Fairfax couple finds fulfilling hobby

By FRITZ BUSCH

Journal Staff Writer

FAIRFAX -- Leo and Ordell Grosam are retired dairy farmers.

But, after their milking days ended, they didn't fade away and mark time.

Anybody that drives past their home at night during the Christmas season can't miss the fruits of their labor.

The yard and roof sparkle with more than 70 different kinds of Christmas ornaments.

The Grosams designed and built them over the past 12 years. The ornaments are everywhere outside the home.

Santa and his sled are on the roof.

A donkey and cow were created this year to complete a nativity scene that includes wise men created from a photo.

The rest of the nativity scene was designed from a small set the Grosams received from friends in Germany.

Caterpillar tractor tracks appear to rotate.

Leo Grosam designed a motorcycle pulling a wagon and a cat.

Bluebirds are also among his favorites.

He got the idea to make his own ornaments when he noticed large ornaments being sold at Randall's food store in New Ulm.

First, they gave their ornaments to family members. Soon, others took notice and came to their home, hoping to buy from the energetic couple.

Grosam designed the ornaments with half-inch by eighth-inch flat iron strips. He shaped and cut longer pieces to make the designs.

His wife recalled the process.

"I would give him a picture, small statue or ornament and he would design a large, wrought-iron version," Ordell Grosam said. "Some of them were over six feet tall when they were done. He would cut and lay out all the pieces, then weld them together."

After the welding was done, Ordell would attach Christmas lights with garbage bag tie-wraps to outline the iron strips.

She changed the bulb color to match the ornament design.

Next, she wrapped the lights with colored garland, matching the color of the lights. She said it really enhanced the design of the ornament.

Leo also made stands for his wife to decorate the ornaments.

He used a disc blade for the base and welded a five-foot, vertical 1/2-inch iron pipe in the center.

He drilled horizontal holes near the top of the pipe for for several 3/8 by six-inch bolts to hang ornaments while his wife worked on them.

Bulb locations were measured so light strings fit properly.

Different bulb patterns were used for each design.

Ornaments are divided into six groups to even out the current load outside the Grosam house.

Each group has six timers to make the lights work throughout the night.

"It's a little more complicated now," Ordell said. "The light strings aren't as long as they used to be."

Their son Tom, who farms and works at an elevator near Austin, is interested in picking up the hobby, if there is enough demand.

The Grosams have won many lighting contests.

Now their story is appearing in agriculture magazines and newspapers.

The Grosam home is located two miles west of Fairfax, a short distance south of State Highway 19 on Brown County Road 16.