GREAT FALLS — Tony Hering has loved Halloween his whole life: “I was nine years old when I saw 'Halloween,' the first movie."
He knows the best way to share your love of something is to show your love.
“I just kind of hope that people fall in love with the holiday,” Hering said.
Tony and his wife Lisa’s house is decked out for Halloween, but why stop decorating after October?
“I think it was both of us,” Lisa said, “Tony always was into Halloween and I was always into Christmas.”
Since they’ve been married, the Herings have been decorating together. But it’s not just Halloween. They have decorations for every big holiday throughout the year.
“Halloween, Christmas, Thanksgiving… then we do Easter, Fourth of July,” Tony said, “So we just try to hit all seasons.”
The arrangement was simple. Tony decorated the outside of the house, and Lisa decorated the inside.
“I do all of the fun cute stuff on the inside,” Lisa said, “And then he was the one who always did the scary stuff.”
The tradition started small and simple, as Tony would recycle his son’s Halloween costumes. Now, the total investment is anyone’s guess.
“I wouldn’t even know where to start,” Tony said.
When its not the Halloween season, the decorations are stored in a cramped crawlspace off of the Hering’s basement.
“The crawlspace is kind of a dungeon,” Hering said.
A full day of labor, moving the decorations out of the crawlspace, which requires you to step through a mess sink to access. It is the only part of the tradition that could stop Tony from setting up.
“[I will decorate] Until it gets to the point where I, you know, going into the crawl space isn’t fun anymore,” Tony said.
Luckily, that day is still far away.
“It makes me feel good,” Lisa said, “And I think it brings joy to others that come over as well.”
So, the pair of teachers will continue to make their house a beacon of joy, holiday after holiday.
“The big thing is we just started decorating so as the kids of Lincoln walk home,” Tony said, “They have something to kind of see, and brighten their day up a little bit.”
The Hering house working as a reminder of what the holidays are all about.
