Photo by Mike Brothers
News Progress Holiday Decorating Contest winner for Sullivan is the Wilma Wiley home at 420 Lincoln Street.

•December 23, 2015•

There is a glow in the 400 block of Lincoln Street in Sullivan and the Christmas season is the reason.

Clark W. Griswold watch out, Miles Wiley is on a Christmas decorating mission in Sullivan.

Not unlike the National Lampoon Christmas Vacation movie’s obsessive holiday decorator, Miles’ mission is to squeeze as much Christmas as possible onto his grandmother Wilma Wiley’s  Lincoln Street lawn.

He is a  14-year-old student, whom his teacher refers to as Clark, and Miles has been in the decorating game since he was five.

“The first year I had two lighted reindeer, a couple of wooden reindeer, Santa and candy cane path markers,” Miles began, noting the path markers are all that remain of the first year.”

Each year the yard fills with more seasonal decorations, some donated by neighbors, some discovered by family members and some found online.

“We added that manger scene this year,” Wiley said, noting they drove to Alton to pick it up, and it wasn’t nearly as large as he had hoped.

One of the oldest pieces of the collection is a lighted Santa that was Miles’ mother’s.

“Wind is always an issue so the first year we had the Santa standing out in the yard, and he blew down,” Wiley said, noting one of the lights burned a hole is his tummy, but he has remained on duty ever since regardless of injury.     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.

Photo by Mike Brothers
Miles and Wilma Wiley along with the 1940s snow couple from Mattoon store display.

The worst year was early on, and Wiley had just completed getting the yard set up. “The wind came through that night and ripped everything up.”

With time comes experience, so when Wiley set the holiday display the second time, he attached everything he could to wooden stakes driven into the ground.

“He has been collecting for a long time,” Grandma Wilma said.’He has got a little bit of everything out there now, and it’s bigger than ever this year.”

A giant snow blow in the front yard came from Habitat ReStore, with many donated by friends. His aunt has contributed a Santa train for the front yard and a 1940s store window snow couple display from a Mattoon business.

Joining the cane lane and nearly 100 different figures are several thousand lights with Wiley expanding the lighting to the roof this year in Clark W. Griswold style.

“I love Christmas decorating so I begin right after Thanksgiving and add everything I can before Christmas.”

By New Year’s Day Christmas is back in storage, and Miles looks forward to his next decorating project.