There Ya Go
Long before there was such a thing as imported Italian twinkle lights and 12-foot inflatable snowmen, there was Vic Peterson.
Who? Vic was my grandfather on my dad’s side; he owned a construction company in Tracy for decades before handing the reins over to Wimp. Needless to say, they were both pretty damn good with their hands.
They both excelled at carpentry and woodworking — I guess that apple really did fall far from this family’s pear tree, because neither my brother nor I could dream of the ability to work with wood like those two chaps.
And during the holiday season, their talent with timber was put on display in their front yards. The grainy photo you see here is one example of Vic’s hardwood handiwork. This photo that ran in the a 1955 edition of the Headlight-Herald (that’s what your paper was named back then) was taken in front of his Park St. home. The display includes three life-size carolers and even a street lamp that Vic created in his shop behind his home.
Back then, this was quite a scene, a real traffic-stopper. But that was a different time. There weren’t that many sparkling red and green lights or hologram images dancing on the front of houses. Back then, one had to really use their imagination, and that, combined with some talent, made for very picturesque scenes.
Wimp took the family tradition to the next level when I was a baby. By then, lights were everywhere around town. Most of them were in my front yard.
But, channeling his inner Vic, Wimp also made his Christmas decorations. He used plywood to craft many different caricatures, like a Santa in a sleigh, a Rudolph with a working red nose, angels and even an image of us three kids and our Christmas list. My mom was in charge of painting everything and she was pretty good at it. There was even a black Baby Jesus (no idea why he was black, but who am I to judge?).
Fast forward to the 21st century and the legend lives on with Tara’s middle child, Ben, who as been toiling the last few years to bring Christmas to Hollett St.
There are myriad cool things about what Ben does. First, he’s a kid. How many 17 year-olds do you know who will spend 14 hours of their weekend pounding in stakes and stringing up lights to spread Christmas cheer? Yes, Tara’s electricity bill has been working overtime in true Griswold fashion, but she accepts it, because she knows how important it is to Ben to be able to do what he does.
Each of Tara’s kids are great, but Ben does the grunt work. He’s the one who shovels snow without having to be asked. He’s the one who fixes things around the house. And he’s the one with a flashlight strapped around his head as he freezes his fingers off while he fills as many square feet as possible on the front lawn with anything Christmas-related.
Every evening at 5 during the holidays, his inflatables automatically rise like a phoenix and the hundreds upon hundreds of lights flick on (I can only imagine the scene if Vic and Wimp would’ve had 2025 technology at their disposal).
To my knowledge, Ben on Sunday became the youngest winner of the Tracy Area Chamber of Commerce’s Holiday Light Contest. Pretty cool, and we’re all proud of him — not just for winning some money, but for going all-in on the project.
The lights and blow-ups make for a truly impressive scene, but if you ask me, it’s the things that don’t twinkle or expand with air pressure that make me the most proud. It’s Wimp’s Rudolph and the angel blowing a trumpet that put a smile on my face.
And of course, the black Baby Jesus, too.
BACK IN THE 1950s, this holiday display highlighted in the Headlight-Herald in 1955 made by the author’s grandfather was considered a striking showcase.
