Lighting of Peckville Christmas House kicks off holiday season

Nov. 24—BLAKELY — A last-minute logistical issue led the owner of the Peckville Christmas House to find a volunteer to illuminate the popular display.

Luckily, he picked the perfect little helper for the job.

June Abbott, 5, of Blakely, enjoys playing the role of an electrician in class at Valley View Elementary School and enthusiastically offered to plug in the extension cord.

"I did it," she gleefully exclaimed after seeing the yard light up with holiday cheer. "I loved it because I don't like the darkness."

Matt Harhut, who organizes the elaborate display with his brother, Jeff, each year at 1126 and 1130 Marion St., said they needed a new way to turn on the lights after the plunger used to push the button fell apart minutes before showtime.

He said thousands of guests visit the Christmas display each weekend and hundreds drop by each day during the week.

Among them are Genny Bonaddio of Archbald who stopped by the display Thursday with her husband, Vince, and their children, T.J., 8; Joey, 4; Gabriella, 4; and Giulianna, 4, who were anxiously awaiting the first lighting of the season.

"My kids have been having us drive by for weeks," she said. "We're excited it's lit. They're mesmerized by the lights."

Alaina Buchanan, 8, of Scranton, enjoys locating different blow molds as part of the scavenger hunt.

"It's really fun," she said. "We're still trying to find the Baby Yoda one."

The Harhut brothers have been putting on the display for more than 25 years and currently have about 2,600 blow molds — from Hershey's syrup bottles to a bevy of Santas and everything in between.

This year, they added a collection of European blow molds which they purchased from a friend in Omaha, Nebraska, including one of Santa on the moon.

"To have them here is quite amazing," Matt Harhut said. "They are blow molds that a lot of people have never seen before."

The Harhuts start assembling the extravagant setup in the middle of September and follow a strict schedule each day leading up to Thanksgiving to ensure they're ready for the annual lighting.

"It's a labor of love," Matt Harhut said. "Seeing the kids come through with smiles on their faces reminds me of when we were little, and we would hang out the window in the car driving by people's displays in awe. It's worth every second that goes into the display seeing how happy everybody is."

Contact the writer: rtomkavage@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9131; @rtomkavage on Twitter.