The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
JELLY BEAN VILLE MARKS 56TH ANNIVERSARY
Euclid resident keeps Easter tradition alive for families
Ever since he was a kid, Steve Kaselak has made sure his family’s Zeman Avenue home in Euclid has been decked out for Easter Sunday.
It started with a few Easter eggs and some other small adornments, inspired by his love of the Christian holiday and a neighbor down the street, he said.
“There used to be a man who did it over on E. 260th Street,” he said in a phone interview April 13. “Then, when I was seven, I started doing it at our house.”
He hasn’t missed a year since, he said.
And it’s been growing ever since, he said, despite some initial, unsavory reactions from his mother, who was born on an Easter Sunday.
“My mom used to yell at me: ‘When are you gonna get all that (stuff) out of the yard?!’ But she eventually wound up liking that I would do this,” he said, adding that she passed away several years ago.
In fact, he said, all of his family — including his mother, Helen; father, Steve; and sisters Donna
“It’s just such a nice Easter display and he puts so much hard work into it.” — Eric Leppelmeier, a Richmond Heights resident
and Nancy — wound up growing to appreciate his Easter endeavors almost as much as he does.
Last year, he honored his father’s 90th birthday by putting a crown on the wooden cutout of his dad that’s a constant, along with one of his mother, that appears alongside the other, ever-changing decorations with which he festoons his front yard each year.
“Those are some of the decorations he definitely puts up every year,” said neighbor, Debbie Giffin who, along with her husband, Ken, have lived next door to Kaselak for almost nine years.
She said his Easter ensemble changes a bit every year and, as his neighbor all these years, she’s become a bit of a consultant as the designs — which start at the drawing board as early as January — evolve.
“He had some silver eggs out this year and asked me what I thought of them,” she said April 15 as the Easter Bunny was busy handing out candy to little visitors and availing himself for portraits with the kids. “And he came out and asked me: ‘Debbie — what do you think?’ And I told him: ‘I don’t know. I don’t think I like them so much.’ And he said: ‘I don’t either,’ and he took them out. And that’s how it is.”
Kaselak agreed, saying he adjusts the design as necessary, keeping things fresh each year.
“I’ll go out, look at things, and, if it doesn’t look just right, I’ll change it,” he said April 13.
No matter how things may change each year, design-wise, JellybeanVille is a perennial neighborhood favorite that attracts people from literally all over the world.
“I’ve had people from England come,” Kaselak said, adding that it was after a local TV news story on the event made its way onto CNN Headline News.
He said he’s lost count over the years how many Easter eggs he uses to lay out his Easter spread but one thing’s for sure: It takes a ton of work to make it happen each year.
“Oh, I start planning everything in January,” he said, adding that he sketches out designs for each year’s ensemble. “Then, to put everything out, I start about two weeks before Easter.”
Next-door-neighbor Giffin’s daughter, Jessica Biello, who lives in Eastlake, said she’s come to visit every Easter Sunday since her parents moved in next to Kaselak.
“He’s so awesome! Isn’t he great? It’s just so sweet that he does this every year,” Biello said, adding that she usually brings her dog but the husky was on a play date this year. “It’s fun watching him put it together, too.”
Biello said this year’s project commenced on her birthday weekend, having been born on April 1, so it was extraspecial to watch it all happen.
But next-door neighbors are far from the only folks who appreciate the festivities at Kaselak’s place which, according to them, he arranges for most holidays, including Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day and even to recognize the tragedy that was Sept. 11, 2001.
“I think it’s great. It’s become a tradition,” said Marimer Narvaez, who brought her two boys — 16-month-old DeMar and 3-year-old Kameron — along with her mom, Lourdes Gerena, from their home around the corner on Farringdon Avenue.
“Oh, it’s perfect for the children,” Gerena said. “Marimer and the children just love it!”
Although many visitors to JellybeanVille over the years have learned about it through word-of-mouth, others have just seen the signs, like Eric Leppelmeier, a Richmond Heights resident who said he first visited about four years ago after he left Easter Mass and saw a sign reading “Easter Display,” then decided to check it out.
“Honestly, I just saw the sign and we’ve been coming ever since,” he said. “It’s just such a nice Easter display and he puts so much hard work into it.”
He said he’d recommend anyone who’s in the area to stop by and admire Keselak’s arrangement which, by the way, is attended annually, from 9 a.m. ‘till dark, by the Easter Bunny, himself.
Kaselak does it all himself, he said. And, although it’s not a requirement, he asks visitors for donations to the Domestic Violence & Child Advocacy Center.
“He’s so awesome! Isn’t he great? It’s just so sweet that he does this every year.” — Jessica Biello, Eastlake resident