by Logan Gruber
operations@thenewsleaders.com
Two sets of neighbors on 12th Ave. S.E. are having a bit of a throw down for Christmas.
Malorie and Josh DeWenter, 112 12th Ave. S.E., and Meagan and Allen Marek, 108 12th Ave. S.E., are in friendly competition to see who can create the best light display this holiday season.
“Last year I only put up a couple of lights, but this year I thought I’d egg them on,” Josh said in a St. Joseph Newsleader interview. “We put up a little here, a little there, then they put up a little more over there . . . it’s all fun and games.”
Josh grew up in St. Joseph with his parents, Bruce DeWenter and Kelly Haffner. He recently moved back with his wife and two children, Stella, 3 and Hudson, 2.
“It’s mostly just regular lights,” Josh said. “But we also have a blow-up piece with a snowman, reindeer, polar bear and penguin. They play music, and the kids love to go out and dance to it.”
He said they keep the music on low, because when it’s on high they can hear it all the way inside the house.
“My dad Bruce built a playhouse for the kids recently, so I figured I’d put lights on that too,” Josh added. “The kids love to help put lights up.”
Josh said their block is pretty dark except for their two houses, but their houses can be seen all the way from Hwy 75.
“We keep the lights on from dusk until about 10-10:30 p.m. We haven’t had any complaints yet,” Josh said.
He was still putting up lights Monday night in the snow.
Josh said they’ve only had one negative experience with their first venture into lighting up the house in a big way, and that was when someone stole one of the Marek’s laser displays. The laser shoots a pattern on the side of the house, and apparently one was stolen from their home on Friday or Saturday night last week. A police report was filed. Both houses have at least one laser.
“They were a hot item this year . . . you couldn’t find them on the shelf after Thanksgiving,” Josh noted.
Josh said the laser is one thing which really catches people’s eyes as they drive by, and causes many of them to slow down to admire the rest of the display.
“We must be doing something right!” Josh said. “Maybe we will synchronize the lights in a few years.”
Now, he just has to worry about stepping it up for next year . . . after making continuous adjustments to his display right up until Christmas.
The two houses, sitting side by side, are in friendly competition this year.
The DeWenter’s display features a number of inflatables with music as well as a laser display on the side of the house.
