The bubble blowing bear at the Nisja Bear House, located at 1366 Chichester Drive in Gardnerville, will be performing 5:30-8:30 p.m. through Christmas Eve.
Photo by Kurt Hildebrand.
In what has become a Christmas tradition in Gardnerville, the Nisja Bear House is once more making spirits bright.
“I’m just the maintenance man,” Roy Nisja says of the Christmas display that has been adding elements over the past 45 years.
Nisja gives all credit to his son.
Donn Nisja started the display in 1980 as a high school senior with a snowman cut out of a piece of 4x8 plywood left over from a roofing project.
“During the first few years we didn’t have a name for it,” Roy said on Tuesday. “Then the neighborhood kids started calling it the Bear House.”
For its first 37 years, the Bear House was a staple in San Rafael, Calif., before Nisja, 90, moved to 1366 Chichester Drive in 2018.
It was even featured on local television news with videos of its California days still available online.
Besides the snowman, which tips its hat using an old barbecue motor, center stage is occupied by a bubble blowing bear.
Nisja said the bubbles are getting bigger and bigger.
The newest items include a set of flying reindeer reinforced against Nevada winds with a metal mount fashioned by Donn.
“The last time they took flight was eight years ago at the old home in the Bay Area,” according to the Nisja letter. “We had to do some creative engineering to keep them from flying away here.”
and a trio of bears with the name of Roy’s great grandson, Noah.
Santa will be out at the Bear House 6 p.m. today and is bringing Mrs. Claus with him on Christmas Eve.
Nisja enjoys talking to people and answering questions about the house during its 5:30-8:30 p.m. hours through New Year’s Eve.
Nisja said the display is a lot of work, but it’s all in an effort to make people happy during the season.
“It’s about giving you and your family a chance to experience the magic that the season brings,” the Nisjas said in their letter.
