Hans Mantel marvels at the generosity of Villagers.
He is a resident of the Village of Hadley, more specifically he is a resident of Dunkirk Trail in the Village of Hadley and is the mastermind behind the annual Dunkirk lights display.
He and his wife Kathy and many of the neighbors whose homes are part of the display presented a check to the Sumter County Sheriff’s office on Tuesday morning. The check was for $23,004 dollars, triple the amount donated last year. The money and two and a half tons of food were donated by people who came to see the lights and decorations on Dunkirk Street.
Having done this display for several years, Mantel uses a large trailer to store everything during the year. It was about this time last year when the trailer and all the lights were stolen. Although insurance replaced about 80 percent of the lights the trailer was not covered. Word got out and Villagers began donating money, enough to buy another trailer about $6,000. That was during the summer. The neighbors regrouped and pulled off another successful lights tour.
“Villagers really gave twice, once to help us rebuild and then again when they came to see the lights,” said Mantel. He wants to be clear that the monies did not mix. One hundred percent of the money donated by people touring the lights was part of the $23,004 donated to the sheriff’s office which will be used for their Kids, Cops & Christmas program. The two and a half tons of food was donated to Beyond the Walls food pantry in Fruitland Park. Mantel wasn’t sure how to explain the increase in donations this year. He didn’t think they had that much more traffic, he just chalked it up to the generosity of folks and probably people supporting the fact that they didn’t let the theft stop a Villages holiday tradition.
It isn’t just Villagers that attend. People come from Ocala, Mount Dora and Orlando to walk or ride through the decorations on Dunkirk St. Lyn and Ken O’Reilly’s home on Cassel Street has also become part of the show.
In case you missed the display last year, it will be up again this year from Friday night after Thanksgiving until Dec. 31.