Column: Awarded Best Tree: Linda and Wayland Huteson, 1221 E. 11th Street
Walk of the Town: Holiday Edition!
A homemade star atop this Christmas tree on 11th street gives the Huteson home a special feel. December’s glow about The Dalles flows from big hearts wired to the sense of wonder the season brings.
Photos and Column By Sarah Cook
If you’re familiar with this column, you know that I’m someone who’s often out and about on foot. And in addition to walking for utilitarian purposes, my partner and I take numerous nighttime walks, especially during the winter, when we can enjoy the stars without having to be outside at 9 p.m. (#gettingold #agingrocks).
So much of what we love, I suspect, has to do with contrast: the contrast between the cold December air and the warm house waiting for our return; the contrast between our voices and the noiseless neighborhood streets, most prominent on those particular stretches of 12th and 13th where all traffic seems to magically disappear in the evening. Or the contrast between walking in the dark, without the stimulus of overhead lighting or the sun, and the bright and vulnerable and curious conversations we so easily fall into.
And then, of course, there are the Christmas lights.
Every year, my partner and I make popcorn (for him) and hot chocolate (for me), hop in our tiny Subaru, put on All Classical Portland, and drive around town as we pretend to assign trophies to the most spectacularly decorated houses during our very improvised and very mobile annual holiday lights viewing.
Some years, whoever’s riding passenger takes notes. (I’m convinced I still have the ones from our first year tucked into a journal somewhere, and I just know I’ll find them in February.) Other times, everything stays fleeting, kind of like the season itself, our heartwarming moments and funny jokes and prize-winning assessments gone as quickly as they arrived. As someone with a relationship to this holiday that is at once complicated and lackluster, I genuinely look forward to this particular yearly tradition.
In light of the spooky celebration that was my last Walk of the Town piece, I figured a natural follow-up would be to celebrate some of the brightest, most cheerful, and most surprising holiday-themed houses that I stumble across during my bipedal travels.
Linda and Wayland Huteson at their home at 1221 E. 11th Street. The Couple have lived there for 42 years and have never missed an opportunity to adorn their home.
In other words, I present to you now a glimpse into the Annual Best in Snow Awards. Awarded Best Tree: Linda and Wayland Huteson, 1221 E. 11th Street
Linda and Wayland have lived in their home for 42 years—and have decorated their yard every single year of their residence. In fact, a previous neighbor & photographer friend of theirs used to make their home a constant subject of his art, as the Hutesons historically decorated for nearly every season and holiday, including Easter and Halloween. Their kids were young then, and Linda & Wayland threw lots of parties, which meant the year-round decorations had a broad and eager audience.
But Linda and Wayland’s favorite holiday, hands down, is Christmas, both for the seasonal festivities and, as Linda described it to me, the message of togetherness. I especially loved the ease with which Linda explained that she wouldn’t change a thing about their current setup. “We’re not out to try to be the best,” she told me. “We really just enjoy this, as much as our children and grandchildren do.”
While the entirety of Linda and Wayland’s yard is eye-catching and festive, it’s that tree, straddling the boundary between their neighbor’s yard and their own (but fully decorated on all sides), that cinches the whole thing for me. Mo and I tend to gravitate toward houses where the organic or permanent elements, as-is, get the full decorative treatment. Linda and Wayland’s tree might be one of the loveliest examples of such.
The following questions were answered by Linda over the phone.
1) Have your holiday decorations and lights always been as impressive as they are now? Tell me a little bit about the history of your decorating.
“Decorating is the way I grew up—we didn’t have the manger set when I was young, but when I got older, we added the Mary & Joseph & baby Jesus. I love to decorate, and I love the lights and the trees and the coming of our lord. For me, it’s not about how many decorations I have.”
2) When do your decorations go up, and when do you take them down?
“I like to get everything up the first part of December, and then I like to leave it up until January 5th.”
Wayland’s homemade star catches the humble essence of the season.
3) Do you have a favorite component of your decorations or something that you two are the most proud of?
“Now that our tree is bigger, that really is the whole thing in my eyes. My husband at first wanted to cut that tree down, but I was hesitant. I finally said, ‘Oh my gosh—it’s big enough now, we can decorate it!’ And we have since. Originally, we had a star on top from the Dollar Store, but it wasn’t quite right, so Wayland made what you see on it now. It’s just more personal.”
4) If money and spacial limitations were not a factor, is there anything you’d add to your current setup?
“No—I have enough, and that’s what I like. We already have a new angel, and my Santa Clause, on our front porch, is the same one we had at my house when I was growing up. We tried to put a different lightbulb in it to see if he’d shine better—nope, it didn’t work. He’s still worth it.”
5) Besides decorating, what’s your favorite thing about this time of year?
“That it brings all the family together—it’s not about the gifts, it’s just about being together, having fun, eating, and sharing. I love when everyone comes over—my house has always been the place where people gather.”
6) Lastly, why is it so important to you to decorate your house?
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“I just wanna share how I feel about this time of season. It's very important in the holy family to hold us all together. As for the decorating, we’ve got it down pat. We use sticks, and we only have to use a ladder for a few things. Every once in a while we get in a little bind — we have to mark everything to remember where it goes each year! Our granddaughter suggested taking a picture to remember where to plug everything in, which has helped tremendously. Every year, someone will ask, are you still gonna decorate? And I always say, Oh, yeah. It will always be a part of our lives.”
Stay tuned for the next winner—“Biggest Spectacle”—coming soon!
