Madison care center invites guests in for the holidays
Equal parts excitement and relief greet Fannie Miller as she stands in the circle driveway outside of the assisted living facility where she’s worked for a quarter century. She’s standing alongside her longtime helpers Diana, Nancy, Christina and LeAnn as late afternoon turns into early evening. Once the sun has dipped below the horizon, these ladies aren’t in the dark, however. They’re illuminated by the tens of thousands of holiday lights and decorations they’ve spent months preparing and setting up across the property. It’s officially Christmastime in Monroe County.
For more than two decades, visitors from across Missouri have made the pilgrimage to the Jones’ Wildwood Care Center just south of Madison to take in the seemingly never-ending rows of displays, trees and lights that fill up the sprawling 5-acre property.
“There’s quite a bit of pressure on us to do better every single year,” says Fannie, the administrator of the center. “And when we finally get everything turned on and we’re out there looking at it, we all just kind of stand there. We’re kind of in awe that we really did this. It’s truly what we love.”
Fannie started at the center in 1998. “We had a few things in the yard back then, but nothing on the roof or huge light displays,” she says. “After about two or three years I started taking over and helping get everything out for Christmas.”
It snowballed.
“It grew bigger and bigger,” says owner Chris Jones. “We started having people stop by and look at the lights. Every year they kept asking if we could make it bigger next year. We ran out of room in our little red storage shed.”
Today, that little red storage shed is just the start for the winter wonderland along State Highway 151. A half dozen more sheds are used in addition to an entire house on the back of the property fully dedicated to storing holiday lights.
Acquiring more and more lights is a year-round job for Fannie and Chris. They’re always scouring the internet or newspapers looking for pre- or post-Christmas sales. They get donations from locals who are downsizing their homes and auctioneers even tip them off when there’s a worthy haul of holiday items to be had.
Christmas starts in the summer for Fannie and her team of four helpers. In June, the team starts pulling holiday items out of storage and checking to see if all the lights and decorations are still in working order, and if not, if they are fixable. In September, the lights and decorations begin to be placed around the property.
“It’s at least a little different every year,” Fannie says. “I study the decorations after we put them out each year to see where each one might fit better the next year. So in addition to any new lights, we move them around every year, too.”
It’s not just the decorations and lights in the yard and on the roof. “It’s total Christmas everywhere, including inside,” Chris says. “All the hutches get emptied; all the pictures come down and Christmas goes up. We invite people in and have residents who will give tours of the building and just love it.”
The lights are all illuminated on Thanksgiving and stay on 24/7 until New Year’s Day.
Once the lights are on, the visitors start showing up in droves. Guests are encouraged to walk the grounds and take photos of and with the decorations. They’re welcome inside the center to view the holiday displays before 8 p.m. There’s plenty to see around the grounds. Some nights include carolers from local churches and others have seen proposals under the gazebo.
Terry Atchison helps the team prepare the property for the holiday season and welcomes guests when they stop by. “We’ll have carload after carload every afternoon and early evening and I get a lot of enjoyment seeing people get out and look around,” he says. “I make a point to invite them into and through the home. If they care enough to drive from northern Missouri or western Illinois to see the decorations, that’s the least I can do to make it a great experience for them.”
In addition to being a destination for the north Missouri community, the over-the-top holiday display — and Christmas party in December — are highlights for the 32 residents at Wildwood.
“It really brightens their lives,” says Fannie. “Not only seeing the lights, but seeing how much progress we can get done in a day is something they notice.”
Adds Chris: “This can be a big deal for them; without some of this, Christmas might just be another day. Some of them might not have a family to see so we’re that family. This just really makes it feel like home with the lights and holiday spirit.”
For more information on the Christmas light display at Jones’ Wildwood Care Center, call 660-291-8636.