Monday, December 15, 2008
News
Lennon couple shows off holiday cheer
Argus-Press Photo by Anthony Cepak Dick and Leanna Ball stand by the Christmas tree in the living room of their Lennon home.
By CHERYLL WARREN Argus-Press Staff Writer
LENNON - Dick and Leanna Ball, 3104 S. County Line Road, have been decorating their home and yard with Christmas decorations for 25 years.
“It started out with a string of lights around the front door,” Leanna Ball said. “The next year, we did the kitchen and bedroom windows, too. We added to it each year.”
The home and yard decorating grew each Christmas season until the Balls began bringing in a cherry picker to hang lights in the large trees in the front of the yard. Because of the expense of renting the cherry picker, that piece of the decorating has been dropped from their outside decorating scheme.
“We didn't add other decorations this year,” Leanna Ball said. “I didn't see anything I liked.”
She said she thought the stores had downsized their inventories this year because of the economy, and whatever she found available on store shelves didn't interest her.
“I'm fussy about decorating,” she said. “I like the older stuff.”
The weather made a difference for them this year, as well.
“Because of the weather, we couldn't get the leaves all out of the yard, so we put the decorations up with leaves in the yard,” Leanna Ball said.
She said they didn't like doing that, but had no choice this year. Because of early snow and ice on the roof, they did not put up their usual roof display this year.
The Balls said their Christmas decorating takes about three to four weeks to assemble, and includes lights and lighted inflatable decorations. Each balloon decoration itself takes about 20 minutes.
“We have a lot of balloons,” she said.
Leanna Ball said she decorates the inside of the house, but helps with the outside, as well.
“It takes two of us to do a lot of the stuff,” she said. “We just like to do this. You have to enjoy doing this to put this much time into it. My mother always decorated when our family was growing up.”
When everything comes down, the decorations are packed away in their barn, where Dick Ball constructed a lift to hoist the decorations to the second level where they are out of the way.
“It helps get everything up and down,” Dick Ball said. “The decorations come down a lot faster than they go up.”
He said he has made a number of the decorations in the yard, including the colored balls hanging from the planter and the season's greetings sign, which usually goes on the roof.
Their son Tracy and daughter-in-law Angel live close by, on the corner of Bristol and Duffield roads, and have carried on the tradition of decorating for Christmas.
“We have over 13,000 lights outside,” Angel Ball said. “We've kept adding more and more lights over the years. My husband grew up in a family who decorated a lot for Christmas, and I've always enjoyed decorating.”
Angel and Tracy Ball have more than 2 acres, which gives them room to increase their decorating in the future.
She said the decorating is a family project, involving their two sons, as well.
“We try to add more trees every year. We have lots of trees,” she said. “We still have lots of room to expand.”
“It started out with a string of lights around the front door,” Leanna Ball said. “The next year, we did the kitchen and bedroom windows, too. We added to it each year.”
The home and yard decorating grew each Christmas season until the Balls began bringing in a cherry picker to hang lights in the large trees in the front of the yard. Because of the expense of renting the cherry picker, that piece of the decorating has been dropped from their outside decorating scheme.
“We didn't add other decorations this year,” Leanna Ball said. “I didn't see anything I liked.”
She said she thought the stores had downsized their inventories this year because of the economy, and whatever she found available on store shelves didn't interest her.
“I'm fussy about decorating,” she said. “I like the older stuff.”
The weather made a difference for them this year, as well.
“Because of the weather, we couldn't get the leaves all out of the yard, so we put the decorations up with leaves in the yard,” Leanna Ball said.
She said they didn't like doing that, but had no choice this year. Because of early snow and ice on the roof, they did not put up their usual roof display this year.
The Balls said their Christmas decorating takes about three to four weeks to assemble, and includes lights and lighted inflatable decorations. Each balloon decoration itself takes about 20 minutes.
“We have a lot of balloons,” she said.
Leanna Ball said she decorates the inside of the house, but helps with the outside, as well.
“It takes two of us to do a lot of the stuff,” she said. “We just like to do this. You have to enjoy doing this to put this much time into it. My mother always decorated when our family was growing up.”
When everything comes down, the decorations are packed away in their barn, where Dick Ball constructed a lift to hoist the decorations to the second level where they are out of the way.
“It helps get everything up and down,” Dick Ball said. “The decorations come down a lot faster than they go up.”
He said he has made a number of the decorations in the yard, including the colored balls hanging from the planter and the season's greetings sign, which usually goes on the roof.
Their son Tracy and daughter-in-law Angel live close by, on the corner of Bristol and Duffield roads, and have carried on the tradition of decorating for Christmas.
“We have over 13,000 lights outside,” Angel Ball said. “We've kept adding more and more lights over the years. My husband grew up in a family who decorated a lot for Christmas, and I've always enjoyed decorating.”
Angel and Tracy Ball have more than 2 acres, which gives them room to increase their decorating in the future.
She said the decorating is a family project, involving their two sons, as well.
“We try to add more trees every year. We have lots of trees,” she said. “We still have lots of room to expand.”