Back, and Forth: A bright season, guided by 8s
In 1978, as a cynical college sophomore, I wrote something dour about Christmas decorations. As Bob Dylan once mused, “I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now.”
It had something to do with the overly commercialized ways society celebrates Christmas — a theme I still struggle with, but now figure that rather than tilting at the windmill, we should settle for putting a strand of lights on it.
The piece appeared in the Linfield newspaper, now the Linfield Review. Back then, it was called the Linews.
In the article, I took issue in particular with glitzy holiday symbols, including street ornaments in my hometown of Albany. I recall saying something about candy canes strapped to light poles resembling “sad snakes.”
But this is about local holiday lights and the good feelings and messages they convey — messages of hope, both intrinsically and expressly.
We can thank Thomas Edison’s partner, Edward Johnson, for first hanging electric holiday lights. In 1882, he placed them outside their laboratory for railway passengers to see, according to the Library of Congress website.
“By the 1920s, General Electric made pre-assembled lights more accessible and cheaper, and the actual use of electrical lights to decorate trees and homes soon became the norm,” writes Greg Sicotte in an online article titled “The History of Holiday Lighting.”
According to the Library of Congress, the first presidential Christmas tree — adorned with 3,000 lights, courtesy of Calvin Coolidge — went up on the White House Ellipse.
That was Christmas Eve 100 years ago. One of the holiday tree’s descendants, an imposing, well-lit municipal tree, takes its stand next to the McMinnville Public Library.
But beautiful lights in our midst are not confined to that towering display, nor to the festive swoop and sparkle of the lighted strands on Third Street. Yes, credit is shared with the home with 25 artificial trees filling the yard like sentinels, homes that adhere to a “See It From Outer Space” approach that would make Chevy Chase proud, and even with the house featuring a lone bush hung with 20 rainbow lights.
Everywhere I go, in McMinnville and elsewhere, I’m impressed by both the public and private displays. People are really plugged in to the season of light concept.
Whether it’s a Christmas, Solstice, or Hanukkah gesture, or just flows from that universal need to fend off the darkness, lights are both cause and source of celebration. Personally, I don’t think I’ve ever felt stronger about that than in this murky year.
Entries in lighting contests staged in neighboring cities, including Carlton (vote online by Dec. 24) and Lafayette (see winners already posted online), were impressive to see. Awards include The Griswold, O Christmas Tree and The North Pole, in addition to Mayor’s Choice.
Short on time? All you need to do in Carlton is go by Ladd Park downtown and see an amazing array of lights that are put up each year.
You can’t say the lights are everywhere, as some neighborhoods are thoroughly dark. But it’s not hard to find impressive displays lighting up locations scattered about.
No discussion of inspiring lights in the McMinnville area is complete without mention of two illuminations, centering on the number “8.” They do not connect specifically to Christmas, but are nonetheless full of meaning.
One of those illuminations features a trio of signs at the intersection of Highway 18 and 99W near Dayton.
The other graces the exterior of Kearns Chiropractic clinic, on Highway 99W at McDonald Lane in McMinnville.
The latter was placed there by Caleb and Cressie Kearns, to honor their nephew, Ethan Kearns, a junior at Westside Christian who plays with the Dayton Pirate football team. His uncle, Josh Kearns, placed the six-foot-tall “Eth8an” and “Hope” signs on the highway side.
Ethan’s season was cut short, and his life threatened, by the diagnosis of cancer. It required emergency surgery in early November.
Ethan wore number 8 this season. He is the son of Isaac and Nicole Kearns, and Isaac also played football at Dayton as well, back in the day.
A third sign, featuring the initials CV framing a heart, remembers Cosme Velazquez, who worked for Josh for many years.
“Our C and D Landscape family lost one of the best,” Josh wrote on a GoFundMe site benefitting the Velazquez family.
“Cosme Velazquez passed away unexpectedly on Nov. 17, 2023. He leaves behind his beloved wife and children, still residing in their hometown in Mexico.
“Cosme has lived in the U.S. for several decades and has worked for us for 20 years. … He was an honest, diligent, hardworking, honorable man who left such a mark on our company and everyone he worked with. We will miss so much about him.”
There’s spirit in the number 8. Its eternal loop serves as a symbol of strength, and it represents good luck in many cultures.
The Dayton team and community have rallied around Ethan, honoring him and his uniform number in various ways. Our sports editor, Tanner Russ, has twice written about Ethan’s plight, and how teammate Zach Smith visited his friend in the hospital to ask if he could wear No. 8 in Ethan’s honor for the final games of the season.
A Facebook page about him is titled, “Infinite 8: Ethan Kearns.” “Ethan is the inspiration behind the ‘8’ that is showing up all over the state,” Caleb noted in an e-mail.
Family members report Ethan is attending classes remotely as he regains strength, but is in good spirits and gets to hang out with friends regularly as well as attending the football team year-end dinner.
I drove out Tuesday to look at the highway display honoring Ethan and Cosme. I saw the tribute as a testament to the way lights serve as symbols of so many feelings along the bright spectrum of remembrance, hope and courage.
Contact Kirby Neumann-Rea at kirby@newsregister.com or 503-687-1291.
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