The Tradition of hosting a Christmas Lighting Contest was once again held in Rocky, Oklahoma. Pete and Dede Mattingly of Sentinel volunteered their time to judge the Christmas lights contest. Pete and DeDe had recently moved from Marlow, OK, to Sentinel. They knew outdoor masterpieces take days of preparation as they have beautifully decorated their home in Sentinel to bring holiday cheer to their neighbors. To carry out the impartial third-party judging of the Christmas lights in Rocky, Pete and DeDe planned to wait until the sun disappeared and daylight faded before they began driving to Rocky and selecting what they believed was the most stunning display of electric lights and decorations for holiday cheer.
On Thursday, December 19, the night of the judging, Pete drove slowly around Rocky while DeDe sat in the passenger seat with her trusted camera. DeDe clicked away as the charming, creative yuletide lights came into view, capturing the visual images of lights and decorations placed on homes and yards.
The Town Board of Rocky Trustees were lucky, or one might say very blessed to get Pete and DeDe Mattingly to be the judges for this year’s lighting contest.
Knowing a Christmas lighting contest takes a lot of organization and preparation, DeDe carefully photographed the dazzling displays o f Christmas lights that were carefully placed and spaced for public viewing with hints of love showing here and there to bring smiles to any who happened to drive by. Since Rocky was a small town, the viewing took only an hour or two. When the couple returned to their home in Sentinel, they studied the snapshots, and after a lot of thought and consideration, they came up with the winners.
The first-place prize of $100.00 will go to Curtis Weatherly at 105 East Sixth Street for his stunning display of electric holiday cheer.
The second-place prize of $75.00 will go to Jeremy and Valerie Boyd at 204 East Third Street for their resourceful and touching Christmas light display.
Jerry and Eva Boyd of 401 Main Street will receive the third-place prize of $50.00 for their simple but elegant display of Christmas delight.
Our honorable mentions would bring $25.00 to David and Becky Jones at 107 East 6th Street for their festive display and $25.00 to Stacie Brown at 312 East Street for her captivating, fetching display.
All Rocky Christmas Light Contest winners will receive their Christmas Prizes at the Regular Meeting of Rocky on Tuesday, January 14 , 2025, at the Rocky Community Center at 6:00 PM, where pictures will be taken.