Ronald Lawson and his daughter, Megan Beavan, were stringing up the first set of Christmas lights on their Trenton property when they heard a popping noise coming from the barn. By the time Beavan reached it, the center of the structure was already engulfed in flames.
The fire tore through the barn on September 27, destroying many of the holiday decorations the family had built up over the years, according to WKRC. Among the losses were display statues of Yukon Cornelius and Bumble, the beloved characters from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, that had become part of the family's annual show for the Trenton community. Lawson described the blaze as the biggest bonfire he had ever seen, and said it left him feeling empty, mad and angry.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, the station's report notes, with no determination yet on how it started. Not everything was lost, though — decorations stored separately in a converted garage inside the family's chicken coop were spared from the flames.
A Display Born From a Family Illness
The Trenton display has deep roots for Lawson. He built the first version of it during the COVID pandemic so his mother-in-law, who was ill at the time, could still see Christmas lights. He also started playing Santa Claus around the same time, and beginning in November, he plays Christmas music on 93.3 for two months, filling the family's yard with the sounds of the season for the two months the display typically runs.
Despite the fire, Lawson says the display will still arrive on schedule this year, just pared down from years past. He plans to once again wear the Santa costume for visitors, telling the station that putting a smile on people's faces is what makes the whole effort worth it.
No Donations for the Barn, But the Food Bank Drive Continues
Even with the barn destroyed, the family has decided it will not accept donations to help rebuild it. That is notable because the Lawsons usually collect donations for a local food bank during the display each year — a tradition the family intends to keep going alongside the scaled-back lights.
Other families have faced similar setbacks and pushed forward anyway. The Gaddy family's long-running Christmas light display in Fayette County, Georgia, continued after a barn fire destroyed all 20,000 feet of electrical wiring needed to run it, according to FOX 5 Atlanta. Donations of money, materials and wire from individuals and companies helped that family rebuild some of what burned and add new elements to replace what could not be restored, and the Gaddy display reopened on Thanksgiving night as it always has, running through New Year's Day.
For the Lawsons, there's no indication of a similar rebuilding campaign for the barn itself — just a determination to keep the lights, the music and the Santa suit going for the neighbors who show up every year.
