A Christmas tradition

Members of the Lindsey, Hawk and Lee families set up Christmas lights around the family farm.

Submitted photo

Every year about this time the hills and hollers of Highland County brighten up with the arrival of Christmas displays. People will drive down roads that they travel once or twice a month just to see what their neighbors have thought up this year. If you find yourself on one of these excursions you may want to drive up past Lowe’s on Careytown Road to see what Nick and Patty Lindsey have done this year with Plainview Farm.

Nick and Patty began putting up special little Christmas displays for their grandchildren back in the early ’90s and it has grown to be a family affair. They now have seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren to enjoy their displays. As the family grows, so do the helping hands and at various stages of the setup all 21 members of the Lindsey, Hawk and Lee families contribute to Nick and Patty’s little Christmas display.

As the last of the harvest is being brought in the Christmas displays start coming out of the haylofts, barns, nooks and crannies of Plainview Farm to have each and every light bulb, switch and wire checked by Nick. This year had a bit of a twist to it though as Nick had a knee replaced in October, but that didn’t stop the annual ritual. There are more details, however, his therapist may not find the humor that his children have for their father’s therapeutic ways. There have been years with rain, snow, mud, frozen ground and sunshine, but somehow, someway the lights go up and the switch is flipped the Friday after Thanksgiving.

So if you find yourself on one of those drives or you just need to get out of the chaos of the shopping malls, turn up Careytown Road. About three miles out of town the hills will begin to twinkle and maybe you can drift back into your childhood when life was simple and this time of year brought a special feeling of joy and tranquility. Tap your brakes as you pop over the little knoll there at Fallsville Wildlife Area pull off because you may see some cars stopped with their flashers on. Feel free to flip yours on as well and stop to see what has changed this year at Plainview. Better yet, if you want to pull in the driveway feel free to do so as the displays are there also.

You may even see Nick sitting there working on some strings of lights or Patty greeting you with a wave and a smile. Either way enjoy the displays and the serenity of the countryside of Highland County.

Merry Christmas from Plainview Farm!