Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, December 19, 1994 TAG: 9501170007
SECTION: NEWSFUN PAGE: NF1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: NANCY GLEINER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Now, Meador's own children, except for 10-year-old James, are grown, and he seems to be making up for lost time. It's almost impossible to count how many sets of twinkling lights there are inside and outside his house - and that's just the beginning.
It all started with two 25-foot light sets 31 years ago. Now it takes a huge shed to store all of their figurines, strings of lights, ornaments and homemade decorations.
Starting with the larger-than-life-size (well, who really knows) Winnie the Pooh that always welcomes you from the top of the front steps, to the large figures of robed singers, Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus, angels, manger scenes, snowmen, stars, animals, candy canes, soldiers ... wherever you look, it's Christmas.
There's a North Pole sign, Santa, his sleigh, and reindeer (even with Rudolph's shiny nose) on the roof; an 8-foot star on the side of the house and another in the back; and a full-size tree, completely decorated, outside, in addition to the one in the big front window. There are also a "Happy Holidays" sign blinking in one window and a sign saying "Merry Christmas" in another; a Bible made of wood; wreaths; lampposts; ribbons; candles; a Santa mailbox (a few letters are left in there every year). If you can't find a particular decoration at the Meadors', ask them about it, they'll probably get it for next year.
"I pretty much remember where everything came from," said Jessie Meador, Meador's wife. Among those places are local stores, catalogs, yard sales, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Myrtle Beach, neighbors' workshops, and even from strangers and those who've come to see the display year after year.
"We have a cross our uncle made and used at Easter every year," Jessie Meador said. "Before he died, he gave it to us. Now his grandchildren look for it first thing every year."
The spectacle at the Meador's house off Plantation Road in north Roanoke County begins to take shape a week or two before Thanksgiving and continues to grow until after Christmas Day, especially if Meador gets more decorations as Christmas presents (and he often does; he also gets them for birthday presents). It's a real family project with daughters, sons-in-law and James helping to transform the house into an ever-changing wonderland. They even move things around or add lights or ribbons once they're in place, if they don't look "just right."
"We do something just about every day," Meador said.
People come from all over just to see their collection, and many remember their favorites from year to year. If they don't see them in the front or back yards, they sometimes ask where they are. The Meadors have too much to put on their own property, so they often lend decorations to neighbors.
A busload of handicapped children is driven by every day on their way to school. Jessie Meador turns the lights on early each morning for them. Groups of elderly residents from nursing homes come by regularly, and some families have been enjoying the spectacle for years.
"Some families come every year and take pictures in our yard," Jessie Meador said. "I feel like they've grown up here." One boy, now an adult, returns every year with a plate of cookies for them.
Parents sometimes use a drive to the Meador house as a reward for children getting their homework done, eating all their vegetables or doing their chores.
How much money have they put into all this? "Oh, I just can't imagine what it costs," Jessie Meador said. She did say their electric bill increases about $150 during the time their display is up. Add to that the cost of the more than 1,000 candy canes they hand out each year.
"We don't smoke or drink or go to bars," Keith Meador said, "so this is what we spend money on. The satisfaction we get from people and kids is worth it."
There's no donation box in the yard, but a few people have given them money over the years.
"One night a man in a big Lincoln Continental drove up and called Keith over to the car," Jessie Meador said. "I thought, 'My goodness, I wonder what he'll give him.'" When Keith came back into the house, he held up a one-dollar bill. The Meadors still laugh about that one.
"This brings so much joy to people," Keith Meador said. "This is what Christmas is about - a time for giving and sharing."
"This has always been our favorite time of year," Jessie Meador said. "If you could hear the kids and the babies squealing, their little eyes shining - that's why we do this. This is Christmas."
Keith and Jessie Meador's house is at Endicott and Vista avenues in northern Roanoke County, one block off Plantation Road.
Feel free to get out of the car and go right into the yard. Chances are, one of the Meadors (maybe even someone in a Santa suit) will hand you a candy cane and greet you with eyes that sparkle like the lights on the trees, the roof, the fence...
Don't forget to eat your vegetables first.
by CNB