has some of the inflatables, plywood cutouts, and lights in his yard. Mary explained, "We ran out of electricity and Tommy was more than willing to have some of the display put in his yard."
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Mary shared that they have some of the lights on four circuit breakers that they are able to shut off from the breaker box in the basement. "That power is ran out to a post with plug-ins sticking out of the ground out in the yard. The rest of the lights are on timers. We don't know the exact number of lights and extension cords, but it is a lot."
With all those cords in place, it's not hard to imagine that power has been an issue a time or two for the family. In fact, about twenty years ago, Neighbor Tommy plugged in his vacuum cleaner at his house, and it blew the transformer outside on the electric pole. "We might have been using a little too much power," Mary admitted. The power company fixed it, replacing the transformer with a larger one, giving them more power.
Another time the power company made a visit was about five years ago. Mary shared, "We turned the lights on like we always do. About two hours into the evening, I smelled plastic burning from upstairs. My mom and I followed the smell to the basement where we located the smell. It was coming from the breaker box, which was quite warm." They immediately shut off the lights, and the power company had to replace the entire line coming in from the transformer outside and the circuit breaker box in the basement.
Along with the power supply being a challenge during the display time, the frozen ground can also pose a problem for getting everything put away. The last day of the display being lit is January 1st, but the pieces are usually stuck in the ground until sometime in March when the ground starts to thaw. Mary said this year, with the mild winter conditions, they are able to get a lot of the items put away more quickly, which is the first time that has been possible.
The daily weather conditions and mice also give the display a challenge. "We try to get the Christmas inflatables out first because they get ruined easily. The mice like to make a nice home in them, too."
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Finally, Christmas lights can try anyone's patience, and when they are in such a large quantity, they take a long amount of time to get working every year. "We store all the cords on four long poles that sit on large hooks that are attached to the back of the shelves where all the sets of lights are stored. At the beginning of every season, we have to go through and see which lights work and which do not. This part is pretty time-consuming, because if the string doesn't work, we try to fix it. This is usually where my dad comes in. My mom usually has to buy at least 20 sets of lights to replace the ones that we couldn't fix."
Mary shared, "My mom does this because she wants to put smiles on everyone's faces, to make the kids excited, and have something to look forward to. Without these lights in this town, it just wouldn't feel like Christmas."
The display won first place in My Price County's Christmas House Decorating Contest.
To view the display next Christmas, you can go to the property owned by Shirley Ratzlaff, Marlene Ellner, Larry Olson, and Gary Olson, who are all siblings. The property was the home of their parents, Clayton and Eleanore, which is located at W8311 Lakeshore Drive in Butternut, the very north edge of Price County. The lights go on at 4 p.m. and are off by 10 p.m. for the month of December. However, on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, and New Year's Day, the lights are on all night.
To see the decorations from Christmas 2023, watch the video (submitted by Mary Ratzlaff) and view the photos, all shown below.
You can share this article on Facebook at this link.
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My Price County is an independent news source that has been promoting Price County since 2012 and reporting news since 2015. This mostly volunteer organization promotes benefits, fundraisers, and community events plus writes and reports news as a free service to the community. To aid in our mission, you may share our articles from our Facebook page (or X or Instagram), join our Facebook group, purchase an announcement (birth, engagement, wedding, anniversary, obituary, etc.) or classified ad, advertise your business with us, or contribute with news tips or a cash donation. If you are an organization, send us your press releases. If you know someone in need who has a benefit or fundraiser, send us the information. We appreciate your support of delivering free, fact-based news to the area.
(This post was last modified: 01-24-2024, 02:47 AM by My Northern Wisconsin.)
At the time of their first display, Janice had been fighting a rare type of cancer for six years, being diagnosed at fourteen years old. She was only able to be a part of two Christmas displays, because she passed on one year later at the age of 21.
To assist in keeping Janice's memory alive, Janice's dad, Clayton, and her sister, Shirley, continued decorating. According to Shirley's daughter, Mary, "As the years grew, so did the decorations. My mom is the mastermind behind all this. She has put so much time, blood, sweat, and tears into all of these years. If it wasn't for her, this would not be what it is today."
Shirley's favorite decoration is the nativity scene, which is the first display she created 30 years ago. Mary said that every year they have added more plywood cutouts, lights, and inflatable decorations. The Christmas trees that are in the yard are real but not planted. The family gets the trees from a local tree farmer. "We make a hole and kind of shimmy the tree in and usually we have to add a few stakes or shims to keep it upright and stable. The trees usually freeze into the ground, but this year is a different story," Mary remarked. While all these decorations started in memory of Janice, "Now we decorate in memory of all the family we've lost," Mary shared.
