Wallingford’s Mercier family – owners of the Halloween House / Winter Holiday House –need your help

For those of you that are unaware, the Merciers are the family that lives on the corner of South Elm Street at Pond Hill Road where it heads towards Lyman Hall.

Each year for the past couple of decades, they have been decorating their side yard with seasonal displays; first at Halloween and then again at the end of the year for the Christmas Season.

In 2009 they were featured in the Record Journal article titled Friends, family keep yard display going, where there were some troubles for the family in keeping up with the costs of the lighted displays.

Wallingford stepped up then to help out at that time and unfortunately the family needs help again for a very different reason.

The following information was supplied to me from the Pitt family who own Wallingford Computer Center regarding the current plight of the Mercier Family:

 

Many local residents in the Wallingford area know them as simply, the couple from the Halloween House or The Christmas House, depending on the season.

John and Linda Mercier have built up an abundant supply of holiday yard displays including many inflatables during the last twenty years at their South Elm Street property and openly invite the community to visit.

For many families it has become a yearly tradition to visit John and Linda who are known to joyously greet their visitors with a smile and and candy.

Sadly, last Sunday afternoon, John took what his wife described as a horrific fall off of a ladder when he was taking down some Halloween decorations. He fell some 20 feet which caused multiple injuries to his face, arm and eyes. He will need surgery to repair his arm. His eyes, which already had near blindness in one, have been damaged.

John has been in ICU at Yale, but Linda said once stable, he will probably be moved to a nursing home or rehabilitation center. Due to her own disability, Linda who is wheelchair bound most of the time, would be unable to care for him at home.

The couple has already been having a rough year, financially and now with daily trips for Linda to the hospital, even paying for parking has become a strain.

Linda’s church has pledged to pay for her gas to help her in getting to and from the hospital and eventually when John’s in rehabilitation. Neighbors have helped with household chores and she's getting some assistance for meals.

When the community began to hear about the accident, they were asking what they could do for this couple who has brought so much joy to the community. Friends feel their immediate need is financial.

 

My family has enjoyed, for free, their displays for the past eight years. We never stop in their driveway as so many do; my kids like to drive back and forth past it so we travel the long way home many times just to see it – yet again.

I am putting up this post using Katrina Pitt’s message above (in bold) in the hopes the community can come together a little here and help them out.

I am going to donate a little bit of my own cash to the effort; I hope that if you have the ability to do the same that you will help out.

It’s probably not the biggest tragedy of the year or even the season but as described it is a big impact to this family.

And I can’t think of a better example of an everyday family that personifies “Wallingford”

If you can – please help.

Donations are being collected via the Pitt family at Wallingford Computer; you can make your check out to Linda Mercier and drop it off or mail them c/o Wallingford Computer 428 N. Colony RD Wallingford CT 06492 (rather than mailing them directly to Linda Mercier and having them sit in her mailbox while she is not at home).

For those of you with questions please email me – Jason@Zandri.net and I can follow up with the Pitt family who is organizing the effort. Obviously if you know the Pitts or are customers of Wallingford Computer you can contact them directly.

Most of us are not wealthy and do not have a lot to give. Skipping a week’s worth of coffee or brown bagging a lunch could allow for a small donation.

A little, in abundance, is a lot.

Thank you for the consideration.