Lentzville's little light show

Dec. 20—The Wahl brothers describe the light display on their farm on Lentzville Road in West Limestone as a gift to the community they love.

Zach and Xerxes Wahl began the stringing up the light display in the early '90s, and it continues to grow each year.

The Wahl's Christmas showcase is more than thousands of twinkling lights — visitors will love the many animals that roam the property among the many unique farm-appropriate inflatables and displays. A feedbag toting Santa, Santa-hat clad rooster and a whimsical toy train are just a few of the delights for the family to look for in the free drive-thru display.

Turkeys, peacocks, ducks and other fowl can be found walking around, but be sure to look up in the trees as many roost there in the nighttime hours.

The Wahl brothers have been putting up the family's lights since they were young boys.

"Normally, we try to get them up the weekend after Thanksgiving. We generally spend hundreds of hours getting it ready," Xerxes said.

This year, the number of visitors has been steady, with the number of cars increasing in the days before Christmas.

The Wahl's will keep the lights on at least through Jan. 1 before they begin the task of taking them down.

"The lights are on an automatic timer so they come on at dark and stay on for eight hours. On an overcast day they may go off a little early, but typically they come on around 5 until a little after midnight," Zach said.

The Wahls have lived in Limestone County their entire lives, and their mom enjoyed putting up lights in an effort to get the family in the holiday spirit. The brothers agreed that the greatest joy they receive from carrying on the tradition now is seeing the reaction of the children who come to visit.

"The kids will ride around, they will be in the back of the pickup trucks or they will be pressed up against the car windows. The other night, a car came around and the kids saw the turkeys. They would say 'gobble, gobble, gobble' and the turkeys were responding to them. I like to see that and I like to see the families together," Zach said.

The Christmas Story is also important to the Wahl Family. Different banners are placed throughout the farm telling the story of Jesus' birth and a large nativity is also featured.

Xerxes admits that if not for the enjoyment it brings to their neighbors and the community, its likely they would have stopped the display. "We run into people all the time that tell us about coming to see the lights with their family. That is definitely what keeps us going," Zach said.

The Wahl's invite the community to come enjoy their Christmas lights from dusk to midnight. It is a self-guided drive-thru display located at 8971 Lentzville Road, Athens. Donations are accepted.