Cape Breton woman celebrates every holiday with spectacular displays

By day a lovely house with Canadian flags, but by night a spectacular patriotic display.

Irma Marsh’s house in Glace Bay — decked out for Canada 150 with 50 different sets of lights highlighting her four-storey home — is catching people’s attention.

“Yes I have had a few people call already,” said Marsh, 88.

“We aren’t even finished decorating yet, we still have two big flags to put out,” she said. “My tulips are all red and white and getting ready to open.”

Canada flags and maple leafs that light up are featured in all the front and side windows and sets of candolilers with white and red candles in the rest. Even the skylights are lit up.

“I’ve been all over the place buying Canada 150 decorations,” she said. “At Michaels they call me the Canada Day lady.”

Marsh and her husband, the late Coady Marsh — a former mining engineer — always loved to decorate, but began going above and beyond about 20 years ago, putting candolilers sets in all of the windows of their four-storey home at Christmas time.

With 50 sets of candles it did take time turning them all on every night.

“Yes, going floor to floor, room to room,” she said laughing.”

However, in the earlier years their seven children helped.

“It was easy, as everyone had a floor to do,” she said Then about 15 years ago their son-in-law, Evan Moorhouse, set up an electronic system, resulting in all the lights being able to be activated through the flick of a switch.

However it wasn’t only at Christmas when the house would catch attention, Marsh said they decorate for every holiday including Easter, St. Patrick’s Day, Canada Day and Halloween.

Her husband passed away five years ago but Marsh has carried on the family tradition and has 14 grandchildren and five great- grandchildren when extra hands are needed.

“My daughter, Teresa Marsh, even comes home from Halifax a week early at Christmas to help decorate.”

Other family and friends also chip in.

The display caught the eye of Christina Joe, originally of Glace Bay and now of Membertou, who has more than 7,000 followers on her “CheapskateGardener” YouTube channel.

“I was looking for things for Canada 150 for my channel for the fact I like to show everything Cape Breton has going on here, to showcase the pretty things we have.”

She was simply driving through Glace Bay when Marsh’s house caught her eye.

“I thought ‘isn’t that fantastic,’” she said.