Since the late 1950s, Buckley Brothers Inc., located at 258 E. Main Street in Wilmington, has displayed a star on top of its grain tanks to celebrate the holiday season. “I think it’s a focal point, we like to see it, everybody likes to see it lit up for Christmas time,” said Mark Buckley, Owner of Buckley Brothers Inc. The star stands over ten feet tall and is placed roughly 150 feet in the air. It was originally welded together with the help of a local farmer, Ed Keiter.
Traditionally, Buckley Brothers lights the star after Thanksgiving. According to Buckley, “my father used to tell me that years ago, that if the star wasn’t lit by Thanksgiving, they’d [the store] get phone calls wanting to know why the star wasn’t lit.” In recent years, however, they have been lighting the star to commence the beginning of the HoliDazzle parade. According to Mark Ostermeier, the star’s mechanic, the parade organizers contact Buckley to light the star. Once it’s lit, the parade begins.
Until roughly five years ago, Buckley Brothers used to lay the star down in the months prior to the holiday season. However, upon the installation of antennas, they are unable to lay the star down and have left it upright. According to Buckley, they’ve only taken the star down from the top of the grain tanks once, in order to refurbish it.
This year, the store has made several changes to the star. The lights on the star have been converted to LED. In addition to changing the type of lights, they added nine lights to the star, giving it a total of 48 LED light bulbs. In the future, they would like to add more lights to the grain tanks; however, the wind at that height can limit their ability to add lights. Buckley Brothers also added a Christmas light at the bottom of the grain tanks that shines upwards and flashes on the tanks.
Learn more about Buckley Brothers Inc. at buckleybrosinc.com.