Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
PIERCETON - It's Christmas every day on a narrow strip on the south side of U.S. 30, where the folks at Herman's Tool and Christmas Land have made lighted Christmas decorations for 15 years.
This year the Hermans, Tony and Evelyn, bring their holiday light show west to the Kosciusko County Fairgrounds in Warsaw Friday through Jan. 2.
The drive-through display benefits the Boys and Girls Club of Kosciusko County, a United Way agency.
It's a huge undertaking for the Hermans. The tour of more than 250 customized displays will include Santa's toy shop with elves busy hammering, painting and tending reindeer, an animated carousel as the centerpiece of the angel's playground; a 40-foot tall Noah's arc with animals entering two-by-two, the town of Bethlehem, a nativity scene, and, of course, Kris Kringle going about his business.
But what has possessed the Hermans to stage this huge Christmas show during their busy season? Customers arrive in droves to pick up orders or call to check on arrival times for orders shipped out of state.
Workers are busy as elves cutting and bending steel, welding pieces together to form the framework for shepherds, candles, sleighs and all manner of other shapes in preparation for shipping finished pieces to points all over the country.
Actually, the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch which left hundreds of thousands of children homeless inspired the Hermans. They wanted to help, contacted several agencies and found a need in their own backyard, instead.
"We're tickled to death to be involved with children through Boys and Girls Club of Kosciusko County," said Evelyn Herman. "We heard about the homeless children in Honduras and wondered how aid would reach them. Then we found out more about the local United Way which does such wonderful things.
"We don't think kids in our neighborhoods and towns have a need, but they do."
The "Magic of Christmas Land" show begins Friday. Hours are 6 to 9 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 6 to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Admission is $6 per car or $1 per person if traveling on a bus.
Rope lighting is a new addition to the Herman's steel-fabricated designs, which makes a continuous line of light. The rope lighting, colored tubes with tiny bulbs, enhances the animation process, which makes figures look as if they are moving.
Animation is done by making two parts of a figure, like two arms for a waving Santa, offset from each other. An animation devise switches the current from one arm to another which makes it look as though the figure waves.
The lights, whether the new fangled rope lights, or the good-old 4-watt bulb system, are ordered from other manufacturers. Otherwise, construction of the secular- and Christian- based designs are done in one building just west of Ind. 13 along U.S. 30.
Construction begins with a design on paper, A jig is outlined on cardboard and steel rods are then cut and bent to shape. The frame is painted white and the appropriate lights and garland are attached by employees, many of whom, at this time of year, are temporary.
"We ship all over the country now," Evelyn said, naming Ohio as the state which probably buys the most Herman's Christmas Land designs, after Indiana.
Herman Tool's seven acre front lawn is a riot of customized lighted displays, now featuring a 35-foot, two-dimensional Pierceton Mill, traditional Christmas designs and - the kid's favorite - roaming dinosaurs.
"U.S. 30 is our best advertisement. People go by, then call and we send our catalogs and they tell their friends."
"Over the years we have supplied many parks and towns across the country with Christmas displays. When the fairgrounds became available, we and I decided it was the perfect opportunity to put something in our own county for our friends and community to enjoy," said Tony Herman, president and owner of Herman's Christmas Land.
"People really are into the real meaning of Christmas," Evelyn said.
