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Show Pleasant Grove Christmas Traditions Abound The bottom line is that the hundreds of light strings that converge in the four boxes are programmed to songs that are broadcast on a radio frequency that isn't "Traditions" continued on Page 3 a Halloween show, working out the bugs before attempting attempt-ing the Christmas display. Putting on a sh.ow has three phases: stringing the lights, computing each tree object to determine the amps and the actual programming, which is the longest process. A four-minute song took 20 hours to program, so Edwards Ed-wards keeps most of his' music mu-sic between 30 seconds and two and a half minutes. From here on the technologically techno-logically minded readers will either roll their eyes or shake their head. The rest will do the same but have no clue as to what they just read. The program has software soft-ware and hardware which gives access to all the lights which are connected into four boxes that have 16 channels chan-nels each. Bless Josh's heart, he really did try to help me understand. by Geri Taylor . From candles secured on branches with melted wax, to an orchestrated light show, the lighting of trees has been a favored Christmas tradition for several sev-eral hundred years. While the simplicity of twinkling lights has delighted children chil-dren for decades, modern technology has generated a whole new fascination for the illumination of trees, homes and a myriad of objects. ob-jects. There is a child-like anticipation as houses and yards are prepared for this magical season and no matter mat-ter the number of lights or the scale of the production, each offering is received as a labor of love and a visual Christmas gift to the public. For Josh Edwards of . Pleasant Grove, the gift has gone beyond his own imagination imagi-nation of presenting a light and music concert to promoting pro-moting a foundation that helps families with cancer stricken children. Taking his love for Christmas decorating from his grandfather, Edwards has always decked his home and yard with the festivities festivi-ties of the season, but until un-til last year he had no idea the blinking lights could be programmed to create a new level of entertainment. To describe the programming, pro-gramming, even with Edward's Ed-ward's detailed and clear description, is beyond my writing capabilities, so a simplified version wnl be attempted. Suffice it to say, a lot (est. 36,000) of lights were strung through trees, bushes, snowmen and on the house, taking at least one month to meticulously wind each object with red, green and white incandescent incandes-cent lights. When Edward's learned about light shows and saw the Holdman's creation in north PG, he was determined, deter-mined, and excited to compose com-pose his own Christmas extravaganza, ex-travaganza, especially for his children. The project actually began by putting on A more expensive and delightful delight-ful tradition is the collecting of x a Christmas village. . ':V'"', - f '7 ' 'i , . ... - , : .aaii .. 1 . "-v 'U v - 1 SO 36,000 lights were strung through trees, bushes, snowmen and on the Edwards house, taking at least one month to meticulously wind each object with red, green and white incandescent lights all programed to music. The Beck children love decorating dec-orating their gingerbread "houses" with candies. j j "Traditions" continued from Page 1 after Christmas for their next year's gathering. The frosting was inferior, the gingerbread didn't hold as well, and the failed change was abandoned for the more trusty (and inexpensive) graham cracker. The most important part of this fun tradition are the memories made in grandma's grand-ma's kitchen. A more expensive and delightful tradition, is the collecting of a village. Many a mantel holds the quaint buildings and figurines figu-rines that depict an old fashioned fash-ioned Christmas town with blinking lights and everything every-thing from batting to tiny pieces of foam depicting snow. For some, the yearly addition to their village has morphed into a township so large it requires tables and tiers that hold hundreds of miniature pieces which includes in-cludes trains, mountains and farms. Bob and Susan Schumacher Schum-acher of Cedar Hills began their small village 14 years ago when they purchased a set for Bob's mother for Christmas. They liked the lighted collection so much they bought themselves a set, beginning what would become an ever-expanding and enjoyed family and neighborhood tradition. Bob has made the village more realistic by building a mountain, tunnel for the train and gently rising tiers that provide more room for the growing community. More than 70 structures struc-tures and hundreds of trees, cars, animals people and accessories are lovingly lov-ingly displayed each year and shared with friends and neighbors who never tire of seeing the details of each neighborhood, listen lis-ten for the train whistle as it chugs through town and watch the ice skaters on the pond. A favorite is Ralphy's house from "A Christmas Story", complete com-plete with the leg lantern in the window. Traditions, whether shared with family, neighbors neigh-bors or the community, have the ability to bring joy to one and all, and through the years tie generations gen-erations together. Don't let this year pass without continuing annual, rekindling rekin-dling old, or creating new traditions. They will only make the holidays brighter. being used (107.1 FM) and as you sit snuggly in your car and listen to that station, the lights become part of the orchestra. What could ! be more simple than that? I Only apologizing to Josh ! for mangling a complex and I intricate production. The many people who 1 have commented on this vi-j vi-j sual treat gave the Edward's ! an idea of how the show could benefit those who may never see it. Joining with a foundation that acts as a sub for Santa for families I . struggling with cancer, they present a 30 second ad at the beginning of each show and how one can donate. The non-profit organization can be contacted by going to i www.takeit2themax.org. The shows can be seen Sunday through Thursday from 5:30 to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday until 11 p.m. at 769 East 200 South in Pleasant Grove. Traditions may take on a life of their own as the family grows or dwindles and as a younger generation adds their unique touches and insights. One such tradition tra-dition has evolved in the Daryl and Cindie Beck family fam-ily over the past 25 years. When their children were young, they began the tradition of making individual individ-ual gingerbread houses early in December so they could enjoy them as a decoration. To eliminate a messy and unnecessary step, graham crackers were substituted in place of the gingerbread and a firm frosting was invented to hold the crackers together. togeth-er. The children loved decorating dec-orating their "gingerbread" houses with candies and a favorite tradition was born. The next year the Becks learned their initial intentions inten-tions would soon evolve into a showcase of talent, ingenuity inge-nuity and skill as the children chil-dren used a simple cracker to create everything from Girls Camp to robots and a chess set to rockets. As the family grows, each new member has been inducted into the tradition and can choose to use the supplies on hand, or bring their own embellishments for their invention. in-vention. The only hard and fast rule is that each family take their "inventions" to their own homes. The Becks attempted to modify the tradition by us-1 us-1 ing discounted gingerbread house mixes purchased |