Chuck Seaver, South Lake Tablet
Light-Up Clermont is right around the corner with festivities beginning on December 6th in the historical downtown Clermont area. The City of Clermont hosts the annual celebration but what many residents don’t know is that a local civic organization, the Kiwanis Club of Clermont, provides a portion of the downtown holiday decorations. Many others also do not know that the annual Christmas Boat Parade was an original idea born from the same era and by the same club.
The displays that adorn the shores of Center Lake, located between Eighth Street and West Avenue, have a decades-old history dating back to the early 1990s from an idea born in Page, Arizona. Local Kiwanian Richard Bell and his wife, Toni, took a trip to Page to visit their daughter, Sharon. While there, Sharon shared a video of their annual Christmas Boat Parade on Lake Powell. Richard liked what he saw and brought a copy of the video home to share with club members.
The club enlisted members’ help, including Jack Matthews, to create a boat parade right here in Clermont. The parade, complete with Santa Claus, was put together with boat owners in the community. The parade was held on Lake Minneola and ended at Jaycee Beach, what is now Waterfront Park. The present fitness trail along Lake Minneola in Clermont was still a part of Lake Minneola Drive from East Avenue to Eighth Street. The long stretch of road made it easy for residents to view the nighttime parade from the comfort of their vehicles while parked on the shoulder of the road.
As time went on, the parade became cumbersome for the volunteers and would eventually be dissolved. To replace the boat parade with a different community service project, the club asked the City of Clermont if they could create displays at Center Lake. With some encouragement from club member Oakley Seaver, the city approved the request, and a creative project affectionately dubbed “Light-Up Center Lake” was born.
Kiwanis Club of Clermont Committee Chair Ed Griffin orchestrated the next steps in putting the idea into motion. Initially, the city required the club to install its own power outlet boxes at the club’s cost. Power outlets were installed near the Clermont Garden Club on West Avenue, the rear lakeshore area of the telephone company building on Desoto Street, and the south shore of Center Lake. The project began with 3-4 displays that were placed around Center Lake.
By 1997, the project was beginning to take on a new look under the watchful eye of club member Tom Thomas. Tom had a talent for design and creativity and knew how to make his dreams come to reality. Joined by club members Gene Thomas, Jim Mackey and Dick Baxter, Tom began his years-long project of creating displays that continue to be in use today. One of the first displays was the western-style horse and coach that can be seen this year on the Eighth Street side of Center Lake. “The initial workplace was in Tom’s garage at his home. Later we moved the project to the old city barn facility (current ROW House building location) located behind the Clermont Builders Supply on Carroll Street,” says Gene Thomas.
Over time, members passed away or had to step down for health reasons, but the determination remains to keep the project active. The hands of time passed the supervision torch over to Del Brandt who is responsible for many of the changes that have been realized today. Stationary parts came alive with moving parts such as the rowboat oars that actually row or the snowball thrower that throws snowballs made of twinkling Christmas lights. The rocking horse, one of Gene Thomas’ favorite pieces, was once a stationary horse designed by Tom. Gene, who is an avid wood artist, constructed a large wooden frame for the horse and member Del Brandt, who has a deep background in electrical engineering, mechanized it with small motors and springs that would allow the memories of our childhood to be reborn with the image of a merry-go-round style pony ride.
The town’s history and the loved ones of club members play a role in some of the displays. For example, the Kiwanis Club of South Lake sponsors a display in memory of past club member and Clermont icon Ann Dupee, who passed away in 2016. Ann was the first woman to be inducted into the Kiwanis International Hall of Fame. Gene Thomas’ late wife, Janet, has an orange teddy bear displayed in her honor. “Janet always wanted a teddy bear display but unfortunately passed away in 2010 before the teddy bear could be completed. Tom Thomas designed the layout on grid paper, and Gene created the display by using a flexible conduit to shape and build the bear. The bear is the next to the last display created,” says Gene. Prisoners from Lake Correctional Institute designed and built a church display in the early days of Light-Up Center Lake as a community service project. The display has since been removed and replaced with a display that is representative of the old schoolhouse on display at the Clermont Historic Village on West Avenue. The old schoolhouse is a replica of the first schoolhouse in Clermont that was once a hunting cabin owned by the Hooks family in the late 1800’s.
Del’s wife, Joyce, has been instrumental with ideas ranging from the existing locomotive smoke that now has the appearance of movement versus a solid light pattern. Joyce also encouraged the schoolhouse display to bring recognition to the Clermont Historic Village in a time when the village was not readily recognized in the community.
Frank Beals, son of Janet Hoskinson and the late Charles Beals, has helped with the project for the last 10+ years. Frank currently resides in North Carolina but makes the annual Thanksgiving week trek south to spend the holiday with his mother and siblings while finishing out the week helping erect the displays at Center Lake. Frank is a native of Clermont and graduated from the former Clermont High School. His father, Charles, was once the mayor of Clermont while his mother Janet has been a long-time club member and lifelong resident.
As time went on, the City of Clermont provided additional outlets to allow for expansion of the holiday displays. “I think that the city realized that we were serious about this project and really stepped up to help us out along the way,” says Gene. The city continues to support the project that has grown from Santa Claus and a four-piece train display to a full array of spectacular holiday cheer. The Light-Up Center Lake displays have become a part of the traditional downtown holiday cheer.
Although the displays remain in place and lit nightly for a short time, from December 6th this year through early January 2025, the project is nearly a year-round project. Club members Del Brandt, Dieter Grube, and Greg Amann have been upgrading the lights from the older incandescent bulbs to more modern and brighter M-5 LED bulbs. Del recalls a transformation of light styles one year when upgrades were being made. “We were testing the rope-style lights on the Historic Village Schoolhouse that had been used for one season. When we plugged the lights in, flames shot out two feet from the end of the light rope wire. We decided that might be a good time to change the lights out,” says Del, with a chuckle. The twenty-five displays include 65 individual pieces that require repair and minor maintenance before being stored for the summer. Display sponsor requests begin in late September for businesses and individuals who would like to advertise or create a memorial for a loved one who has passed.
The project began as a community service project from the club to the community. Eventually, business sponsors stepped up to make the project a fundraiser to support the club’s annual Christmas party for area school children. In 2020, the COVID-19 Virus prevented the yearly party from taking place. Travel policies for students changed, making it difficult to continue the tradition. The Light-Up project remains a fundraiser for the Kiwanis Club of Clermont and helps the club support non-profit organizations and youth activities in the South Lake community. There is still time to sponsor by visiting www.KiwanisClubofClermont.org.
The Kiwanis Club of Clermont would like to thank the City of Clermont and the many sponsors each year that make the holiday decorations a success. The club also appreciates the many student volunteers from area high school Kiwanis Key Clubs that help each year with the project.
