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Troy | Rochester | Rochester Hills SHINING EXAMPLES: Holiday lights stop traffic, win awards December 26, 2003 BY BEN LEFEBVRE The Gonda family is, hands down, the brightest family in their neighborhood. Don't believe it? Just ask their neighbors on Hearthside Drive in Troy. If that doesn't work, ask DTE Energy. About 100 nets of white lights drape the bushes and trees surrounding the Gonda home. The house has 15 windows trimmed with lights and 250 feet of roped icicle lights hanging from the eaves. A family of snowmen greets visitors at the front door. From inside, wire-frame reindeer peer out from the bay windows. Five Christmas trees illuminate different rooms, including a University of Michigan-themed tree. Red poinsettias sit in the back room, and more are on their way to the home from Detroit's Eastern Market. The Gonda family was one of about 100 nominees in Troy's Best Holiday Decorated Homes contest. Award certificates were handed out earlier this month. Mike Gonda, 58, a retired DaimlerChrysler executive, typically starts decorating in late October and doesn't stop until about 30,000 lights bedeck his house. He said that the lights add about $300 to his electric bill during the holidays. And even though his wife, Cheryl, works for DTE Energy, the family doesn't get any assistance from her employer. "Everyone says we must get a discount," Cheryl Gonda said. "No, we don't." Still, Mike Gonda said his work is more about promoting and celebrating the holiday spirit than counting pennies. "It's like peer pressure," he said. "If everyone put something up, it'd look real nice." He's doing exactly what Troy officials hope for every year. Troy Community Affairs Director Cynthia Stewart said the contest, now in its fourth year, is to acknowledge residents who make Troy look good during the holidays. Five judges, culled from the ranks of theCouncil of Troy Homeowners Association and the city's Community Affairs office, viewed more than 100 homes and on Dec. 15 handed out about 60 awards. Certificates of appreciation and City of Troy Christmas ornaments were given to winners of such categories as Most Colorful, Best Holiday Spirit and Most Elegant, which the Gondas have won two years in a row, including this year. Troy resident Mike Downes says he has two words of advice for halving the electricity used in holiday lighting: blinking lights. He should know. His Troy Drive house won the top prize, Most Spectacular, in 2001 and again this year. He said he was thrilled to win and plans to clear off a wall in his house to hang the certificates. Stewart said that choosing Downes' house for the top prize was not a difficult decision. "It was spectacular, and it was tasteful," she said. "It lights the entire neighborhood up." She added that every time the judges passed the house, there were other cars parked nearby filled with spectators. Ropes of white light are draped on the bare willow tree in the Downes' front yard. A giant inflatable snowman raises a broomstick to greet visitors, while a polar bear wearing a purple robe stands guard near the driveway. Light-bulb deer graze on the front lawn, while two stuffed reindeer sit on the front porch like an old couple. Snowflakes and stars, made of bulbs that flash white before melting into blue, decorate the roof and garage door. Lightbulbs also spell out "Noel" and "Tis The Season" on the garage and roof. Downes, a 51-year-old auto designer, says he has 38 strings of 25-watt bulbs on his property. His wife, Margaret, expresses annoyance that she can't always get her car into the garage filled with ornaments that her husband picks up during after-Christmas sales. He doesn't make apologies, however. "Whatever strikes me, we go for," he said. Downes said that sometimes, when he's on the roof trying to attach the lights together with freezing fingers, he wonders why he bothers. "Then the first car comes around with a little kid with his face smashed against the window," he said. "Then I remember, that's why."
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