Local resident spreads Christmas joy through outdoor display
COSHOCTON – A Christmas display that started more than 30 years ago with one small angel has grown to well over 100 festive Christmas decorations. Harold Haines, who lives on County Road 24, has been collecting outdoor Christmas decorations for the past three decades and doesn’t plan to stop any time soon.
“People love it,” he said. “All the neighbors around here look forward to this. I see a lot of people in town or in my shop who especially love my ‘69 Camaro. My son made that many years ago.”
The ‘69 Camaro, nestled by Haines’ workshop, is just one of a few specialty-made items that Haines has on his property. He also features some items that are not made anymore including a life-sized Nativity scene and some inflatables.
But Haines’ decorations are about more than just spreading holiday cheer. For him, it’s about proclaiming the word of God.
“It’s all about spreading the word, and if it changes just one life, it’s worth it,” he said.
When asked if he has a favorite display, he pointed toward the large wooden cross displayed on his hillside.
“That pretty much says it all right there,” he said.
With all the Christmas decorations he has, it takes Haines and his wife approximately six to seven weeks to put up all the decorations, including about three days just to run extension cords. Haines also puts out luminaries about 10 to 12 days before Christmas. After all the decorations have been put up, Haines spends most of his nights surveying the property and doing maintenance on any item that isn’t working properly. With as many decorations as he has, that means he’s usually fixing at least one item every night.
“This is our thing,” he said. “On Thanksgiving, this is what my wife and I do. The grandchildren wanted to start helping us, but we like to do this. But we’re getting to the point where we think we might want to start letting them help next year.”
Haines said that his electricity bill skyrockets in January, but has gone down considerably since switching to LED lights. However, he says the money doesn’t matter.
“You can’t put a value on this,” he said. “It’s priceless.”
On weekends in December, Haines said there is usually a line of cars by his house and people bring their kids to see his lights. He says he enjoys talking with the many people who stop by and he hopes people focus on the reason for the season.
“I hope they think about Christ and the joy of Christmas,” he said. “That pretty much sums it up. It’s about the birth of our Savior. It can’t be no more important than that.”
Haines lives about a mile out on County Road 24 off of State Route 83 on the left. If you drive out there after dark any night in December, you can’t miss it.
beth@coshoctoncountybeacon.com
Category: People & Places, Photo Galleries
