Wrenshall News: Keeping lights on is a balm

With so many holiday traditions upended this year it's fun to be able to hold dearly to the ones we can enjoy safely together. Our family has always loved the lighting displays put out by Wrenshall area residents. The drive back from daycare always takes longer in December because we have to drive down Goad Drive on the way home.

I was excited to see the community get into the spirit again this year with the fourth annual Deck the Wrens Halls lighting contest. My family did a drive through town last week and we had a lot of favorites. Garden Terrace assisted living had a setup that was visible a mile away.

My oldest son was also taken with the steam coming out of the Polar Express on Erickson Lane. The laser lights on Mason Drive elicited two audible cries of "wow" and a house on Cemetery Road inspired full-throated renditions of "Jingle Bells" and "Joy to the World."

Goad Drive won our family's neighborhood award for all of the collaborative effort but our absolute favorite was the city of Wrenshall's fiberglass deer decked out like Rudolf with a very special rider perched on top.

In years past the senior class has taken responsibility for decorating the deer but this year city workers got the job because of safety concerns. When I asked Wrenshall resident history buff James Sheetz what students used to do at Wrenshall, he said that every classroom used to have a tree that students would decorate throughout December.

Sheetz shares my love of holiday lighting and he recently hosted an online Christmas special at the Historic Scott House to show off his own unique collection. Jen Burleigh-Bentz and Jerry Rubino perform between tours of the estate and its festive decorations. The show, which Sheetz calls "Comfort and Joy," is available to watch on the Historic Scott House facebook page and includes a touching story of a Wrenshall Christmas past.

Sheetz was in second grade when one afternoon the class was supposed to be working on reading. Always a tad distracted, Sheetz was ignoring the lesson and drawing a Christmas card for his mother. That's it, above. His teacher was incensed and threw the card into the garbage, much to the student's dismay. Classmate Dale Carlson observed the whole thing and retrieved the card after class and returned it to Jim on the bus.

I hope we can all be as observant as Carlson was that December in 1967 and offer each other gestures of kindness and let our lights shine.

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