Famous Local Light Display Has Dimmed

For many years residents on Rosemont's Agena Court put up extravagant holiday decorations. People came from all around the region to see the color and light show. Some years, up to 100,000 people inundated the neighborhood in cars and buses, some from as far away as Stockton.

"Tour buses would park on Huntsman," said resident Allan Guillory. "And 50 people would walk around the street to see the lights."

Residents handed out thousands of candy canes to the visitors. 

But no tour buses are expected on the street this year. Its light show has diminished, and residents don't decorate with the enthusiasm they once did.

"It's not like we used to," said Agena Court resident Tim Warren, who still decorates with LED lights, but no longer displays animated figures like a waving Santa Claus.

Guillory said that the main reason for the change is "waning enthusiasm" for the project. He doesn't blame the state of the economy. "No, it's just that we're all getting older. We've been doing this for 25 or 30 years.

"When everybody had kids, they decorated a lot," Guillory said. The kids are grown and gone and have no interest in coming back to continue the tradition. As the enthusiasm dimmed, so has the Agena Court light show. Many of the trees that were once adorned are gone, victims of disease or old age. Ablaze with lights, those were a big part of the décor.

This year, several of the 13 homes on the street, whether from disinterest, illness or infirmities, have no lights at all. Those that do are skimpy when compared with the years when it was a star attraction of the season and traffic jams were common on streets leading to the Agena Court cul-de-sac.

"This year is quite a bit less than most years," Guillory said, adding that about 20 percent of his own decorations have yet to be put up. "I'm still fixing broken light strings and things like that."

The cost of running all those lights is not a factor for Guillory, either. "My electric bill was only up maybe 50 bucks [or] 75 bucks for the month."

Guillory proudly showed photos of the display as it once was and offered them to show how it used to be.

Whether the others decide to decorate or not, Warren said, "is up to them."

Agena Court is still unique in one major way, however. All but a handful of the residents have been there for the entire 35 years, since the houses were brand new.

"We all moved in the same day," Guillory said.

Guillory is not aware of any entire Rosemont neighborhoods whose residents have what he calls the "insanity gene" his neighborhood had for extreme holiday decorating. He does say there may be as many as a half dozen homes in the community that have taken it to that extreme. "Maybe even a couple of 'twosies," he said; side-by-side residents who caught the bug.

The Agena Court lighting tradition is not entirely dead, but is certainly dormant. Those looking for a holiday spectacular may still want to drive by just for old times' sake.

Take Huntsman Drive to Agena Court. It's between Rosemont Drive and Mayhew Road.