A tradition, merry & bright
Jennifer Moonsong
Central Division
Barren & Metcalfe
When Jim and Lucy Hawkins of Glasgow started doing woodworking projects together it was all in good fun. That was a quarter of a century ago.
Jim and Lucy Hawkins Photo by JR Jessie
“We had a UPS man come to the house, and he was selling wooden cutouts. I bought a ghost, a witch, and a cat. We took those and use the outlines to make our own,” Lucy said.
From there, Jim and Lucy’s passion grew.
“He draws them and cut them out, and I paint and decorate them,” she said.
One item the couple of 52 years designed and painted was a large Santa house for their yard. That was eleven years ago, and their once empty yard is now a merry and bright village of places and characters that dazzle the child in all of us.
“We have a full yard, there’s not a lot of space left,” said Lucy. But they have no intention of stopping. This year, their great-grandson Evan was the inspiration for the new installation: a John Deere tractor, farm animals, and fence.
The village includes a church, Carolers, a school and a school bus crossing with children, a fire truck and a firehouse, the north pole express, a farm, a gingerbread boy and a gingerbread girl, Santa in his workshop, and more.
Aside from being cute and Christmassy, the items hold special meaning, as some of the characters are named after children and grandchildren.
“We really love it, we have a lot of fun with it. And the grandkids and kids like it,” she said. Jim and Lucy have 8 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren.
However, it’s not only friends and family who enjoy the Christmas yard village. The ever-growing installation has drawn lots of attention in from the community.
“Lots of people stop and see it, they seem to really like it. We had a group out here last night taking pictures,” Lucy said.
Although it’s not yet Christmas of 2021, the couple already knows what they will design and install as next year’s edition.
“We plan to add a police officer in a police car,” she said. “We will grow it as big as we can.”
