Colonial Theatre & the invention of electric Christmas tree lights

Bonnette, Page & Stone Corp. in Laconia is part of the ongoing renovation of the historic, downtown Colonial Theatre. One of the many things we enjoy about working on historical construction projects are the stories shared with us by those with past connections. Historic structures given a second chance by being brought into the present can evoke emotions, reactions and spark memories to be shared.

A Lakes Region native shared a memory with us he had of the theater manager who kept a friendly but acute eye on everything taking place there. Recently, we had the pleasure of learning of a fun story, timely for the holiday season, involving that same theater manager.

Did you know the Colonial Theatre has a connection to the invention of the first string of electric Christmas tree lights? Stories credit the Colonial Theatre’s Executive Theater Manager Ralph E. Morris with the invention of wired miniature Christmas tree lights in 1911. Morris was the manager of the Colonial Theatre from 1933 until 1965.

Prior to his employment with the Colonial Theatre, Morris, a Massachusetts resident who relocated to Laconia, worked at the New England Telephone & Telegraph Company. The telephone switchboards at that time used flashlight-sized bulbs to light up the boards and indicate which number was being called.  Some stories say the invention was a result of Morris’ toddler son, Leavitt, nearly setting the family Christmas tree and house on fire after knocking over a lit candle. This was a far too common accident back in those days. Morris was determined to create a safer way to illuminate the tree and parlor area of his home and other family homes without the use of candles. During the next year, he spent hours soldering small light bulbs similar to what was used at the telephone company to strands of wire. He used pieces of colored crepe paper and formed covers to place over the light bulbs, creating colored lights. The next Christmas he surprised his family and friends with a beautiful gift of yellow, orange and green electric lights decorating the family tree and parlor.

For many years, Morris, his family and friends believed he was the inventor of the first Christmas tree light. However, they were not aware the first Christmas tree light was invented in the late 1800s by the vice president of Thomas Edison’s electric company, Edward Johnson. Johnson resided in one of the first neighborhoods in New York to be wired with electricity. One evening while setting up the family Christmas tree, he hand-wired 80 incandescent electric bulbs covered in red, white and blue paper on his tree, connected them to a power source, and voila: The debut of the first electrically-lit Christmas tree. 

An estimated 150 million light sets are sold in America each year, lighting approximately 80 million homes each holiday season, according to a Dec. 15, 2016 blog posted by HolidayLEDS. We have, thankfully, come along way since the days of hanging candles on a tree, and are grateful for the out-of-the box thinking of Edward Johnson and Laconia’s own Ralph E. Morris.

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Author's note: To the best of our knowledge, the above is all factual. However, if there is anything incorrect that has been noted, we welcome you to contact us and let us know. Thank you to the variety of sources used to research this information, including Smithsonian Magazine, HolidayLEDS Blog, Warren Huse and The Laconia Historical and Museum Society.