Rich Elmer has made his corner lot into a holiday art show

Events at seniors centers in Queensbury and Hudson Falls up next

By Ken Tingley

(Corrected throughout)

Some people see a lawn, Rich Elmer saw a blank canvas, especially at Christmas.

Anyone who travels up Dixon Road on the way to the roundabout on Aviation Road has probably seen Elmer’s creation. When he first moved into the house at the corner of Dixon and Cottage Hill Road 14 years ago, he immediately realized his corner lot was the perfect spot for viewing, well, something.

Since then, his dazzling display of characters and Christmas lights has grown over time and he now has a half-dozen or so scenes spread out over his lawn; sort of art ecosystems. His neighbors probably owe Rich for slowing down the traffic on Dixon as they creep up the hill to view what he has created.

Rich Elmer’s penguins are what drew me to his house on the corner of Dixon and Cottage Hill Road in Queensbury.

“He has penguins,” my wife exclaimed one night as I slowed the car to a crawl. It’s now a seasonal ritual every time we drive past.

It was clear we were kindred spirits.

When we sat down to talk last weekend, I told him how much I loved the penguins he created.

He asked if I had been to Montreal to see the real penguins there.

I countered with the aquarium in Boston.

He said the Cleveland Zoo had great penguins.

Then, I told him about Sea World and the amazing penguin habitat there.

We both were smiling.

Rich created a half-dozen of my favorite critters by taking the metal mounts they use to display funeral wreaths at the cemetery and bending the base into the shape of a penguin geek. He then shrink-wrapped the frame, added black fabric over the shrink wrap for wings and other markings. If you turn up Cottage Hill Road, the penguins are to the left of the Rich’s driveway with some polar bears and an owl overhead in a tree.

Some of his displays were store bought, but the penguins and gnomes were by Rich Elmer.

Some of Rich’s figures - the polar bears for instance - are store bought, but more recently he has been creating his own world. He is not quite in the league of Paul Smith’s Griswold house in Glens Falls, but is getting there.

He flipped over some tomato plant cages and crafted three gnomes.

There are ducks, and lighted birds perched in his trees, Asian lanterns and this year some high tech plexiglass trees lighted with colorful spotlights.

“I try to make it all flow,” Rich said and admits he gets a special charge when neighbors bring over their young ones to see everything.

The day I was there, a neighbor was dropping off cookies and telling Rich and his wife how much she likes his decorations. She wondered why no one had ever done a story on him.

When I drove by for the first time this year, I didn’t see the penguins in their usual spot on the hill. I was worried that something had happened to them. Rich had just rearranged the lineup and moved them to the other side of the house.

“I try to get creative,” Rich said. “I put a lot of thought into it. But I’ve done things and the next year scrapped them because they just didn’t quite work out.”

Rich says he starts creating in November while the weather is still decent and lights it all up on Dec. 1.

“I probably think about it all year,” Rich admits.

Rich Elder’s displays are so good, it is slowing down traffic on Dixon Road in Queensbury.

He says he can take it all down and pack it up in just over a day. After that, he waits for the snow and the opportunity of doing snow sculptures.

Rich doesn’t do anything on a small scale.

A few years ago, he had monster serpent stretched all across the side yard, complete with scales created from kitchen pan. Another year he had a life-sized whale.

“The bus stops here and you can always see the kids hanging out the window so they can see the snow sculptures,” Rich said.

Rich retired a few years ago from the city of Glens Falls. When he worked at DPW, he was always on the lookout for things he could use on his projects.

When the plexiglass would break in the hockey rink over on Fire Road, Rich would bring it home, cut it out and create makeshift ponds for his penguins and polar bears.

His recycling had led to some wondrous creations.

So if you are on Dixon Road, make sure to slow down. You don’t want to miss any of it.

Next events

My next event will be at the Queensbury Senior Center on Bay Road on Wednesday, January 3 at noon.

I will be speaking about the value of commentary and perspective in your news diet.

The event begins at noon.

I’ll be speaking again on Tuesday, January 9 at 11 a.m. at the Senior Center of Kingsbury and Fort Edward on 78 Oak Street in Hudson Falls.

I look forward to seeing you there.

Arbetter interview

It was a pleasure to spend a view minutes talking with Spectrum 1’s Susan Arbetter Friday about my new book “The Last American Editor, Vol. 2.”

Arbetter, who hosts the much needed “Capital Tonight” show on Spectrum 1, is a great interviewer and no matter how much I prepare, she always asks me a couple questions I had not considered before.