With their yard all aglow

Published 6:00 pm Saturday, December 23, 2006

The Hannons give south-end residents a display that rivals the Callaham lights.

Like most islanders who faced protracted darkness, Dave and Val Hannon are grateful the lights are once again twinkling.

Even if there are too many of them to count.

“It started out small,” said Val, of the sparkling spectacle that is the Hannon home on Blakely Avenue. “But then we kept adding things. We have no idea how many lights there are now.

“If we kept track, we probably wouldn’t want to do it anymore.”

Darkness, beware. Lights, candy canes and familiar yuletide figures assault, from all sides, the evening black that 11 months a year holds strong across the street from IslandWood.

The couple began amassing decorations nine years ago, after their children left the nest. They now regularly swap ideas with the Callaham family, who along with two other families produce a now-fabled display just off the highway at Seabold. Dave Hannon admits there’s a bit of rivalry between the households, both long associated with the Bainbridge Island Fire Department.

Work on the Hannon display begins after Halloween with the untangling of lights and ends near Thanksgiving, when the couple finally flips the switch.

“We try to start early so we can choose to work during the best weather,” Dave said. “This year, with all the rain, it didn’t matter.”

Take-down comes just after the first of the year. Finding storage space is a challenge. So is keeping things straight.

Val said she sketches a map each year to make sure she remembers how everything is connected. Still, inevitably, the couple struggles with several mysteriously-faulty strands.

“It gets to be too time-consuming to try to figure out which lights are broken,” Val said. “Sometimes it’s just easier to buy more.”

Other expenses include a spike in their electricity bill – about $75 or so – that lets them know the holidays have truly arrived.

“When you think about it,” Dave said, “even if you spend a couple hundred bucks a year, it’s worth it.”

Val agreed.

“People are so nice,” she said. “A lot of them stop and say thank you. It’s nice to get feedback.”

One woman even dropped off a gift, as a way to say thanks for the extra smattering of holiday cheer. Some have asked if it’s okay to circle through the couple’s driveway – it is, as long as drivers go slow and mind the family cats, who often prowl the luminous lane.

Any negative feedback?

“Our electrician checks on us every year,” Val said. “I’m sure he cringes whenever he drives by.”