Burlington man lit up community
Man who made Christmas ‘merry and bright’ dies from ladder fall
ABurlington community is mourning after the death of a longtime resident known for his impressive holiday displays.
Doug Musson and his family moved to 3360 Spruce Ave. in Burlington in 1976, an address that became famous over the years for its elaborate Christmas light decorations.
He died Monday evening at the age of 82 after falling from a ladder while inspecting a part of the house.
The Mussons had already started a holiday decorating tradition when they lived in Calgary, and they brought it with them when they relocated.
“It started with a few strings outlining the house. Next a few wired-form reindeers were added,” his son Scott wrote in an online post. “When we noticed that people would stop and look at the lights, we realized that we weren’t the only ones who enjoyed Christmas lights. That gave us the spark to get things really going.”
The intricate displays grew from there. First, the family decided to outline the house, and then they filled in the space in between.
Next, Musson began custom-building decorations and welding them together, attaching lights to them to bring them to life.
“Every year, we added more figures. In 1997, I decided to animate some of the figures with a light controller used by DJs,” his son wrote. “We got a dragon to wag its tail, soldiers salute, wheels to spin, and fire to leave the dragon’s mouth — and even a melting snowman.”
After Musson’s death, Scott wrote a post on the family website and said this could be the final year they put up the lights.
“Our family is devastated. I debated even turning off the lights but decided he would want them on and he worked hard on making all of the displays,” he said. “Dad was the breadwinner of the family, with a small business providing the only income to this family.”
However, a GoFundMe page for the Mussons had already raised close to $10,000 as of late Wednesday.
The page description asks local residents to donate to help the family at a time of tragedy and need, and also for “the hope to keep the lights aglow in memory of the man who made everyone’s Christmas around him merry and bright.”
More than 175 people helped surpass the $5,000 goal in just 16 hours, according to the page.
“Visiting this home has been a tradition since I was a little girl and it breaks my heart to hear of this tragedy in the community, and especially so close to Christmas,” wrote one donor. “I know the entire Burlington community is here to support you in your time of need.”
Many other contributors also commented and said they’d visited the house for years, some since childhood, and that it brought joy into their lives during the holidays.
Scott doesn’t know who made the page but he is surprised and grateful.
“People have been so loving since this. Someone we don’t even know set up a GoFundMe page to help us. I’m shocked at the love expressed by our community,” he said in an email. Even Burlington Mayor Rick Goldring tweeted his condolences. “This is devastating news. Doug and the Musson family have provided #BurlON with a wonderful display of Christmas Lights on their home for many, many years. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Musson family,” he said.
A Facebook page has also been created to set dates for when community members can come to pay their respects. About 1,000 people are interested so far.
“Why do we go to all the work of putting up these lights? Well, if no one came to see them we would stop doing them,” Scott wrote at the end of his post.
“We do it as a celebration of Christmas. We do it to give something back to our community. We do it to bring smiles on people’s faces.”
The lights will be up until New Year’s Day.