Kiwanis Holiday Lights (Racine, Wisconsin)

The Kiwanis Holiday Lights, also known as the Wheary Lights, is a holiday light display held annually at the Racine Zoo in Racine, Wisconsin, between mid-November and early January. Originally created in 1962 by George and Jessie Mae Wheary at their home in North Bay, the display moved to Monument Square in 1982 and has been held at the zoo since 1985.

History

George H. Wheary Jr. and Jessie Mae Wheary started the annual light display at their house, 44 North Vincennes Circle in the Racine suburb of North Bay, in 1962. The Whearys were inspired to start creating the display after their 25th wedding anniversary party earlier that year was decorated with strings of lights imported from Milan, Italy . The 1962 display featured 7,000 lights. The Whearys continued to add more lights to their front yard each year, and their display was one of three winners of the Racine Jaycees Christmas home decorating contest in 1966.

By 1973, the display had grown to nearly 100,000 lights, and George Wheary had begun working on an animated waterfall containing 25,000 lights, inspired by a similar display at Southridge Mall in Milwaukee County. However, the event was canceled that year due to the 1973 energy crisis . When the display returned in December 1974, with approximately 150,000 lights including the finished waterfall, it was featured on the front page of the Racine Journal Times. The 1979 display had an estimated 300,000 lights, but was severely damaged by vandalism on January 3, 1980. An outpouring of support from Racinians allowed the damaged fixtures to be repaired, and the display returned in December 1980.

The Wheary lights became an iconic part of the holiday season in Racine when it was located in North Bay. However, its popularity led to severe traffic throughout the village of North Bay and surrounding parts of Racine. By 1981, village officials implemented one-way traffic on all of Vincennes Circle to deal with the congestion. Despite the measures, traffic sometimes backed up during that year's display as far south as the Racine Zoo, nearly a mile away. After the North Bay Village Board expressed its concern about the 1982 display to George Wheary, he decided to donate the 300,000 lights to the Downtown Racine Development Corporation, which moved the display to Monument Square. In downtown Racine, the display could also be extended, starting around Thanksgiving instead of a few days before Christmas.

While the display remained popular at Monument Square, operating costs there were significantly higher, small-scale vandalism became more common, and the lights were found to be less impressive in a brightly-lit square than at a suburban home. In 1985, the three Kiwanis clubs of Racine agreed to take over the operation and move the display to the Racine Zoo, placing it around the zoo's duck pond facing North Main Street. They also created a trust fund whose interest would cover the annual operating costs.

A windstorm on December 3, 1990, caused the waterfall to collapse, with parts of it falling into the pond and sustaining water damage. The Kiwanis-Wheary Holiday Foundation successfully recruited local businesses to help build a temporary replacement structure for the waterfall in time for Christmas. The foundation and its volunteers continued to add and replace lights, including new fixtures depicting zoo animals in 1993. By 1995, the base of the waterfall was one of the few remaining parts of the display made by George Wheary.

After the 2010 display, the group decided to replace the waterfall entirely. The display thus lacked what was considered its centerpiece in 2011 and 2012, while funds were raised to create the new waterfall.