A Lincoln County man has built a tribute to honor his late wife during the holidays.

Donald Mulford has been decking out his front yard for Christmas since 1986. People from all over the county and the surrounding areas come see his yard, along with his two daughters’ yards on either side of his.

He started putting out the yard decorations for his first grandchild.

“It was just one or two pieces at that time” Mulford said. “And it just kept growing.”

The family begins pulling decorations out in October and clean them up and do any needed repairs. In November, they begin placing everything in its spot so the lights can be turned on come Thanksgiving night.

“It’s a family effort,” Mulford said. “Everybody helps when they aren’t working.”

Most of the pieces in the family’s collection are veterans.

“He makes a lot of pieces,” Mulford’s daughter Linda Wilson said. “We try to add to it every year.”

Mulford built a cross and rose in honor of his wife, Mable Lucile Mulford, who died in April. The rose has lights so that it shines at night.

“She loved her roses,” Mulford said.

Mulford’s other daughter Wanda Hallman said the family made sure to put their mom’s favorite out this year in honor of her.

“We put everything in Daddy’s yard this year that was Momma’s favorite,” Hallman said.

Mulford’s wife passed away in April this year. They were married 54 years. One of his wife’s favorite pieces were the trees with the dancing lights.

“She liked anything with bright lights,” Wilson said. “She loved the sleigh and the deer because she loved seeing the kids. We made sure we put these pieces in their yard.”

Overall, the family hopes that despite the pandemic, people who come and look at their yards find joy and happiness. Santa won’t be at Mulford’s display this year due to the pandemic, but that hasn’t stopped people from coming and looking around.

“Even though we’re not going to have Santa, we hope people can still get the joy from Christmas.” Wilson said. “We just hope people can come look around and we hope it gives somebody some happiness.”

The lights are located on Old Red Star Road in between Walker Lane and Mt. Zion Road. Mulford runs the lights from 5 to 9 p.m.