The family definitely has a lot of time to think of those long lost loved ones while working on the large display. They start setting up on November 1st and usually have it ready for viewing, with all the lights on, by the first week in December. Shirley is outside for hours every day getting the job done. Mary and her girlfriend, Nicole, help when they are done with work. Mary's sister, Jaccqlyn Ratzlaff, and their father, Thomas Ratzlaff, also help when they can. However, it is not only family that gets involved. Their neighbor, Tommy Morgan, lives directly across the road, and has some of the inflatables, plywood cutouts, and lights in his yard. Mary explained, "We ran out of electricity and Tommy was more than willing to have some of the display put in his yard."
(Article continues after promotional image.)
Visit Slaby Deda Law Offices for all your legal needs.
Mary shared that they have some of the lights on four circuit breakers that they are able to shut off from the breaker box in the basement. "That power is ran out to a post with plug-ins sticking out of the ground out in the yard. The rest of the lights are on timers. We don't know the exact number of lights and extension cords, but it is a lot."
With all those cords in place, it's not hard to imagine that power has been an issue a time or two for the family. In fact, about twenty years ago, Neighbor Tommy plugged in his vacuum cleaner at his house, and it blew the transformer outside on the electric pole. "We might have been using a little too much power," Mary admitted. The power company fixed it, replacing the transformer with a larger one, giving them more power.
Another time the power company made a visit was about five years ago. Mary shared, "We turned the lights on like we always do. About two hours into the evening, I smelled plastic burning from upstairs. My mom and I followed the smell to the basement where we located the smell. It was coming from the breaker box, which was quite warm." They immediately shut off the lights, and the power company had to replace the entire line coming in from the transformer outside and the circuit breaker box in the basement.
Along with the power supply being a challenge during the display time, the frozen ground can also pose a problem for getting everything put away. The last day of the display being lit is January 1st, but the pieces are usually stuck in the ground until sometime in March when the ground starts to thaw. Mary said this year, with the mild winter conditions, they are able to get a lot of the items put away more quickly, which is the first time that has been possible.
The daily weather conditions and mice also give the display a challenge. "We try to get the Christmas inflatables out first because they get ruined easily. The mice like to make a nice home in them, too."
(Article continues after promotional image.)
Davette Lynne Hrabak, CPA, located at 164 South Lake Avenue in Phillips, specializes in tax return preparation, business start-up services, consulting, bookkeeping, payroll, and all your accounting needs. Call 715-339-6638 or visit Davette's website. Follow her Facebook page.
Finally, Christmas lights can try anyone's patience, and when they are in such a large quantity, they take a long amount of time to get working every year. "We store all the cords on four long poles that sit on large hooks that are attached to the back of the shelves where all the sets of lights are stored. At the beginning of every season, we have to go through and see which lights work and which do not. This part is pretty time-consuming, because if the string doesn't work, we try to fix it. This is usually where my dad comes in. My mom usually has to buy at least 20 sets of lights to replace the ones that we couldn't fix."
Mary shared, "My mom does this because she wants to put smiles on everyone's faces, to make the kids excited, and have something to look forward to. Without these lights in this town, it just wouldn't feel like Christmas."
The display won first place in My Price County's Christmas House Decorating Contest.
To view the display next Christmas, you can go to the property owned by Shirley Ratzlaff, Marlene Ellner, Larry Olson, and Gary Olson, who are all siblings. The property was the home of their parents, Clayton and Eleanore, which is located at W8311 Lakeshore Drive in Butternut, the very north edge of Price County. The lights go on at 4 p.m. and are off by 10 p.m. for the month of December. However, on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, and New Year's Day, the lights are on all night.
To see the decorations from Christmas 2023, watch the video (submitted by Mary Ratzlaff) and view the photos, all shown below.
You can share this article on Facebook at this link.
---
My Price County is an independent news source that has been promoting Price County since 2012 and reporting news since 2015. This mostly volunteer organization promotes benefits, fundraisers, and community events plus writes and reports news as a free service to the community. To aid in our mission, you may share our articles from our Facebook page (or X or Instagram), join our Facebook group, purchase an announcement (birth, engagement, wedding, anniversary, obituary, etc.) or classified ad, advertise your business with us, or contribute with news tips or a cash donation. If you are an organization, send us your press releases. If you know someone in need who has a benefit or fundraiser, send us the information. We appreciate your support of delivering free, fact-based news to the area.