For nearly 20 years, Dave Plourde gave his neighbors the gift of Christmas by covering his home with extravagant decorations.
Now members of the neighborhood are returning the favor, helping the 83-year-old veteran not only put up his annual display but with other necessities.
“I didn’t do this to outdo anybody. I did this for the people,” Plourde, also known as Mr. Christmas, told KOB. “To maybe bring more smiles, that’s my reward.”
Plourde’s hours of dedication were appreciated by his neighbors. “We look out our window and see this house and it brings smiles,” neighbor Nate Bywater told KOB. “We get thousands of cars through here around Christmas time and every single car that comes through here, the joy they get, it makes it just so worthwhile it’s amazing.”
But with his advancing age and needing to help his wife with her medical issues, Plourde thought about ending his annual ritual.
“My wife, she’s on oxygen, and I have to make sure that I can take care of her,” he said, “and basically when I climb up there, I don’t have the balance like I used to. If I fall, who’s going to take care of her?”
That’s when the neighbors decided to help. For two years, they have put up the display and taken it down. They’re going the extra mile this year.
“While myself and a couple of other neighbors were up on the roof putting up some of the decorations, we noticed that, in almost two decades of putting decorations up there, the roof had sustained quite a bit of damage,” Bywater told KOB.
Plourde's truck also needed replacing. Neighbors created a GoFundMe page to pay off those expenses.