ST. JOHNS – As the spirit of Christmas continues to grow into the commercial equivalent of an 800-pound Gorilla, some local folks are doing their best to brighten the world one house at a time.

If you haven’t driven through the town of St. Johns lately then you have indeed missed a holiday treat.

Motivated by the efforts of St John’s Karts owners David Joyner and sons Greg and Russ, the residents of St. Johns’ main thoroughfare have taken advantage of the Joyner family’s holiday generosity and in the process transformed their yards into a quarter mile long holiday decoration.

&uot;We started decorating the neighborhood about four years ago,&uot; Joyner said. &uot;&uot;The first year we used rebar to make decorations, this year we decided to do something a little different.&uot;

David said that he and his sons were sitting around shooting the breeze one day with friends T. Tom Piland, Reggie Russ, Ritchie Spencer, Robbie Davis, Kay Edwards and Chester Byrum when one of the men suggested they try to do something with the construction material the Joyner’s had lying around the shop.

&uot;We used the half inch rebar to make the decorations,&uot; Joyner said. &uot;It was small enough that we could heat it up a little and bend it any way we wanted.&uot;

Joyner said he and his friends used the metal construction material to make bells, candy canes, Christmas trees and snowflakes.

&uot;We really were just goofing around when we started,&uot; Joyner said. &uot;Eventually we bought some rope lights and put them on the rebar.&uot;

Joyner said he was surprised of how well the decorations came out, but even more surprised at the response from the community.

&uot;People were very enthusiastic about our decorations,&uot; Joyner said. &uot;When we didn’t put them (the decorations) up again this year people began asking about them.&uot;

Joyner said the three foot tall,

white Christmas trees that line the front yards on Hwy 561 in St John’s were purchased via the internet and they were the Joyner family’s response to their community’s desire to decorate the &uot;village of St. John’s&uot; as Joyner calls it.

&uot;We bought the trees and put them in everybody’s yard,&uot; Joyner said. &uot;All they had to do was supply electricity.&uot;

Joyner said the old decorations are in storage, but he’s been too busy to drag them out. He is very happy to see that the entire neighborhood was willing to participate in the new decorations.

&uot;We still have all of the old decorations,&uot; Joyner said &uot;Next year we hope to add a little more to our little village’s holiday spirit.&uot;

So from now until the first of the year anyone wishing to see how an entire community can unite to bring some holiday cheer to their neighborhood can do just that just by driving through St. John’s