Holiday lights display love to and from the community

Setting up a massive number of light strings, blow-up characters, and complicated displays is always a monumental task for the annual Christmas light display in Chuck Rodgers' yard. It takes weeks of physical labor, resourcefulness, and organization, but that's just the obvious part of the project. Whatever Mother Nature brings on while the display is up reveals an added layer of devotion to his creation.

This winter has been brutish, and Rodgers' efforts were a match to that intensity. Thankfully the donations collected also rose to that level of greatness. Rodgers' raised $21,011 and collected 262 pounds of food for Longmont Meals on Wheels (LMOW), beating out both statistics from last year.

This is the seventh year that Rodgers' 36-year holiday tradition has been utilized as a fundraiser with collection boxes in a couple of spots within the display and a QR code available for online donations.

Heavy snow, whipping winds, and deep freezes at his house on 79th Street just south of Highway 52 meant Rodgers was shoveling off and shaking displays, deflating and battening down blow-ups with tires, and repairing and replacing parts all while being in elements that were harsher than ever.

"It literally kicked my butt," Rodgers said. "There were three times I had to shovel everything off from those heavy snows. We probably had a foot each time. We haven't had a year like this in a long time."

Normally, Rodgers said his house on the hill gets a few inches of snow even when Niwot-proper gets a foot. In the past he's been able to use his leaf blower to remove snow from displays, but that method doesn't work with heavy snowfalls.

Rodgers said that during the really cold snap, he spent two nights outside shoveling and was sick afterward.

Another and a more welcome difference from prior years was the lack of damage done by drivers as they enjoyed the expansive light show. Routinely, some displays are hit by cars, but Rodgers said, "Actually, people were better behaved than before. Only one light was driven into and broken this year."

He attributes the reduction in accidents to the driveway having been widened, allowing for two way traffic. The rerouted flow forced people to keep left and did seem to throw a few drivers, but not enough to cause any issues, most likely due to Rodgers' additional lights and signs catching their attention.

LMOW's tagline is "Delivering Hope One Meal at a Time" and they've just hit the milestone of serving over three million individual meals to older adults and those with disabilities. The mission of the organization is to allow those in need to continue having their dignity and to live independently while also checking in on them regularly.

Karla Hale, Executive Director of Longmont Meals on Wheels said, "Chuck really cares about the community he lives in and the organizations that serve his community. We are blessed to have Chuck and his family as supporters of our organization and our mission. His Christmas light display not only spreads joy with those that come by to see it, he offers Longmont Meals on Wheels an opportunity to spread our word to the community and raise much needed funds for our organization. Chuck's kindness means more than I will ever be able to express."

It takes several weeks to take down and store the humongous display and, at this point, eighteen trees still have strings of lights needing to come down. With the help of his 6-year old grandson, Rodgers expects to get those done in the next few days.

Rodgers' ultimate takeaway for 2022's display was, "It was a great year, I was really pleased with everything."

For more information on Longmont Meals on Wheels, visit http://www.longmontmeals.org.