For more than half a century, a family in The Village has brought Christmas spirit to the community through an extensive display of lights and holiday-themed decorations.
Airdrie couple Ed and Barb Barkley have been decorating their home on 2nd Avenue NE for Christmas since 1967. According to Ed Barkley, putting up the lights, ornaments and decorations every year is a fun family tradition.
“You start doing something you enjoy, and then you have some help that comes along from people who enjoy doing it, and it kind of becomes a family affair,” said the 79-year-old, retired Canada Post worker.
“We figure it adds to old Airdrie. It’s a bit dull in this part of town, so we have to brighten it up a little bit.”
The Barkley’s lights include 40 strings of red lights along the house border and fence, as well as 40 strings of blue or green lights on the trees and bushes in the front lawn. According to Barkley, each string includes 25 bulbs, meaning there are 2,000 lights in total.
In addition to the lights display, lawn ornaments depicting snowmen, candy canes and candles are scattered throughout the lawn, while Santa Claus and his reindeer are situated on the roof. Holiday decals adorn the fence and walls of the house.
Barkley said he has lived in Airdrie since 1966, when he bought his lot for $750. He said he built the house himself, with help from a few friends.
“I was lucky to build the house without having to get a mortgage – you can’t do that today,” he said.
The following year is when the couple started decorating the house for Christmas, according to Barkley.
“The first year, I put up two strings of blue lights across the front,” he said. “I thought it was kind of dull, so the next year, I started putting up red lights and started doing the border of the house. I [added to it] every year for a few years, and it wasn’t long before we had the whole thing marked out.”
Over the decades, Barkley said he’s established an efficient system for keeping the lights organized – each string of lights is labelled and then rolled onto reels when they come down for the year.
“My son-in-law is an electrician, and a few years ago, he went and rewired my entryway by the electrical panel," he said. "He wired it so there are only seven switches now, all side by side, to turn the lights on.”
The festive spirit of the household is not just limited to the outside of the house, according to Barkley, but also the interior. While he focuses on the outside decorations, his wife Barb takes care of the inside.
Barb, who also worked for Canada Post for more than three decades, said they have a collection of more than 400 Christmas tree ornaments, which were all homemade by their children or grandchildren, or donated to them over the years.
“We’ve been collecting stuff, pretty much since we’ve been married,” Barb said. “This is the 58th year. We started collecting animated ones you plug in…about 50 years ago. I think we have 15 of them now. They’re all old ones – you don’t see anything like them anymore.
“Every year, the kids keep adding to our collection. I keep saying we don’t want anymore, because there’s so much!”
Alongside their tree, Barb said she puts together a Christmas village with 18 houses every year, and puts the display on a coffee table.
She added many community members are excited to see their decorations during the holidays, and family members look forward to helping recreate the house’s festive atmosphere.
“We have three daughters and they’re all interested in carrying on [the tradition],” she said. “The grandsons aren’t too interested in it, but our one granddaughter has taken an interest in it now. It’s neat – hopefully it will continue on with the family.”
Scott Strasser, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @scottstrasser19
