Leonard Residence Decorated For Christmas Season

Scope and Content: View of the Leonard residence, 828 12th Street North. The house is decorated with a santa, reindeer, sled, bells, and lights and taken at night. "Christmas Lawn Decoration Set, ‘Santa, Sleigh and Reindeer’, c. 1953-1985, made by the late Steve and Gertrude Leonard of 828 12th Street North. Set don…

Scope and Content: View of the Leonard residence, 828 12th Street North. The house is decorated with a santa, reindeer, sled, bells, and lights and taken at night. "Christmas Lawn Decoration Set, ‘Santa, Sleigh and Reindeer’, c. 1953-1985, made by the late Steve and Gertrude Leonard of 828 12th Street North. Set donated by surviving son Mr. Don Leonard of Ketchum, Idaho due to the recent passing of his mom Gertrude and the sale of his childhood home. Said Don Leonard at the time of donation, “[The set was made with] a lot of heart and love. My parents loved to do the Christmas displays every year and couldn’t wait to get them up.” It was “a shock” he said “when I came home (approx 1953 & age 6) and Santa was in the sleigh stacked up with presents”. “It was in the top ten best decorated houses in the City every year for probably twenty or twenty-five years. They added something new every year … the whole house was decorated, every window, the roof, the carport, sometimes the bushes, it was a big-time decoration that they loved to do.” . Background submited by Kevin MacLean Museum Collections Technician.