Nora Bass didn’t plan to put up Christmas lights this year — the first time in her almost 55-year marriage to Sam Bass, who was well-known for the extensive display at their home.

Sam died Aug. 28 at age 75. Nora planned to leave the lights and the decorations in their stacks of plastic tubs this winter.

But her family changed her mind.

“The kids insisted,” Nora said.

And so the Bass home at 2450 19th St., as it has been for generations of Baker City residents, is again a beacon of light in the darkness, inviting the community to stroll through the display featuring thousands of lights and dozens of cartoon characters painted on plywood.

“We just want to share a little Christmas spirit,” Nora said. “Sometimes things aren’t so good, and this is what we do to help.”

This is Nora’s last year to put up the decorations. Bill Lee will carry on the tradition in 2018, moving the display to his own yard at 3645 Birch St.

“It’s kind of history — people like seeing the Bass lights,” Lee said. “I want to keep the same look, but I have my Christmas decorations, too.”

Nora’s extensive Christmas village, which she’d set up inside her house, has already found a new home with Kelly Aldrich, the Basses’ niece, and her daughter, Kaitlyn Uttenreuther.

After transferring five truckloads of decorations, the mother-daughter duo set up the village at 190 E St. in North Powder. The public is invited free of charge. Hours will be 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 15, 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 16, and 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Dec. 22 and 23.

“We really hope to keep her legacy going for the community to enjoy as she and Uncle Sam have for all these years,” Aldrich said. “They are truly amazing and an inspiration of what one can do to bring a community joy.”

Sam and Nora bought the house on 19th Street in 1970. They always decorated for Christmas, but about 33 years ago their efforts expanded to include more lights and the addition of plywood cutouts of well-known cartoon characters.

Winnie-the-Pooh was first. Next came a plywood Grinch and his dog Max, which Sam cut from plywood and Nora painted.

Every year the couple added new characters based on currently popular movies and television shows.

“Each year it got bigger,” Nora said.

See more in the Dec. 11, 2017, issue of the Baker City Herald.