A little light competition for holiday?

Keeping up with the Joneses can be taken to an entirely new level when it comes to Christmas lights.

Nobody knows this better than Murray's Oren Shepherd. He lives next door to Marty Slack, a Salt Lake County fire captain famous for his front-yard display of more than 70,000 lights.

Every night in December, there's a traffic jam on Whispering Pines Circle as people drive from miles around to see the yuletide spectacle, which is now one of the largest in Utah. But what most people don't know is that Oren is the one who quietly started it all 30 years ago, with a light-up Nativity and a few strands of lights.

The 73-year-old retired insurance salesman gradually added new decorations over the years and now has a collection of more than 40,000 lights, including bulbs that crisscross his roof "Christmas Vacation" style.

Although he isn't tempted to compete with Marty, Oren does take top billing when it comes to the most important aspect of the two blazing displays: He has more juice.

"Years ago, I had 10 new outlets put in so I could have more power for my lights," he says. "Mine are on continuously, but Marty can't turn all of his on at once, or he'll blow every fuse in his place. He's a whiz on the computer and has set his lights to blink on and off. It's really quite amazing. I have to stand back in awe."

When the Slacks first moved into the neighborhood about 15 years ago, they didn't do much decorating, says Oren. Then one November, 3-year-old David Slack came over to watch Oren put up his lights, saying, "Anything you can do, my dad can do better. My dad is going to put up more Christmas lights than you."

Oren still chuckles at the memory. "I thought it was wonderful that he admired his dad so much," he says. "Maybe David had something to do with how many lights you see over there now."

Between Marty and Oren, there's probably enough electricity sold in Murray to give every city employee a raise. One week after the two neighbors turned their lights on for another season, I caught up with Oren and his wife, Verna, over a Free Lunch of deli turkey sandwiches at their festive home. The place wasn't hard to find, even in daylight.

For starters, there's a giant Santa swinging a golf club outside. Inside, a miniature train chugs around a slowly revolving Christmas tree, and every available surface is covered with Verna's handmade collection of Santas, reindeer and Nativities.