OTTUMWA — Pheasant hunting wasn’t much good on Saturday. There’s still too much corn in the fields, to the relief of pheasants and the disgust of hunters and farmers alike.

But Saturday’s weather was decent enough. Breezy, but not anywhere near what Friday was. No rain like on Thursday, either. So Ron and Steven Donohue and Steve Tanner headed over to Ottumwa Park to see what they could do to help get this year’s version of Holiday Nights ‘N Lights set up.

The bulk of the work was done on Saturday. A few hardy volunteers had gotten it started on Thursday in the rain. And others had wrangled a few of the pieces into position on Friday despite winds chamber director Terry McNitt estimated had 50 mph gusts. And there’s some more left to do.

Saturday was the big day, though. Some 50 volunteers turned out, some of whom have experience dating to the first display several years ago. The Donohues and Tanner were repeat help as well.

“It’s really not too bad of a day for it,” Tanner said. “I think it was 20-50 degrees colder last year.”

The trio moved around the park by pickup, making sure the displays were properly anchored and keeping an eye open for burned out bulbs. There weren’t many to spot. Volunteers try to get to them before the displays go out because it’s much easier to replace them while the frames are still on the ground.

“I’d say there’s probably been 10,000 bulbs screwed in the past few days,” McNitt said.

That’s one of the lessons learned over the years. McNitt remembers some unfortunate volunteers had to clamber up ladders to replace bulbs on archways and tall displays the first couple of years. It was tricky, if not downright dangerous work.

That seat-of-the-pants arrangement has given way to more methodical approaches that are actually a lot faster. Experience is paying off so that volunteers have a general idea of how to do the job, even when it involves a new display.

There are 10 new displays this year, about one-fifth of the total for the event. Some established favorites are back, like Old Man Winter and Santa’s toy train. The biggest new display is a fire-breathing dragon, something McNitt said should drop some jaws when people come through.

What leaves McNitt in awe is the volunteers themselves. People come back year after year. Some prefer basic stuff like screwing in light bulbs. It’s not exciting work and it goes on for hours, but people are willing to do it.

Others focus on getting the arches and tall displays in place.

“We have a couple volunteers that come back every year and have that down to a science,” McNitt said.

Despite the progress on Saturday, there’s still work to be done. It’s down to what McNitt called “the tedious stuff,” those final preparations that make the difference between a smooth opening and a panicked one.

Opening night is Nov. 21. That’s when there will be a full opening ceremony. But people will see the lights before then. The walking tour to benefit the trails committee is one night earlier and there will also be a VIP sneak preview.