Man sees caring for light as the bright thing to do

boulder» Christmas lasts just one day, but in Boulder, the defining symbol of the season shines far and wide for the better part of two months.

For the man who makes it happen, it’s a labor of love.

Craig Reynolds makes his home now in Frederick, but from there he can still see the Flagstaff star, which he maintains on a volunteer basis through every Christmas season.

“It’s become a part of me,” Reynolds said.

He’s the man who ensures the star is ready to be lit each year on Veterans Day and monitors it for any needed repairs or maintenance through the first weekend of January, after which it’s turned off until the next holiday season.

He has been doing it every year since 1989.

“I can see it from my bedroom window,” said Reynolds. “You can see it coming down I-25 from Mead, if you know where to look. It’s amazing. It really sticks up there.”

Reynolds used to live just south of Longmont and, before that, Boulder. He said he has “migrated” eastward bit by bit, away from “the hustle and bustle,” over the years.

He could see the Flagstaff star from his previous home north of Gaynor Lake near Longmont, and jokes, “I had to make sure I could see it from my house in Frederick,” before moving there. “I am, after all, ‘the Star Man.’ ”

That’s how he’s known to John Tayer, president and CEO of the Boulder Chamber, which sponsors the star, a Boulder holiday tradition dating back to 1947 — along with Citywide Banks.

The chamber has been central to the star’s perennial return, since it suffered a period of disrepair in the 1980s. But Tayer gives credit to Reynolds.

“He is the embodiment of that spirit of giving back to the community that the Boulder star symbolizes,” Tayer said of Reynolds.

It was in 2013 that the star was first lit starting on Veterans Day, as a special tribute to America’s armed services. The chamber termed it a “milestone year” for the display. That’s also the year that Reynolds, owner of Lord & Reynolds Electrical Services, replaced the existing 40-watt standard light bulbs that illuminate the star with 6-watt Cree LED bulbs, which are 85 percent more efficient and could last up to 40 years.