Christmas decor brings joy to Citrus Park residents after Irma

Blue tarps atop the many roofs of Southwest Florida are a faint reminder of the damage Hurricane Irma caused three months ago.

But the sparkling lights of Christmas decor at the Citrus Park community represents strength for residents like Richard Dodge.

“It makes our Christmas better,” Dodge said. “It kinda brings people together and that makes a lot of difference.”

For resident Mary Ellen Edeus, making sure the holiday decorations were up was more important than ever.

“I think the people here in Citrus Park really look forward to this every year,” Edeus said.

Edeus’s husband, who passed away, made it a tradition to decorate the site with items he built including a nativity scene and train track.

“I know my husband who made the trains here and cut out a lot of this, he had to be smiling up there at all the happiness he brought to these people and this park,” Edeus said.