Spreading holiday joy

BLACK EARTH, Wis. — For many, December is a time for family, traditions and celebrations. For the family at Mickelson Dairy Farm, December is a time when they continue a brightly lit tradition that has been going on for more than 30 years.

Highlighting their farm’s display is a pair of candy canes drawn with red and white rope lights on their silo and a unique mailbox. The fourth-generation century farm near Black Earth is operated by Sara Amble and her husband, Aric. 

“Christmas lights have always been something I love this time of year,” Amble said. “We’d go around and look at lights at night when I was younger, and I saw a neighbor who would put them up on their farm, and I thought, ‘I want to do that.’”

From there, a tradition was born. Amble and her father, Craig Mickelson, began decorating the farm. The machine shed was the first to have lights. Then, Amble got the idea to extend them to the highest point on the farm, the silos.

“At first I wasn’t sure how it was all going to look,” Amble said. “Running 200 feet of rope lights up the ladder was tough, but I was really excited for how it looked at the end.”

Each year the display has some variation. Some years lights are hung on the 700 feet of fence line that runs from the milking barn to the freestall barn. Other years rope lights extend to the apex of the milking barn and all the way around. This year Santa Claus is perched atop the northernmost silo, greeting people who pass by.

There have also been years when the lights stayed in the boxes.

“We go in spurts with it,” Amble said. “There are some years where we don’t put them up. Between weather, and being busy on the farm, sometimes it just doesn’t happen.”

The years the family cannot get around to decorating, the neighbors notice.

“I posted a picture online around this time of year a couple of years ago, and all I heard about was how disappointed people were that we didn’t decorate,” Amble said. “We started doing it again as a way to try to spread a little cheer.”

The lights help spread cheer to their neighbors, which is an incentive for the family.

“Once you get that pat on the back for doing a good job, it makes you want to keep going,” Mickelson said.

Amble echoed a similar sentiment.

“It brings us joy to know that people are bringing their kids and their families out here to see the lights and the farm,” Amble said.

At a time of year when the sun goes down as milking starts, the extra light is a bonus.

“It’s nice that it brightens up the whole yard too,” Amble said. “You have no problem getting around with our lights this time of year. We’ll keep them up after Christmas for a bit too just because it does help us get around.”

With the increased visibility in their yard, also comes an increased visibility for the agriculture community in Black Earth.

“The lights bring in people from all over,” Amble said. “We’ve seen people from New Mexico stop by. We had five buses go up and down the road one year. It really is a way to connect people to the farm. In a time where people don’t know where their food comes from, this is an easy way to help connect those worlds.”

During the summer, Mickelson Dairy Farm has another attraction to bring people out to the farm. Now on its fourth iteration, the mailbox for the farm is unique in its own right, bearing a striking resemblance to the animals in the barn.

“During the winter we have the lights, but in the summer, we have our cow mailbox,” Amble said.

Mickelson built the first cow mailbox in 1976. After a few variations that needed repair, it now features a wooden frame with a metal mailbox as the cow’s head. The mailbox sports the glow of Christmas lights this time of year.

The cow mailbox has been featured in farming magazines as well as a John Deere calendar. It is another way Mickelson Dairy Farm is spreading cheer and making days brighter.

“At the end of the day, if you have something that you can look back at, be proud of and maybe provide a little joy for someone else, that’s what it is all about,” Mickelson said.