Decorations light up Ruhenstroth

It is unanimous - the winners for Christmas lighting displays in Ruhenstroth are Jim and Christine Beard of 1994 Mule Lane. They also won last year in a tie. Are we seeing a pattern here? Both Jim and Christine truly enjoy decorating and if you enjoy the decorations in the yard, you should see the inside of their home. It is truly an enchanted and magical place.

Jim is in charge of the outdoor decorating, "with a gentle nudge from Christine," he says with a smile.

A retired firefighter from the San Francisco Bay area, he was part of a department that decorated and had visitors coming from all over to see each year. They even had a talking Christmas tree affectionately named Mr. Douglas Fir.

The Beards also participated in a decorating contest in their Vallejo neighborhood.

Christine grew up in Las Vegas and her dad always made the wooden yard decorations and he used to win the contest each year. Jim has his own woodworking shop in the garage where he makes custom furniture for their home as well as for family and friends.

"Each year we go to the after Christmas sales and buy things to add next year and friends have given us gifts over the years too," Christine adds. The Mr. and Mrs. Claus and the fireman Santa are two of the gifts they received.

"When we moved in, our neighbor, Janet Gookin, told us we had to decorate the yard. It has become a friendly competition among friends (since moving here in 2003)," Christine chuckles. "Janet is a great neighbor who actually has a better view of the yard than we do. When Jim is out setting things up, she stands in her living room window and nods yes or no for the position of the larger items."

Now that's team work. I have it on good authority that the people living on Mule Lane have all gotten the same instruction from Janet, a local Realtor who has sold a lot of the homes to her neighbors. In fact, Jim and Christine didn't even know Janet would be their neighbor when they bought their home from her. Coincidence? I think not.

The idea for a Christmas lighting contest for our neighborhood came from Howie Althouse after noticing how many more lights were being put up in recent years. An accomplished woodworker himself, Howie made commemorative plaques for the winners from last year as well as this year. His wife, Harriet, did the stenciling and Howie did the lettering, painting and staining.

"The wood is from a walnut tree stump that my son had removed from his property in California. It was 3 feet across and about 4 feet tall when they delivered it to me. It was one of three trees originally planted at a Wells Fargo stage stop," Howie said.

Our judges this year were Amanda Nelson, 14, and Jaime Nelson, 13, and both in the ninth grade - not sisters, either. They met at the bus stop and have become friends over the years. Jaime's mother, Diane Nelson, drove the girls around the neighborhood. Amanda and Jaime also picked three homes as honorable mention. They are 1977 Lacey Court, 769 Pinto and 1988 Palomino.

A very special thank you to our judges, as well as Howie for the plaques and, of course, to the Beards and everyone who decorated this year making the neighborhood look so magical.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone.

-- To reach Gail Davis, e-mail RuhenstrothRamblings@yahoo.com or call 265-1947.