HEGINS, Pa. — Mike Huss has three qualities that make him the successful owner of a massive holiday light display — he has a background in electrical work, he's very competitive, and he doesn't mind paying a little extra for his electric bill.
"It gets up there. It's about four times what it normally is," Huss said. "It's worth it because, at the end of the day, when you have all the guests out, and you see their smiling faces, everything is worth it."
It started out small on West Maple Street in Hegins Township — just a couple of light strands and a few inflatables.
But the Huss's next-door neighbor had more, and Mike decided he just couldn't have that.
"I obviously knew I can one-up him and do better."
Now, ten years, 80,000 lights, and about 300 figurines and inflatables later, it's safe to say "mission accomplished."
But even that wasn't enough.
When a woman from Stroudsburg offered the family a donation a few years back, Huss got an idea.
"I'm like, you know, we can really do something here. Let's start accepting donations and put it up to our Facebook viewers for a vote every June or July."
This year, the family is collecting donations for Fresh Start Animal Rescue League. The organization plans to use the money to build a shelter.
"Right now, we're a foster based in Schuylkill County, so we're a little limited as to the animals that we can bring in, but when we have that facility, we're going to do amazing things," said Laura McHugh, the Fresh Start Animal Rescue League president.
"Just imagine how many more animals. I mean, we've saved and placed over 2,000 animals in less than two years, and if we have a facility, it's just going to be amazing all the more we can do," said Doreen Hancock, the rescue's treasurer.
The Huss family is doing more than just raising money for the rescue. They also adopted one of the animals, giving little 1-year-old Remy a home for the holidays.
That earned them a permanent spot on Santa's nice list. The big man in red spends a lot of his time here during the Christmas season.
"This is my home away from home, especially now with the weather. Joe (Snedeker) seems to be giving us some cold weather down here, and (we're) very much appreciative to the family for allowing us to come down here to be part of it. I think this is something very special for them to do to be able to donate to the different charities and everything."
You can walk through the Huss family light display every night from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. through New Year's Eve.
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