Singing Snowman designed to surprise and delight this Christmas season
By Kyle Valentini
Mike Exley wanted to do something fun and different for Christmas this year. He appreciates the hard work that goes into elaborate holiday light displays, but that's not quite the effect he was after.
He didn't want to annoy his neighbors, either. After a lot of research and creative engineering, Exley created the Singing Snowman for his own family to enjoy but for others as well.
"I grew up with holiday displays like Storybook Lane. It was that kind of charm I was after when I created the Singing Snowman," said Exley. The Singing Snowman is eight feet tall and is animated through the use of computer software and 636 LED lights that allow his mouth to open and close and his eyes to blink. He also plays the guitar.
The project began for Exley, a New Philadelphia High School English and speech teacher, just as summer vacation was beginning last June.
"I had seen some Christmas displays on YouTube last Christmas. I started to do a little research and thought it might be fun to do a creative display for Christmas this year," said Exley.
"I had seen singing faces. There was a guy in France who had done a singing snowman but I wanted to take it a step further. I'll admit, I thought I could do it better." It didn't take long for Exley to realize the project was going to be an extensive one.
"Mike is happier when he has a creative outlet," said Anita Exley, Mike's wife. "He is involved with a lot of creative things. He directs plays at the high school, creates sets, but the logistics for this project were different."
"I was creating something for myself," said Mike Exley. "In theater, you often create something and then it's gone or repurposed into something else. The singing snowman was designed to last a long time.
" Using corrugated plastic like the kind used to make all-weather signs, Exley poked hole after hole in the sturdy sheet using a soldering gun."I had drawn the snowman on an 8.5 x 11 inch piece of paper and then scanned that into the computer to enlarge it," said Exley.
"I wanted him to be a fun, jovial snowman much like Sam from 'Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.'" Each hole contains a light bulb, and all of them are connected to hardware that allows Exley to control the lights from his computer.
The Singing Snowman is programmed to sing and play guitar on five different Christmas songs. "It takes 24 hours to program one song," said Exley.
"That is why he only has five songs in his repertoire now." "He needed to find songs that featured guitar as well," said Anita Exley.
"That wasn't as easy as I thought it would be," said Mike Exley.
"County music seems to be the best resource for Christmas songs with guitar.
" In order for visitors to hear the Singing Snowman, they must tune in to 95.1 FM on their car radio when they are in front of the Exley home. "First I had to find a frequency on the radio that wasn't being used. That took a while. You can hear the Singing Snowman because we use a low-powered transmitter," said Exley.
"You have to be pretty close to the house to hear him. Our neighbors can tune in at home and hear him, but you wouldn't be able to hear him if you are too far away."
Exley recruited the help of New Philadelphia High School choir director Kristi Prucha to get her students to create a radio ID. Exley's son Adam, a sixth grader at Welty Middle School, ends each broadcast of the Singing Snowman by thanking everyone involved.
The Singing Snowman can be heard from 6-11 p.m. at the top and bottom of each hour. Each performance lasts about 10 minutes. The Singing Snowman will perform through Dec. 31.
Videos of the Singing Snowman can be seen at www.fanamaze.com.
"For the first time ever, what I envisioned in my head came out exactly as I had imagined it," said Exley. "And it was surprisingly easy." The Exley home is located at 1211 Lakeview Rd NW, New Philadelphia.
All are welcome.