Peratas work to spread holiday cheer through yard art
From our weekly issue dated December 16, 2009
For three generations, the Perata Family has gone the extra mile to bring holiday cheer to their neighborhoods.
Ron & Michelle Perata live on Hanby Lane in Cave Junction, and have prominently displayed their Christmas decorations on their front lawn. But for Ron, it’s a way of life that began when he was growing up in Fremont, Calif.
His mother, Dolorez Perata, was the first in the family to create the hand-made holiday decorations. The Peratas lived on a court in Fremont with 14 homes, and the fad soon caught on among their neighbors.
After five years, Ron Perata said that a contest began, with the town’s chamber of commerce sponsoring the event and using it as a fund-raiser for community organizations.
“It’s still going on to this day,” Ron Perata said.
A street in Fremont has since been named Christmas Court, and some of the Yule displays range from 20 to 30 feet tall.
Also added to the Fremont festivities were large songbooks with different Christmas carols.
“We probably made 60 of them,” Ron Perata said.
When Ron and Michelle moved to Grants Pass, their son, Gino, began taking an interest in the project. He was 8 years old at the time, and currently is 12.
The family first came to Cave Junction in 2007, and brought their holiday decorations with them.
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For most of the year, the decorations sit in the family’s garage. The older decorations receive occasional paint touch-ups, which are done on a table in the living room.
Ron Perata said that the inspiration for the displays comes from various magazines that he looks through. Future decorations might include larger-than-life presents, Santa’s sleigh and a Nativity scene.
The displays certainly attract their fair share of attention in the Peratas’ quiet neighborhood, with children frequently stopping on their bicycles for a closer look.
“We’re getting regulars that come back,” Ron Perata said.
The family also makes similar decorations for Halloween, and hopes to eventually do so for all the other holidays.
“There’s pressure to make more,” noted Michelle Perata.
But for Ron, the most important aspect is carrying on the work that his mother did for nearly 15 years.
“We’re losing traditions like that,” he said. “It’s nice to bring it back.”
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