MONROE — After 25 years of plastering her house and yard with an extravagant amount of Halloween decorations, Christy Schultz was fearful that run was coming to an end. Earlier this year in August, she lost her husband, Brian. She’s also slated for knee surgery in the near future.
“Between my knees and my husband passing away, it’s been a really rough year,” said Schultz, who is known around town by some as The Queen of Halloween. “I decided I just wasn’t going to do it, but I still wanted the kids to come and see me. I thought if I didn’t have decorations, they wouldn’t come.”
She took to social media to alert her fellow townspeople, posting on the “Monroe, WI neighbors helping neighbors” community page. “I’m very sorry to say but I’m not going to be able to decorate my house this yr. I’m having some health issues and I know most of you probably know I lost my better half just a couple months ago. BUT I’ll still be handing out candy and hope you still will stop by and see me I would really love to see you all.”
The post was met with more than 400 reaction “likes”, nearly 140 shares and dozens of comments. Some of the respondents supported her with comments like, “Decorations or no decorations, you’re still the Queen of Halloween,” and “you are my kid’s favorite house.”
Others took it a step further, and asked what they could do to help her decorate in order to keep the tradition alive.
Schultz said she just wanted to put it out there, but the next thing she knew, people wanted to volunteer. She was overwhelmed with the responses and said she was open to crowd-sourcing volunteers to help.
Then David Horstmann, administrator for the community Facebook page stepped in, creating an “event” for Saturday, Oct. 21.
“Seeing her post, and people talking, I wanted to make sure we would really do it,” Horstmann said.
Horstmann and his wife, Nancy, started the Facebook group after they moved to Monroe a few years ago.
“It was always Buy-Sell-Swap, Buy-Sell-Swap, Garage Sale, Garage Sale,” Horstman said of the local social media pages. “Where is, like we had in Stoughton, a neighborhood group? And then I was like, ‘Oh, Nance, we can start one. And since then, it’s been amazing.”
The page has caught on, with nearly 3,900 members. Some posts involve pets (buying or finding), people in search of or selling furniture or seeking recommendations for childcare, housing or cleaning services. The page was also influential in helping catch a person robbing graves in cemeteries in 2022.
Other posts in the group are more personal and from the heart, like Joshua and Darci Wilson that cook and deliver free meals each month.
“I’m pleased to see what’s come out of that group, like Josh and Darci and their free meals,” Horstmann said. He said he and his wife like to hide in the background of the group for the most part and keep up with weeding out spam posts.
When the decoration day came at Schultz’s home on 21st Street, nearly a dozen people showed up to help. Some brought just their helping hands, others brought apple cider, zip-ties, scissors and tape.
Becky Cherney and her daughter Lily were among the helpers. Lily, a Monroe High School senior, said she passes the home every day for school and has fondly remembered seeing the house decorated over the years. Another mother-daughter duo, Tammy Davis and Hillary Gomer, also stopped by to help. Hillary had never met Christy before, but has long enjoyed seeing the house all decked out and wanted to help.
“I was surprised. I was overwhelmed. It really does touch my heart,” Schultz said. “This really does mean a lot to me, because I can actually do something. My cousins came over yesterday and brought all my stuff down (from storage) for me. I was really glad, because going up and down those stairs — I really can’t do it right now.”
Even just eight volunteers working for two hours would equal 16 hours of Christy doing the work, something she is grateful for. By completing the project, the home will once again be a visual thriller for area children and neighbors, and Schultz feels it’s a great tribute to her husband, who was always so supportive.
“My husband really loved it when I did this, though he didn’t really help me,” she said, smiling. “He loved it when I decorated and would see it when he would come down the streets and the lights are all lit up. Then when the kids came, they were always so polite. He just thought that was awesome.”
Now all that’s left will be getting people to commit to tearing it down in November.
