Sierra Mountain Times

Hundreds and hundreds of friendly characters beckon, “Welcome to Christmas on a Farm!”

Story and photos by Greg Kristapovich

The snow falls and much of it clings to the pines and evergreens; the carolers sing their cheery melodies around town; characters that bear uncanny resemblances to elves start popping up here and there; Santa arrives in Sonora via helicopter; numerous homeowners put up impressive light displays that could rival that of the famous Griswold’s home!  Christmas in Tuolumne is very special, indeed! A grand tradition at Christmas is visiting the Kutch Family farm (a real, working farm) in Jamestown! Upon their land is  one-plus acres of Christmas decorations; hundreds and hundreds of them! The family cheerfully invites the public to go on a free walk-through tour of their display! This year, their theme is “Christmas on a Farm,” and the production is impressive! The Kutches started setting up their walk-through tours about sixteen years ago; and every year, its bigger and bigger. “It’s about a quarter bigger than it was last year!” proclaims Eric, patriarch of the family. “This year, we added a gingerbread village; ‘Santa’s stable, with reindeer’; we about doubled the porcelain houses in the Christmas village; and now, we have singing snowmen and a snow cavern full of polar bears, snowmen and penguins!” In fact, says Eric, they’re having a contest: kids can guess how many penguins are on their 1 ½ acre set. The winner will be determined Christmas night, notified and awarded a prize!  There’s also a petting zoo where you can feed alfalfa to the cute little goats!  There’s no charge. And, you can meet the Kutches: Eric, who raises exhibition poultry; his wife, May; daughter Leahana, who raises exhibition rabbits; son Grant who has Holstein cows. It’s an absolutely fascinating tour, and the Kutches are there to greet you, with free candy canes for all! Their farm is located at 10833 Golf Links Road, just off Hwy 108. Walk-through tours are between 6 p.m. and 11 p.m., nightly, through New Year’s Day! Call them at (209) 984-4773 for more info!

The “1 ½ acres of lights” has to be seen to be believed!

Winner in Twain Harte’s “Light Up The Town” Christmas decorating contest, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce, is the Harte Collection gift shop on Meadow Lane! And, it’s easy to see why! It’s stunning!

Adding the finishing touches to his holiday masterpiece, Steven Duke of Sonora decorates the window at Twain Harte’s Sportsman Coffee Shop! “I love doing paintings! I’ve been doing that ever since I was a little kid. I even helped design the yearbook in the 6th grade! I painted my first window in 1995, for the Sonora Historic Merchants Association! And I was on the front page of the newspaper!” Duke revealed with glee. A short time after this photo was taken, Duke was found decorating the windows at the Sonora Pizza Factory; using a cardboard pizza box as a pallet for his paints! A resourceful and artistic man, indeed!