by Logan Gruber
operations@thenewsleaders.com
When Jon Ritter’s father Joe died this past August, it was difficult. But Jon found joy in creating a Christmas light display for others to enjoy.
“My dad had a giant servant’s heart,” Jon said. “He would do anything to help his neighbors, and this is one way we can give back to our community and carry on that servanthood.”
Jon and his wife Kelli moved to St. Joseph, at 802 Morningside Loop about six years ago. Jon grew up in the Grand Rapids area, while Kelli is originally from Champlin. They have a 2-year-old daughter Brielle and both teach at Kennedy Community School. Jon is a physical education teacher for kindergarten through eighth grade while Kelli teaches fourth grade. They are expecting another little girl, due in February.
This is the first year the Ritters have created what is being referred to as the ‘Morningside Loop Lights.’
“Last year we lit up one pine tree,” Jon said.
To prepare for this display, they had to purchase 7,000 lights.
“I said, ‘You don’t even have a ladder! You have to get a ladder,” Kelli said with a laugh.
While 7,000 seems like a lot, Kelli and Jon noted there is a display on a home in Clearwater with about 40,000 lights.
At first, the Ritters had no idea how to set up for such a display, especially how to transmit music or synchronize the lights. Then they found a system called ‘Light-O-Rama,’ which is a combination of hardware and software which allows you to program a light sequence from a home computer and even synchronize the flashing of the lights to music.
“To sequence a song, it probably takes about two hours per minute of song at first,” Jon said.
The Light-O-Rama unit the Ritters bought has 16 output channels, meaning 16 different sets of lights can be either on or off at a single moment. The Ritters are currently using 10 of those channels. The radio transmitter can send the music 200-300 yards and can be picked up by any radio as long as it’s tuned to the right channel. The channel is listed on a sign on the corner of their property, where Iverson Street W. meets Morningside Loop.
The Ritters have sequenced seven songs at this point, including: Give this Christmas Away by Matthew West; It’s Christmas This Year by Toby Mac; It’s Christmas by Mandeasa; Let It Go from the movie Frozen; I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas by Gayla Peevey; Where are you Christmas from How the Grinch Stole Christmas; and Silent Night by Big Daddy Weeve. They try to cater to many different musical tastes.
“Initially when I was first playing with the Light-O-Rama, I had it set up with my laptop on the kitchen table,” Jon said.
“After three hours straight of listening to I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas, it wasn’t my favorite song anymore,” Kelli interjected.
The two love to watch neighbors and strangers drive slowly or stop on the side of the road to tune their radios in to the correct station and listen to the music while the lights flash in time.
“Brielle likes to wave at the cars from our window,” Kelli said.
Jon said he would love to see more people do large displays.
“He even offered to show our neighbors how it all works so they could do their own,” Kelli noted.
The music and light show runs seven days a week. Sunday-Thursday you can see the show from 5-9 p.m., and on Friday and Saturday it runs 5-10 p.m.
The Ritter family watches their lights from across Iverson Street. Jon took the opportunity to take a panorama photo on his phone.
For a moment, all the lights on the Ritter house were lit simultaneously. It almost never happens, as the Light-O-Rama software helps the Ritters set the lights to dance to music they broadcast from inside the house.
For a moment, all the lights on the Ritter house were lit simultaneously. It almost never happens, as the Light-O-Rama software helps the Ritters set the lights to dance to music they broadcast from inside the house.
Jon Ritter shows how the Light-O-Rama hardware in his garage has 16 outlets to control different sets of lights. He’s currently using 10 of the outlets, which are controlled electronically from his home laptop.
Jon Ritter shows how the Light-O-Rama software works on his home laptop. The computer is connected by cables to hardware in his garage, which has 16 outlets to control different sets of lights.
Jon, Brielle (2), and Kelli Ritter enjoy watching visitors pass by their home at the corner of Iverson Street W. and Morningside Loop. Brielle will often wave out the window at viewers in their cars.
