At 301 Fayette St., the Grinnall Family Lights Christmas light show lights up Clinton every evening.
“They call my house the Christmas Lighthouse,” Tim Grinnall said.
Grinnall started the exhibition in 2009 with his then stepson Tyler Schutte, now 28.
“We just started with simple light bulbs,” Grinnall said. “And we – my stepson and I – started decorating the outside area.”
Former neighbors offered Grinnall their lights, which he then multiplied with more given to him by his parents.
“We had a whole yard full of lights,” Grinnall said. “It was a static display.”
Grinnall and Schutte came across a Mr. Christmas outdoor light and sound system at Home Depot that synced lights with pre-installed music.
“It was synchronized between six stores, and so we filled those six stores immediately,” Grinnall said. “Next thing you know, those six weren't enough either.”
More robust extension cords became a total of 31 extension cords and an additional second Mr. Christmas outdoor system the following year, before Grinnall switched to software called Light-O-Rama, which was better suited to controlling lighting displays in residential neighborhoods that bordered the border commercially.
About four years ago, Grinnall switched to using a program called xLights, which gives him expanded capabilities at a lower cost to control what is now a 60,000-pixel display, the smallest individual units of light that can be controlled independently in props that are supplied by suppliers in states like California and Georgia come from.
“I paid $180 a song back in the LOR days,” he said. “xLights, they sell their sequences for $40, $50, all the way up to $100.”
With about 20 cameras aimed at every corner of his home, Grinnall observes others' reactions to the light show.
“It actually makes me happy that other people also enjoy it,” he said. “It gives me inspiration to do it more.”
Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, said Grinnall's friend April McFall, people always come to watch the show outside every night.
Traffic, Grinnall said, increased with the addition of two spotlights to the show last year.
“Our neighbors are really lovely. They move their cars. They make sure the road is open,” McFall said. “Some people just drive by. Some park there for a few hours.”
It was a neighbor three doors down, Grinnall said, who ran to his door a year ago to tell him there was a fire.
“My wings burst into flames,” he remembers.
Although the fire was small and was quickly extinguished with a garden hose, he said, “It left stains on my garage door and the aluminum on the side.”
Grinnall, 47, grew up in Clinton and has lived there most of his life, except for four years when he was in the U.S. Marine Corps. He is an electrician by profession and was classified as unfit for work after he was diagnosed with germ cell cancer in 2016.
“I lost all my organs on my right side,” he said. “The cancer is doing well. I still have a lot of residual health problems.”
He notices lymphedema in his legs and arthritis in his ankles, as well as memory loss from chemotherapy.
“I had the second round of the hardest chemotherapy treatments you can imagine,” he said.
Grinnall is committed to working on the roof of the house for the light show.
“I'm not allowed to stand on ladders because if I fell I would die almost immediately because my lung would collapse,” he said. “I'm doing this because my only neighbor down here at the end of the block, Mark Richardson, is watching from his door while I'm doing this and making sure I don't fall. ”
Every year on September 11th, Grinnall puts on a show where the spotlights are aimed to shine directly into the sky, mimicking the twin towers of the World Trade Center. He's also doing a Veterans Day show, which this year includes a neighbor's yard, and a Halloween show throughout October. After the Halloween show, Grinnall takes about five to six days to write everything down and create his Christmas show.
Sunday to Saturday, the Christmas show runs continuously from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. with music heard on radios at 97.1 FM.
The show can also be seen on the Grinnall Family Lights YouTube channel. There is also an online Facebook group that Grinnall can use to communicate with the community about updates about the display.
Grinnall connects with a global community of others producing light displays over Zoom, where they support each other and answer each other's questions.
Locally, other exhibits are in Davenport, Grinnall said, and in Clinton near the County Administration Building.
Santa Claus appearances are scheduled at Grinnall's show. The public is encouraged to check online for upcoming details.