Light display labor of love

By Jason Ferguson

It’s a display that would make Clark Griswold jealous.
If it seems like there is a special glow over the Town of Hermosa around Christmas, that’s because there is, courtesy of a monsterous—and still growing—Christmas display at the property of Dan and Deb Holsworth.
You don’t really need to know the address of the display in town, as you can just follow the lights, but if you do want to know, head to 120 2nd St. in Hermosa to see the display that has been turning heads for years, but had much more humble beginnings 25 years ago.
It is Dan’s father, Gilbert, who could be considered the brainchild of the Christmas display, as he founded G.J. Holsworth and Son, Inc., a do-it-all company that carries out such work as lawn mowing, landscaping, bush pruning, etc. Dan has since taken over the business, which also includes hanging Christmas lights for 20 to 25 customers in Rapid City, including both business and residential locations.
Those customers—which includes such places as Whiting, Haag and Haag—come first when it’s time to put up the lights, but then Holsworth and his crew get busy putting up the ornate display on his land, which encompasses his home, garage, rental properties and a field that all together make up almost an entire street of the town.
“It isn’t a bragging thing. It’s about the public,” Holsworth said. “Deb has been here 35 years. I have been here 25 years. We care about our community and enjoy what we’ve done.”
You would have to enjoy it to put into it the time, effort and money the Holsworths do every holiday season.
It starts with unloading the decorations, which are so numerous they require three 8x45-foot porta storage units. Six or seven of Holsworth’s employees start the task of putting up the display and are soon joined by more. It takes around two weeks to put the display up.
Holsworth has 12 giant totes of extension cords, with around 250-300 three-way cords and at least that many regular cords. At his home he added outlets every 10 feet, has soffit outlets, and at the garage next door put in a 200 amp panel and a transformer timer. The home has a transformer timer as well, and the north lot has its own 50-amp panel with a commercial timer. They all coordinate together to pop on at about 4:30 p.m. The rental homes have individual timers.
What’s his electricity bill for the few weeks the show is running? He isn’t sure.
“Deb never shows that to me,” he said with a laugh. “She is the one who pays the bill.”
He estimates the bill for the month is eight to 10 times higher than normal, although the advent of LED Christmas lights have softened the blow as they save energy. Still, Holsworth teases Black Hills Energy that his Christmas display pays their employees’ Christmas bonuses.
Holsworth and his employees have a general idea of how to lay out the display, although it grows every year. When the Christmas clearance season starts, the Holsworths hit the big box stores to add to their display. People often drop off artificial trees or other displays they no longer want. It’s not unusual for the couple to come home from somewhere and find a Christmas tree sitting on their front porch. New this year are 15 trees and more figurines. They will also add a display someone local constructed for them: a 4x8 plywood “Santa’s Workshop” that includes a plexiglass window with Santa inside.
If you want more numbers, Holsworth figures he has 280 artificial trees in the display, which take two to four strings of lights. There are probably around 80,000 lights and his crew uses 50 rolls of electric tape to go over joints.
The display requires Holsworth’s full attention every night. When you have that many moving parts, things can go wrong, so he is constantly fixing, tinkering or monitoring parts of the display.
“It’s a huge production,” he said. “You have to be on it every night.”
The display has won competitions and gained fame from all over, with people traveling long distances to come have a look. Last year, Holsworth grew his beard a bit longer and put on a Santa suit and welcomed people as they came to see the display. He said Christmas Eve and Christmas night they gave out 450 cups of hot chocolate, 500 bags of candy to children and another 500 candy canes to people visiting the display.
Frequently, people offer them money when they come to see a display. Since the Holsworths do the display to give and not receive, they refuse the money. However, during a recent year, Holsworth’s son, Arlo, had a woman who wouldn’t take no for an answer and insisted he take $50. He retreated inside and told his dad of the dilemma, and that gave birth to the idea for a donation box, which last year took in $500 that was given to the Shriner’s Hospital.
“This is our way of giving back to the community,” he said. “So many people want to give.”
One donation came from a young man with autism who approached him clinging to a penny that clearly meant a lot to him. He held the penny out to Holsworth, telling him he wanted to donate.
“That really touched my heart,” Holsworth said.
The display remains lit until New Year’s Day. Disassembling the display takes about a week and the crew works hard to mark the decorations, cords, trees, etc. and keep things organized so it can be reassembled easily the next Christmas.
Holsworth said he “can’t even imagine” how much money he has spent on the display, but that it is worth it in the smiles and Christmas spirit his family sees in return.
“People need some brightness in their lives, especially in these times,” he said. “It’s been a hell of a run, and a run that will continue until I’m in the box.”