Inside the Portage County line By GENE KEMMETER of The Gazette CHECK OUT THE DISPLAYS: With gasoline prices at the lowest they've been in years, this is a good time to drive around Portage County to look at some of the Christmas decorations that light up the countryside. There are a number of beautiful displays throughout the area, many more than there used to be, and they deserve viewing. One can drive through almost every neighborhood and see some wonderful decorations. A frequently mentioned display on Water Street-Minnesota Avenue in Whiting was shown in last week's Gazette, but a photo doesn't necessarily do justice to the lights, augmented by lights on an antenna across the street. There are places in the areas around Almond, Amherst, Rosholt and Junction City areas that are lighted in grand splendor. And most of those places are on the more major roads. In the older neighborhoods, many houses are tastefully adorned with icicle lights and swag lights. Some yards are filled with large lighted figures, or homemade figures illuminated with spotlights. Ironically, with all the displays, seldom are there more than four houses in a row with outdoor lights. Maybe the neighborhoods are all populated by golfers, who only play in foursomes. * * * A SIGN OF CHRISTMAS: Sunday's dusting of snow varied from area to area. Stevens Point got about 2 inches, while areas around the town of Hull reported 4 or more. The snow maintained the tradition in the area of a white Christmas and helped instill many with a better feeling of Christmas, but how many years has Christmas been white? Milwaukee reports that it has a white Christmas only 40 percent of the time, and this year wasn't one of them. The last three Christmases have been white in Portage County, but what's the percentage? Those who record the weather here don't have the records, which means someone would have to dig out the records by searching from year to year to see if there was snow on the ground. It's not something that's usually reported in newspapers.