40-foot tall inflatable leg lamp stands tall on Chickasha Ave.
From Jessica Lane, The Express-Star
An inflatable leg lamp in Chickasha has been blowing up on social media.
Modeled after the leg lamp in the holiday classic, “A Christmas Story,” the installation stands about 40-foot-tall on an oversized crate. The crate is printed with “this side up” and “fragile”—pronounced fra-gee-le for those familiar with the movie.
A crew has been working to secure the leg lamp at the Rock Island Depot on 1st. St. and Chickasha Ave. In the meantime, visitors have slowed down to snap pictures. The leg has generated some nostalgic chuckles from the public.
“We’ve been overwhelmed by the feedback,” Jim Cowan, Economic Development Council Director, said. “The fact that some pictures leaked out on social media before we could actually get this thing officially up—it’s been overwhelmingly positive,” he said.
Cowan said the general consensus has been “Hey, it’s been a crazy year, this is perfect.”
The leg lamp is also a piece of Chickasha lore.
A former resident is believed to have created the leg lamp prototype.
Noland James was a part of the original group of leaders who started the Festival of Light in 1993. He taught at the OU School of Visual Arts for 30 years.
According to his obituary, James created a leg lamp from a mannequin. The leg lamp was on view in his fourth-floor office until he retired. The obituary says a man was drawn to the lamp and had stopped to ask James about it. Later, this same man was on a production team for the movie, “A Christmas Story.”
Tim Elliott, treasurer of the Chickasha Economic Development Council, said, “We are excited to pay tribute to Noland James by adding this inflatable leg lamp to our Holiday festivities in Downtown Chickasha. We know over 250,000 people come to the Festival of Light each year and we hope some of them will stop off in Downtown now too.”
Chickasha Mayor Chris Moseley said, “Chickasha has long been known for its holiday celebration, this just adds more fun to the experience.”
