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Couple's Love Blossoms Along Christmas Lane

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By RAY REYES, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 24, 2007

Updated: 12/23/2007 10:44 pm

DOVER - Among the galaxy of lights at Christmas Lane, one thing shone the brightest in her eyes and caught her attention.

His name was Scotty Jenkins.

As Kendall Burnette gazed from afar, she wished for some way to get closer to him.

Jenkins and other volunteers were assembling a 35-foot-tall tree, the centerpiece of the elaborate holiday exhibit owned and operated by Lane Wetherington and his family on their Wooten Road strawberry farm.

Jenkins would definitely notice her, Burnette thought, if she, too, volunteered at Christmas Lane.

"I started that day," she said.

She worked the concession stand while Jenkins performed maintenance on the choo-choo trains, motorized holiday carousels and forests of giant candy canes, lollipops and gumdrops the Wetheringtons had collected in the 27 years they have run Christmas Lane.

Jenkins was soft-spoken and shy, so after a few days, Burnette made the first move.

She placed a note under the windshield wiper of Jenkins' truck. She had written her phone number and two words: "Call me."

Jenkins gave her a ring that night. Her cheerful, easy-going personality quickly won him over, he said.

About a year later, on Christmas Day 2005, he gave Burnette another ring, one with a diamond she could wear on her finger.

On Saturday, Burnette, now 20, and Jenkins, 21, are getting married in a cowboy-themed wedding at Christmas Lane. They will take their vows in front of the Wetheringtons' expansive ranch-style home.

The public ceremony will be followed by a private reception in the 6,300-square-foot barn, where the Wetheringtons store thousands of holiday decorations.

Lane Wetherington said he decided to keep Christmas Lane open an extra day this year to accommodate the wedding.

"It's an honor for us to be asked to have it hosted here," said Wetherington, 44, who will be Jenkins' best man. "It's going to be a beautiful evening."

The threads of fate that join the three families together can be traced back to Wetherington's fascination with Christmas lights when he was 14 years old.

"I always wanted to put the lights on the house right after Thanksgiving," Wetherington said.

He only had a few dozen rows of lights in those early days. Because his birthday was in November, Wetherington would ask for lights so he could make the display bigger.

Over the years, Wetherington amassed more than 250,000 lights. He talked to local shopping malls and persuaded them to donate old Santa Claus sleighs, Nutcracker soldiers, electric candles and other items he could use to create themed displays.

"We've lived here 50 years," said Wetherington's father, Ron. "First, we had a little string of lights around the house. Then the kids came along and we put up two strings. Then Lane comes along and now we got this."

Wetherington's mother, Faye, came up with the name Christmas Lane. The logo glows in cool hues of neon on a sign near the entrance to the farm. It is printed on fliers and posters that attract about 45,000 people annually, Wetherington said.

In 2002, one of those visitors was Scotty Jenkins, who was 16 and a student at Durant High School. He became enamored with Christmas Lane and volunteered soon after.

In 2004, Burnette visited Christmas Lane with a group of friends from Plant City High School. That is when she saw Jenkins help assemble the 35-foot-tall tree. She already was attracted to him, she said, because she often saw him when their schools participated in FFA conventions.

When they are not basking in the glow of the holidays, the couple work at Harold's Feed & Pet Store, a farm supply business owned by Burnette's family. Jenkins works there full time while his bride-to-be splits her time between the store and classes at Hillsborough Community College.

Burnette said she already has two of the best Christmas presents a girl could get, an engagement and a new house - courtesy of the couple's parents, who helped secure a home in Plant City.

"My wishes were already granted," she said.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Christmas Lane, featuring more than a dozen displays, including train rides for children, a 35-foot-tall tree, live music, photographs with Santa Claus and more

WHERE: 2091 S. Wooten Road, Dover

DIRECTIONS: Eastbound on Interstate 4, take Exit 14; south on McIntosh Road to C.R. 574 (Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard) South on Dover Road about 1 mile to Wooten Road.

WHEN: 6 to 10 p.m. daily through Saturday; the display is closed during rain or inclement weather

COST: Admission and parking is free, but a donation box is near the front entrance.

ON THE WEB: www.christmaslane.org

BY THE NUMBERS

250,000 Total lights

72,000 Lights on the 35-foot-tall tree

45,000 Visitors each year

$4,000 Average monthly electric bill

1,000 Amps required for power

200 Volunteers

50 Days needed to set up display

27 Years in operation

This story appeared in one or more of The Tampa Tribune's semiweekly community papers. To read more community stories, go to community .tbo.com/

Reporter Ray Reyes can be reached at (813) 865-4433 or rreyes@tampatrib.com.

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