Christmas Lights

They were bright, shiny and colorful. An integral part of the celebration of a joyous season. Yet at my house as a kid, if my mom had been a less-balanced woman, Christmas lights might have posed a threat of bodily injury. More than once, it occurred to me that my dad's obsessive drive to save and fix each strand might land him bound in a corner, wrapped and strung in green cords, half-lit with fat colored bulbs.  "Wait, wait, wait, just wait," he would sputter as my mom cast burned out strings aside.

For Alekos 2 Go owner Steve Kontos, the Grinch came early. Kontos showed up at work Friday morning to notice some of the lights stolen from his Christmas tree outside and an American flag stolen from the property. “I'm inside prepping, running back and forth, and I noticed out front there was a stack of lightbulbs from the Christmas tree laying on the ground,” he said. “I thought that was weird because they were on last night when we left.” Kontos also realized that the heat was not working when he went inside.

Do you transform the exterior of your house into a bright festival for the eyes during the holiday season? Does one of your neighbors or family members put on a decorative display that everyone should see this year? We'd like to photograph some of the area's most spectacular home light shows and talk to the owners about what motivates them to undertake such a project. We'll also run a list of other decorated homes suggested by readers for those who want to drive around and view some light displays.

Christmas lights a win-WIN By STACEY DANZUSO / Staff Writer, Chambersburg photo: RICHARD T. MEAGHER / staff photographer FAYETTEVILLE, Pa. - More than 1,000 Christmas trees of all shapes and sizes adorned with angels, colorful balls and lights attracted hundreds of visitors to the Ragged Edge Inn Sunday night. continued Innkeeper Darlene Elders has opened up the bed and breakfast for tours one Sunday before Christmas for the last six years, and every year people flock back for the chance to tour the historic inn. The tours are free, but donations for the Women in Need Victim Services of Franklin and Fulton counties are encouraged.

Robert and Stella Mumma bought ribbons on a "memory tree" Friday at Rose Hill Cemetery in honor of their daughter, who died last month, and then marched with about 400 other people to Hagerstown City Park to watch as Christmas decorations were lighted. The event has become an annual tradition. Rose Hill Cemetery has sponsored its event for 11 years now in conjunction with the city. It was a first for the Mummas, who will celebrate their first Christmas without daughter Sue Ann Mumma Deneen.

Free recycling of electrical Christmas lights offered MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - The Berkeley County Solid Waste Authority is offering free recycling of electrical Christmas lights and associated extension cords. The wiring will be accepted regardless of condition, age or manufacturer. Additional acceptable wiring items include power cords, telephone cords and computer cables. The program will be conducted at the Grapevine Road Recycling Center in Martinsburg and the South Berkeley Recycling Center in Inwood, W.Va.

Christmas lights near the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts in Hagerstown's City Park reflect Monday night off of what little water remains in the lake, which was drained so stone walls around it could be repaired.

Christopher Davis of Martinsburg, W.Va., took this photo of his 6-year-old daughter, Ellie, during St. Joseph School's annual Father-Daughter dance in March. Davis used his Canon 40D for this technique. He set his camera to bulb and his flash to 2nd curtain sync to get the results that he called "rather unique and took on an abstract quality. " The lights were actually Christmas lights wrapped around a pole in the cafeteria. o Sunday Lifestyle will feature a readers' photo in this spot each week.

Editor's note: For these 12 days before Christmas, we will be recognizing individuals or groups who make the holidays better for others. This is the ninth in the series. By JULIE E. GREENE / Staff Writer photo: JOE CROCETTA / staff photographer WILLIAMSPORT - When Les Guessford and Jeff Long were growing up in Williamsport, there were no fancy Christmas lights adorning the town park. [cont. from front page ] Long, 36, of Williamsport, said his family would go to Hagerstown City Park every holiday season to see its decorations.

WILLIAMSPORT ? Two Williamsport teenagers are spreading Christmas cheer in a way that would make Jeff Foxworthy proud. After duct-taping 400 colored Christmas lights to a green 1987 Ford F-250, Brian Cornett and Randy Hart, both 16, have been driving around Valley Mall beeping a "Dukes of Hazzard" horn at exhausted shoppers. "That's different. It's good for the Christmas spirit," said Carla Bricker, who watched Brian pull into the Valley Mall parking lot Thursday night. The two Williamsport High School juniors decorated Brian's truck on Sunday for a school project.

