By STEVEN MURREY
Managing Editor
smurrey@cherryroad.com

Walker family provides fun neighborhood display all year long

What started as a fun Christmas idea has become one of Elwood’s most well-known yard displays.

When the Walker family moved into their home in the 800 block of South Anderson Street in 2018, a friend gave them a life-sized skeleton. The Walkers named him “Bob.” At first, they used him like an Elf on the Shelf.

“We dressed him up in different outfits and moved him around the house, just like the little Elf on the Shelf,” said Jamie Walker.

After the holidays, Jamie moved Bob outside. Since then, his skeleton family has grown, and so to has the tradition of decorating them year round.

Today, Bob and his skeleton companion Izzy, along with their pet skeletons, are dressed up throughout the year. Jamie changes their outfits for every holiday, from St. Patrick’s Day to Veterans Day, while setting various scenes in between the holidays.

“My mom gave us most of the pets,” Jamie said. “We have Buster the dog, Tweety the bird, and a headless dog named Headless.”

Over time, neighbors, friends, and family have donated new items to help grow the display.

The tradition began outdoors in 2022 and has been growing ever since. It’s become something many in the neighborhood enjoy and talk about.

“I didn’t expect any of this,” Jamie said. “But I love it. I like making the other kids smile and making their day better.”

“It always makes me smile when I see it and when friends come to town, they always ask about it,” said one area resident on a recent Facebook post about the skeleton’s Memorial Day scene.

“My kids love seeing what you guys do with the skeletons when we drive by,” another comment reads.

Jamie’s husband Carl, who works for GBT, a dump truck company near Winchester, helps out with the displays. Jamie is a stay-at-home mom to two kids, ages 7 and 8, and she spends some of her free time planning new scenes. She keeps all the skeletons’ costumes in a cooler on the front porch. Jamie says she tries not to repeat any of the outfits.

“I couldn’t tell you how many outfits we’ve done,” she said with a laugh.

Some scenes are based on local or national events. When Mayor Todd Jones was running for re-election, the Walkers dressed the skeletons in campaign shirts. But Jamie says her favorite scene so far was a Veterans Day tribute.

“We recreated the famous Iwo Jima photo,” she said.

Jamie says people give lots of compliments, both in person and online.

“We’ve only ever had one complaint,” she said. “It was when we had a Styrofoam cooler and some beer bottles filled with water… they didn’t like that.”

Thankfully, the display hasn’t had any problems with theft or damage. The community has been very supportive, and Jamie plans to keep the tradition going, adding new members to the cast as time goes by.

Next up, she’s planning a big scene for the 4th of July. But before that, she’ll set up a new one for June.

“Maybe a construction scene for June, since that seems to be our state flower,” Jamie joked.