Yard’s Christmas Lights Dazzle Neighbors, Near And Far
By Eric Conklin
Six years ago, a decision was made by the family of Richard Yard of Absecon to do away with his old Christmas decoration collection that was cluttering the garage of his home on Curran Drive in Absecon. The family made a pact to salvage whatever could be fixed, and dispose of the rest.
It was at that point that they decided to decorate their home on a grand scale. The family has created a tradition that even includes an appearance by Santa himself. Princesses Anna and Elsa of Disney’s Frozen, will also be stopping by the residence on December 14th and 15th, and possibly on December 23rd.
Yard’s Grandson, Anthony Gerrish, 30, of Absecon and Gerrish’s brother, Daniel Miller, 23, of Absecon set up the acclaimed light show each year. When the tradition started six years ago, Gerrish says the decorations began attracting large crowds of admirers.
“All of these people started driving in front of our house, getting out of their cars, and taking pictures of our stuff,” said Gerrish. “I was like, ‘Wow, I didn’t know that people liked to come out and do this.’”
More people began to visit the light display. Soon folks began to walk onto the property to get better photos. This lead Yard’s family to introduce a walkway through the display, allowing guests to enjoy the display leisurely.
Gerrish and Miller take on a Clark Griswold mentality in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, when arranging the display, mapping out which lights go where. The entire set up is run by an electrical system Gerrish and Miller formed together, which feeds into a generator.
With the amount of visitors they receive each holiday season, Yard’s family uses their light display to give back to the community through donations. Previous proceeds taken by Yard’s family went to Atlantic Christian School, Gerrish’s alma mater. This year, Alex’s Lemonade Stand is the donation receiver.
The donations touch hearts as well. Gerrish says that he recently received a compliment from someone who was pleased that the family was sending donations to Alex’s Lemonade Stand. Someone in their family had been affected by childhood cancer.
“I love seeing the whole town come by,” said Gerrish. “We’ll have churches come by in buses.”
Gerrish grew up enjoying seeing Christmas lights around the area. He knows that joy of seeing a Christmas light display and that it offers excitement and comfort to people during the holidays. This six-year-old tradition continues this year throughout the holiday season.
If you can’t make it out to the light display, you can also enjoy watching the mesmerizing decorations on their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/yardfamilychristmas.
Eric is a graduate of Rowan University, and has a passion for radio and journalism.