In December, Clear Spring resident Lynn O'Neil entered Chunks of Coal Christmas Cookies in The Herald-Mail's Cookie Exchange Contest. Her entry was not selected to advance to the final round by judges, but it was distinctive -   worth sharing with Herald-Mail readers. O'Neil wrote on her recipe card that the cookies were an unexpected treasure. "I had this recipe for years but never made them," she said. "(In December), I made these cookies with my great-nephew Kyle. " She pulled out the recipe while preparing for an annual family holiday tradition.

“What a wonderful world it would be if each day each one of us would ask God to let us see others and love others the way that He does.” - Hagerstown “After reading the paper today and listening to the news every day, I kind of think that part of the reason our budget is so out of whack is because instead of voting on the bill the way the bill is put into the process, they add all that pork to it all the time. If it was voted on the way it was meant to be, without the pork, then our budget wouldn't be in the trillions like it is. I think that when I make a budget up and I make it for a certain thing, I can't afford to add no pork in it.” - Falling Waters, W.Va.

They were bright, shiny and colorful. An integral part of the celebration of a joyous season. Yet at my house as a kid, if my mom had been a less-balanced woman, Christmas lights might have posed a threat of bodily injury. More than once, it occurred to me that my dad's obsessive drive to save and fix each strand might land him bound in a corner, wrapped and strung in green cords, half-lit with fat colored bulbs.  "Wait, wait, wait, just wait," he would sputter as my mom cast burned out strings aside.

For Alekos 2 Go owner Steve Kontos, the Grinch came early. Kontos showed up at work Friday morning to notice some of the lights stolen from his Christmas tree outside and an American flag stolen from the property. “I'm inside prepping, running back and forth, and I noticed out front there was a stack of lightbulbs from the Christmas tree laying on the ground,” he said. “I thought that was weird because they were on last night when we left.” Kontos also realized that the heat was not working when he went inside.

Free recycling of electrical Christmas lights offered MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - The Berkeley County Solid Waste Authority is offering free recycling of electrical Christmas lights and associated extension cords. The wiring will be accepted regardless of condition, age or manufacturer. Additional acceptable wiring items include power cords, telephone cords and computer cables. The program will be conducted at the Grapevine Road Recycling Center in Martinsburg and the South Berkeley Recycling Center in Inwood, W.Va.

Happy birthday to Lula Brant Harsh, a lifelong resident of Williamsport. She turns 100 years old on Nov. 29.   Charlie Brown Christmas A winter wonderland of more than 80 decorated Christmas trees will adorn the interior of Springfield Farm Barn for Charlie Brown Christmas - Reindeer in the Rafters, from 3 to 8 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 1, 2, 8 and 9; and Tuesday, Dec. 4, from noon to 5 p.m. Children can visit with Santa...

A crowd of about 75 people braved cold and blustery weather conditions Saturday night for this small western Washington County town's annual Christmas tree lighting. Tyler and Maryann Johnson of Warfordsburg, Pa., brought their 4-year-old daughter, Alexis, to Joseph Hancock Jr. Primitive Park. “This is our first time,” Johnson's mother said as they waited in a small line to meet Santa Claus, who arrived on a firetruck just before a large fir tree was lighted in the park. Alexis said she wanted a red Ninja Turtle when asked what she wanted for Christmas.

When Shawn Alton's doctor put her on bed rest during her pregnancy, she had one reservation. “I will be at Kris Kringle,” Alton told the doctor. “Put me on after that.” That was nearly 18 years ago, Alton said Saturday during the 29th annual Kris Kringle Craft Show at the Hagerstown Community College Athletic, Recreation and Community Center. The show typically draws around 10,000 shoppers over two days and benefits a different local nonprofit organization each year. Alton attended with her daughter Brooke, who will celebrate her 18th birthday on Christmas day. “I came here pregnant with her and here she is with me 18 years later,” Alton said.