For the first time in 11 years, Darrell Blasius sat back and let others take over — sort of.
With a slight limp, Blasius directed a slew of volunteers as they entered his home and went to work removing Christmas trees from boxes, putting them in their proper place, and beginning the decorative process.
It’s a process that normally takes him nearly a month to fill his home with more than 100 Christmas trees, wreaths and Christmas icons from ceiling to floor. Each tree has a special theme and lights surround the interior and exterior parts of the house located at 1501 E. Sycamore St.
Taking a seat he said, “I have decorated every tree, every year.”
Despite the enormous task he set for himself, he liked to do it alone. “I’m very picky about my trees,” he said.
It’s a tradition that not only provides Christmas spirit to the community, but also raises funds for the We Care charity. In the past two years alone Darrell and Bruce Blasius have raised more than $12,000 for the organization.
But an injury stood in his way this year. Two weeks ago, Blasius broke his ankle when he was trying to move a heavy cabinet. Blasius’ shoe slipped taking him to the ground and the cabinet with him.
“It was something that was not too favorable,” he said, noting he had to hold back on a “few choice words.”
Aside from his pain, Blasius was worried about his yearly project. “What am I going to do?” he asked himself. “This is something the community is expecting.”
A suggestion from WWKI’s Tammy Lively made Blasius think it was time to get the community involved. With some promotion, he found his house filled with volunteers Saturday and Sunday.
He watched as 20 volunteers came in and out of his home. At one point they formed an assembly line to bring down more than 25 trees, a process that would normally take him, Bruce and his brother Jeff Myers six hours. It was accomplished in two.
While Blasius found it difficult to accept the help of others, he was also in awe of how much could be accomplished.
“It’s kind of nice,” Blasius admitted. “I can’t believe how much we can get done in one day or two days.”
And Doris Shea couldn’t believe how much Darrell and Bruce did by themselves.
“It’s up down, up down, up down — up the stairs, down the stairs, in the attic, in the garage, down in the basement,” Shea said with a gesture of her arms. She smiled. “You just don’t realize how much work he does.”
Like every year the Blasiuses expand their project. This year they’re planning to have 121 trees ready for Thanksgiving, with new themes such as the Black Hat Society and Snowman.
This year the Christmas home attracted more than the Blasiuses’ family friends. People, like Debbie Grant, who’ve never entered the house before decided to lend a hand.
“I just thought, ‘They do so much. Now they need help,’” Grant said. “I can’t even imagine doing this on my own.”
Now that she’s participating, she can’t wait to take her family and friends to come see the finished product.
“I’m going to come back and see it all finished,” she said.
With all the help and community spirit, Blasius can’t help but think he may have found a better route to decorating his home for the We Care event. He loves meeting new people and receiving extra exposure.
“We might be doing this again next year,” he said.
If you go:
The Blasius house will be open every day Nov. 24 through Dec. 31 — except for Christmas Eve and Christmas. It is open 5 to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 9 p.m. on weekends. There is no admission charge, but freewill donations are accepted.
To help: Volunteers can call (765) 457-5155 or 434-1389 before they come out or to inquire about future dates for decorating.
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Volunteers help prepare house for tours
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