Christmas with the Kleins

There's no doubting Jerry and Carole Klein's Christmas spirit.

The couple's home has become legendary in Hartley thanks to its elaborate holiday displays each December. You can't miss it, either. A quick drive through the Kleins' First Street Southwest neighborhood will prove they're the perennial Christmas cheer champions in Hartley, a title in which they take pride.

"I don't want to put it up the same exact way every year. I try to change it up," said Jerry. "I like to see if people notice."

The couple's collection has humble beginnings. Carole purchased two large yard candles while perusing a rummage sale with her aunt decades ago, and things gradually escalated. Now, the Kleins own a variety of holiday décor that fills their front yard every December.

Jerry said they add to the collection each year. They buy some of it themselves, while other items have been gifted to them.

"I just kept adding to it and adding to it, and it was just something that I enjoyed doing," he said. "Carole loves that I do it."

The Kleins have upgraded in recent years. Jerry syncs the display to a music playlist with multiple holiday songs, and his collection is completely comprised of LED lights minus a few items. That saves on energy and reduces the amount of burnt out bulbs.

"I can't stand seeing a dark bulb," Jerry said.

Visitors can even tune their car radios to 90.1 FM to hear the music through their own speakers while watching the lights dance. Jerry got hooked on syncing his display to music after attending a national Christmas expo a few years back. He likes putting everything up each year, and his neighbors are happy to enjoy the fruits of his labor.

He starts assembling everything after Halloween, but doesn't test the lights until weeks later. This year Jerry and Carole were running through the sequence shortly before Thanksgiving when they heard a squeal erupt nearby.

"The little girl across the street was just so excited and came outside. Her dad said that she had been waiting for those lights for so long," said Carole. "We told them we were sorry, just testing. But that's why we do it. People enjoy it."

Jerry uses a notepad to sketch out blueprints for his display each year. He used to have spreadsheets detailing his inventory to track how many lights could be used by each outlet, but doesn't need to worry about that after the switch to LED.

He even started his own Facebook page, JK Holiday Lights, to share his pride and joy with the masses.

"I enjoy it. It's my thing," he said. "It gets me outside, and I really like doing it."

The Kleins store their holiday inventory above their garage. They even had a motorized lift installed recently to speed up the unloading process.

"This year I got everything down in four trips, where usually it would have been at least 20," Jerry said.

The Kleins' display takes roughly three days to put up and stays lit until the week after Christmas. Jerry starts disassembly shortly thereafter, if he can.

"If it's frozen to the ground, some of that stuff is still there come April," he said.

Though the Christmas season inevitably comes to a close, the Kleins always have next year on their minds.

"There will come a time when I won't be able to do it, but as long as I can, I will," Jerry said.