For more than 40 years, the Gatchell family house on County Road has dazzled passersby with a massive Christmas light display, complete with Santa, reindeer, and over 20,000 shimmering lights.
Rob Gatchell and his family spend weeks pulling the decorations out of the shed and from inside Gatchell’s workshop. They then use tractors, vertical lifts, and special equipment to spread Christmas cheer over every bough on every tree in the family’s Oak Bluffs front yard.
Many of the over 140 individual Christmas display pieces were handmade by Gatchell, or acquired from friends and business partners over many years.
But the Gatchell house doesn’t just give joy to drivers passing through on a cold winter’s night, it also benefits Islanders in need during the holidays.
Each visitor that wants to pull into the semi-\circle driveway and check out the seemingly endless array of holiday decorations is encouraged to bring either a nonperishable food item or a cash donation for the Island Food Pantry.
Last year, the Gatchell family Christmas display raised almost a ton of food, and Gatchell said he hopes it will be the same this year. “It’s for a great cause, and we are happy to do it every year,” Gatchell said.
According to Gatchell, the number of lights spooled around trees, shrubs, and railings has grown since last year.
“We did add some lights. I used to use a pole to wrap lights around the two big trees in the front yard, but this year we tried using the lift to put the lights up higher,” Gatchell said.
Gatchell said Jesse Steere of Shirley’s Hardware purchased thousands of Christmas lights at an auction from Hinckley’s after it closed down, and gave him a great deal on the lights to use for his display.
Last year, Gatchell said, he was able to fit about 1,200 lights in total on the large oak trees situated at the forefront of the display, but this year he fit over 2,400.
Because Thanksgiving came late this year, Gatchell said he now has one less week to collect food for the Island Food Pantry. So far, there is only one bag of groceries in the donation box at the Gatchells’, but Gatchell said he is optimistic that folks will be supportive of his efforts and want to help out.
Normally it takes about five or six weeks to fully set up the light show, but this year, the family did it all in less than three weeks.
“We were a little pressed for time this year because of a construction project I’ve been working on, but we got it all done,” Gatchell said. When Gatchell first started his light display decades ago, he said, he would often complete the setup process in 10 days.
Gatchell said he got the idea to donate to the food pantry after his son saw a news segment on TV where one man who lived at the end of a long dirt road put up a sign advertising his impressive light display, and asked folks to bring a nonperishable food item if they wished to see the show.
For Gatchell and the Island Food Pantry, every little bit helps. If folks don’t have canned food items, Gatchell said a small donation into the secure cash box next to the food donation bin can make a big difference.
“You can donate as much or as little cash as you want, or you can write a tax-deductible check to the Island Food Pantry,” Gatchell said.
The Gatchells’ Christmas light display will be shining bright every evening from 5 pm to 8 pm. As Christmas draws nearer, Gatchell said the display will eventually stay on till 9 pm. On Christmas Eve, the display will be on from 5 pm to 10 pm.
And if the weather isn’t too nasty, Gatchell said Santa Claus will be there on Christmas Eve for visits and pictures.
The Martha’s Vineyard Hospital also stops by with buses filled with Windemere residents.
Gatchell said he is thankful for the amount of donations people gave last year, and also said he is grateful to have such an impact on multiple generations of Islanders.
“A lot of people tell me that their parents brought them to see my lights when they were kids, and now they are doing the same with their children,” Gatchell said. “It’s a very special feeling.”