No, that’s not a new graveyard on Ansonia’s Ford Street.
It’s just the product of months and months of work by an altruistic and industrious local high school student.
Ricky Baxter, a 16-year-old Ansonia resident who has been building displays outside his Ford Street home for Halloween the past two years, says this year’s display will bigger and better than ever — and benefit a local charity, the food bank at Spooner House, as well.
Article continues after the contributed photos.
He’s been accepting collections all month for the homeless shelter and hopes trick-or-treaters stopping by Thursday night can bring along donations of non-perishable food items, as well.
“I just wanted to do something for the community, it was just an idea that kind of popped into my mind,” Baxter said of the idea. “I made up some fliers to advertise it, and hopefully I can make it something I do year after year.”
Check out Ricky’s display at 125 Ford St. tomorrow night and bring a non-perishable food item to donate when you do.
Seymour Mega Display
Baxter isn’t the only one in the lower Naugatuck Valley to go the whole nine yards to show his Halloween spirit.
On Seymour’s Mountain Road, Kevin and Ellen Reichelt have been wowing visitors with their Christmas light display for years. A couple years ago, they began decorating their house for Halloween, as well.
Listen to Kevin Reichelt describe the setup and you’d be forgiven for thinking you were overhearing a missile launch sequence.
A series of “controllers” lets Reichelt program the hundreds of bulbs and other features of his display — like the three giant pumpkin faces that form the centerpiece of his Halloween lights.
Music plays through an FM transmitter, so people who drive by in their cars can hear it, as well as through a stereo.
CAT-5 cables are strung all over to control each strand of lights.
The end product is dazzling, to say the least.
Article continues after the video of the display.
The display began in a low-key fashion the first Christmas they celebrated at the home, but has taken on a life of its own once he became familiar with more sophisticated techniques, Reichelt said.
“When I first moved in, it was my wife and I’s first house, so we did a few white icicle lights on the roof, some deer, that sort of stuff,” he said. “I added the animation to it and then it just progressed more.”
“Every year it gets bigger and every year I say ‘I really need to stop this,’ I get a note from somebody saying they really like it,” Reichelt said. “I don’t want to be one of those guys, but I’m already one of those guys.”
Reichelt said he wants to partner with a local nonprofit to hold a drive in conjunction with his Christmas display, which should be in action the day after Thanksgiving.
He said it’s nice to be able to entertain neighbors and their children but it’d be nice to do something even more.
“We get surprise notes in the mailbox, but if I could use that to benefit other people, that’d be really cool,” Reichelt said.
His display is at 176 Mountain Road. You can also check out a Facebook group “Mountain Road Lights” for more information.
