Ask Mr. Answer Person about downtown Decorah's luminaries

(Mr. Answer Person received numerous comments, questions and, yes, complaints about the luminaries put out in downtown Decorah over the weekend)

Mr. Answer Person says: "Wow!  Did I get an earful from people about the luminaries put out in downtown Decorah Thursday through Saturday nights!  Yes, the wind knocked over numerous luminaries.  Yes, it was hard to see if the luminaries were lit.  Yes, there were gaps in the displays.

But I have been on the receiving end of complaints in the past and I remember how discouraging it is to volunteer your time to do something you think will help the community--only to have community members complain.

So the first order of business is to say to the luminary project volunteers, "Thank you for your service!"

In the interest of having both sides satisfied (or, more likely, both sides complaining about me!), let me offer a few suggestions:

--Rather than waiting to try this again next year, why not try it again for one night only on Friday, December 2nd--the night of the annual Lighted Holiday Parade on Water Street?  There will be a big crowd downtown that night.  It's also easier to do a luminary display for one night instead of hoping the weather will be good for three nights in a row.

--Between now and then, talk with Ridge Road residents.  They have been doing a luminary display in that neighborhood for what will be 28 years come the first weekend in December.  They know--from trial and error--all the "do's" and "don'ts" of staging a luminary display.

--Make sure--even if it means doing only three or four blocks--that there are luminaries in an unbroken line along the sidewalks in downtown Decorah. 

OK--let's all agree that it's a good thing when people try to do something to improve downtown Decorah.  Trying again on December 2nd would give the luminary project a chance to be a success this year.