Sam Widdall describes the massive holiday display he has put up at his Highland home for more than three decades as a “labor of love.”
So when the holiday-spirited homeowner learned he would be commuting between Highland and Houston as he prepped for a permanent move to Texas with his wife, Lorraine, he knew this year he would be unable to put up the display that has drawn thousands of people down 41st Street over the years.
Instead of just leaving the home and O’Day Drive undecorated – and his fans in the dark about what why the display wasn’t there – Widdall erected a sign thanking people for their support and informing them of the final scaled down display.
“I put the sign up, and a couple little trees around it with flood lights on it,” Widdall said.
He also installed a dozen laser lights as a quick way to illuminate and decorate his home without having to hang strands of lights and erect the many silhouettes, displays and the Nativity scene that are usually part of the fun.
A fan of holiday lights and decorating, Widdall and his family flipped the lights on in Highland Nov. 24 and headed to Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago to look at the lighting handiwork there. When they returned a few hours later, his 12 laser light units had been stolen.
“I don’t understand the motivation behind that,” Widdall said. He was angry and disheartened by the theft, which he reported to police.
Commander John Banasiak, with the Highland Police Department, confirmed police took a report from Widdall.
“People are rotten,” Banasiak said. “It just ruins your spirit.”
It is not the first time that holiday decorations have been stolen. Banasiak said that while the department does not categorize what items are stolen in thefts for its annual reporting purposes, he said there are incidents like this each season.
“Off the top of my head, every year we have a half a dozen to a dozen thefts or mischief to decorations,” Banasiak said.
He described 41st Street as a highly trafficked secondary east-west thoroughfare in town and was surprised the theft took place during what would be a busy time of day for traffic.
Anyone with information can call the department at 219-838-3134.
Banasiak said Widdall’s home is one that Highland families have been going to for generations.
“It’s just a longtime Highland tradition,” Banasiak said.
Sam and Lorraine Widdall started decorating in 1986 when they first purchased the home. Lorraine tackles the inside and the outside is his domain. Each year Sam Widdall added to the display. His in-laws lived next door in the duplex and also became part of the effort. At first they stored the decorations in their basements, then in a dedicated shed and finally in an addition to the garage.
“It was amazing. People started honking and stopping,” Widdall said.
After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Widdall said, he and his late father-in-law Jim Courtright wanted to help change the mood.
“It seemed like it wasn’t the same. The Christmas spirit was not there. It was a different kind of year,” he said. The duo purchased Santa suits and took turns standing outside from 5 to 7 p.m. to wave at passersby and handed out candy canes to the children who showed up.
Decorating and playing Santa for all those years has left Widdall with a lot of memories. He recalled being Santa for a 9-year-old boy awaiting a liver transplant. The boy’s parents made arrangements in advance for Widdall to give the boy and some of his friends presents.
“It was really heart touching. He jumped in my arms,” he said.
Widdall chokes up when he talks about the boy’s excitement, and the happy ending he learned of later. The youngster received a liver, he said.
Another woman stops by every year with her adult daughter who has Down syndrome.
“Every year she comes up and says, ‘Hey, my Santa.’ She gives me a Snickers bar every year,” Widdall said. He says Santa always tells her to take as many candy canes as she wants.
“There are a lot of stories like that,” Widdall said.
Widdall said this year’s theft was not the first. The display has been vandalized in the past. People have thrown eggs at the silhouettes. One year someone threw a beer bottle at his father-in-law while he was dressed as Santa and knocked him down, he said.
Crown Point Police Chief Pete Land said holiday decoration sometimes can be an easy target.
The city hosts an annual holiday light tour and many homes along the planned route, along with those featured in the tour, have elaborate decorations.
“In past years we’ve almost always had some type of theft or reported vandalism to Christmas lights or displays,” Land said. The stolen items are usually those lawn displays that are small and easy to quickly carry away. So far no laser displays have been stolen of which he is aware, but with the popularity of the units growing that could change, he said.
Police provide enhanced patrols in neighborhoods during the holiday season. Beyond protecting holiday decor they are looking for suspicious vehicles that may be targeting homes with packages on the front steps.
“Up to this point, we’ve had only a minimum amount of minor calls,” Land said.
For Widdall, dealing with the theft is just part of the deal. He refuses to let the theft dampen his holiday spirit and won’t prevent future decorating. Widdall said if he were staying in Highland he would still decorate. Next year he plans to decorate in his new home in Texas, he said.
“It’s exciting. We are building our dream house on some land we bought. I will continue to decorate, but now I will be in a gated community,” Widdall said.
He is a little disappointed his display won’t be available to the general public but has figured out a way to get more people to see his love for holiday lights. His daughter will be moving to Texas as well and he will be decorating her house, along with the house of a niece and nephew already there.
Carrie Napoleon is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
