From Childhood Wonder to Lifelong Celebration
As a child, Harold Rains was fascinated by his family’s shiny, mercury-glass Christmas ornaments. They brought what color and glitter his family could afford to their small Kansas farm, and his fascination never faded.
In 1985, when Radko ornaments showed up at a Neiman-Marcus store, Harold was smitten.
“I’ve loved them from the start!” Harold says. “The painting, glitter, and molding is unbelievable. The ornaments I grew up with were their predecessors, but not nearly as detailed.”
These days, six Christmas trees in Harold’s home showcase some 2,000 colorful ornaments reminiscent of those from his childhood. These are unique, though: they are coated inside with silver, not mercury — amplifying their depth and richness of color. The bulk of his ornaments are “Christopher Radko,” but he collects others, too.
“The joy in decorating comes from bringing the ornaments out to see them again,“ Harold muses, “remembering what attracted me to each piece in the first place. It gives me comfort and pleasure and brings back fond childhood memories.”
Harold and his longtime partner, Donald Falk, eagerly await the arrival of new ornaments — usually from Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic, or Germany. Delivery can sometimes take a year.
Ornaments dazzle from every nook and cranny of their home. The “Twelve Days of Christmas” are displayed on a coffee table. Tiny carousels made in Canada carry characters like Winnie the Pooh and Charlie Brown. Above the fireplace hangs a 30-year-old wreath made of broken ornaments from a long-ago toppled Christmas tree.
“During the holidays, we have no table seating because they’re all covered!” Donald laughs. “That means no dinner parties.” Because 700 ornaments remained in boxes last year, the couple hopes to add more trees to their wonderland.
Their current six Christmas trees are artificial, as sap from live trees may damage the ornaments. The couple starts decorating late October and taking ornaments down from January often into March — each wrapped in acid-free paper and stored in climate- and temperature-controlled spaces to protect the paint.
Radko ornaments are now made in many countries under different company names — some by small-town husband and wife teams. Each ornament is created by hand — carved, molded, glass-blown, silvered and painted over several weeks.
It all began when a Christmas tree fell in the Radko home, breaking more than 1,000 vintage mouth-blown glass ornaments. Mrs Radko wanted to replace the Polish molds she’d grown up with, so her son Christopher flew to Poland to find them, only to find the ornament factory had been bombed in the war.
He had molds remade, hired European glassblowers, and in 1985, Christopher Radko Ornaments was born. Today there are more than 18 million Radko ornaments worldwide.
While Harold and Donald’s neighbors may not know the Radko story, they flock to take in the beauty each season. Some stare starry-eyed for hours at the enchanting scene, cameras in hand. “Our ornaments are varied and unusual, not the glass balls people normally think of,“ Donald says. “People aren’t used to seeing figurative ornaments such as animals, busts and birds.”
Neighbor Debbie Gardner says, “Twenty years ago I was a volunteer tour guide at the Pittock Mansion and thought they had the best Christmas display. I was wrong! The best decorations are at this house! I’m always in awe and try not to drool. It’s like being in a wonderland.”
In addition to treating neighbors with their seasonal displays, the couple is active helping their community. Harold was in government finance, working 20 years on a project granting wishes
for low-income children. He now heads a nonprofit for low-income hospice patients.
“I’ve been blessed to be able to help others,” Harold says. “Children can’t always help themselves nor can we as we age.”
“The same with ornaments!” Donald chimes in. “He just can’t help himself. Everyone feeds their passion, and this is Harold’s!”
Candy Puterbaugh is a wife, mother, grandmother, sister, groan-inducing punster, writer, competitive runner, pet lover, and tender of gardens.