By Shelley Smithssmith@salisburypost.com
An unusual holiday decoration adorns one family’s roof in Spencer, and it has nothing to do with reindeer.
“There’s nothing like having the feeling of electric sex gleaming on your rooftop,” Sam Morgan said, engineer behind a 9-foot leg lamp that sits atop his roof ó a tribute to his family’s favorite Christmas movie, “A Christmas Story.”
“We decided to do something different that would be a leg up over competition,” Sam joked.
Each year, Sam and his wife, Sherry, and their three children, Chip West, 21, Lauren West, 23, and Mike Morgan, 25, sit around the dinner table belting out lines from their two favorite Christmas movies, “A Christmas Story,” and “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.”
“You can combine both of those stories to make the Morgan family Christmas,” Sherry said.
Since the family was so fond of the leg lamp, they decided to make one to put on top of their house. Sam drew a few sketches and it all magically came together.
The leg of the lamp is made of cardboard and paper mache. The fishnet stocking is an actual fishing net. The lampshade frame was made of welding wire and florist wire, and the shade is made of a sheet and hand-crocheted tassels.
“We think it probably took around 50 hours to make,” Sam said.
The lamp’s debut was the Sunday after Thanksgiving, and just this week the family added the word, “fragile,” underneath the lamp in red Christmas lights.
“Family is always so important over the holidays,” Sherry said. “We just wanted to share one of our favorite Christmas traditions and stories with everyone. We want people to have fun.”
Sam and Sherry remember Christmas traditions as they were growing up. Sam and his grandmother used to make Christmas trees out of old Reader’s Digest magazines. Sherry’s mom quilted.
The Morgans’ home is decorated for Christmas from floor to ceiling. Their Christmas tree comes from the mountains the day after Thanksgiving.
“It’s a family event, and we always get a big one,” Sam said. Last year the Morgans’ got to re-enact a live scene from “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.”
“Last year the giant Sequoia we picked out weighed a couple hundred pounds and was huge in girth,” Sam said. “We had a stand made from rebar, and it sagged almost all the way to the ground.
“The next day, what had been a huge green vertical mass against our wall was a huge horizontal mass on the floor. The dog was even trapped.”
Sam then got out his trusty chainsaw, filling the house with gasoline fumes and blue smoke.
“It was just like the father in ‘A Christmas Story,'” Sherry said. “Just as the smoke filled the air, a stream of obscenities followed, swirling around the house.”
“I’ll never forget that,” Lauren said.
“It’s never normal around here,” Sherry said.
The lamp was originally lit by a 200 watt industrial strength lightbulb, and, according to Sam, it resembled a lighthouse in the middle of Spencer. The bulb broke and has since been replaced by a less powerful 65 watt bulb.
“There’s still a spotlight out front that shines on it, though,” Sam said.
As for spectators, the Morgans have had families drive from Davidson County to see the creation.
“I didn’t realize there were so many people who haven’t seen the movie,” Sherry said. “They want to know why we have a leg on our roof.”
“It’s a beacon of hope,” Lauren said. “It just sort of describes our family.”
Mike Morgan, who is in the Air Force and doesn’t come home a lot, said the lamp is comforting.
“It makes me feel right at home,” he said.
“I think it adds character to the neighborhood and our house, and gives uniqueness to our family,” Chip said. “We hope it’ll enhance other people’s holiday.”
Next year the family hopes to add more to their “Christmas Story” tribute.
The home is located at 310 Sowers Ferry Rd. in Spencer, and the family plans to have the leg on display through the new year.
“We’ve had a lot of fun working on it,” Sam said.
“I can’t wait to one day share this tradition with my own children,” Lauren said.