A few days before Christmas my neighbour left me an e-mail at work suggesting I take a photograph of the Kopp’s Christmas light display at 1733 Hazel Street, above South Lakeside Drive.
Several times I mentioned it out loud to my husband that we should drive up there and have a look, but we never got around to it through the days in and around Christmas.
Give this girl a few days off and she settles into the be-at-home mode very quickly.
I think there were one or two days that I didn’t even leave the neighbourhood except to walk our dog in the nearby woods.
Then on Monday evening we worked late on our Year In Review issue at the Tribune. On my way home I suddenly remembered the Kopp’s home and decided to go and have a look at the lights for myself. Wow.
When I saw how massive the display was and heard music wafting from the yard, I couldn’t believe it.
I tried taking a few photographs but felt they paled in comparison to what my weary eyes were beholding.
I met Bob Kopp for the first time at Scout Island a few summers ago when Central Cariboo Search and Rescue was on the lake trying to locate a young person on a raft who got into trouble when the wind suddenly picked up.
Kopp and his wife were sitting in their truck watching the lake, but he told me he was on leave from work at BC Ambulance Services.
Later when he retired, I interviewed him about his career and was very impressed with his genuine humility. The light display at his home, however, is far from humble. I encourage everyone to go have a look for themselves if they’ve never seen it.
I understand from the locals it’s something the Kopps have been doing for a long time and it could be a case of me being the last one to know.
However, there are always newcomers to town like me who are not in the know who might appreciate the tip.
Monica Lamb-Yorski is a staff writer with the Williams Lake Tribune/Advisor.