Residents show their Christmas cheer in house and yard decorating

Thursday, Dec. 21, 2006

Click here to enlarge this photo Greg Dohler⁄The Star A snowman playing golf helped win a ‘‘spirit” award in the City of Bowie’s Christmas decorating contest for this home on Medina Lane, owned by 71-year-old Tony Bergenwald.

This year, Frosty’s practicing his 9-iron on Bergenwald’s front lawn.

The 71-year-old won yet another award from the city’s house decoration contest. Bergenwald was one of 16 that earned awards for various methods of showing holiday cheer through lights, figurines and festive ornaments.

The city judged several houses throughout the city on categories such as the best traditional display, the best religious display and the best colonial display. There were several ‘‘spirit” awards given to well-decorated houses and three awards given out in honor of families known for their Christmas decorations.

Bergenwald won one of the spirit awards and has won in every year of the contest except one.

His secret – add something new every year.

His display features a snowman playing golf on a green – Bergenwald is an avid golfer – an inflatable penguin, a large star lined with lights on his roof and lots of candy-canes lining his yard. Most of his decorations are hand made.

‘‘Every year you just add something different, make it look new,” Bergenwald said. ‘‘The kids love it, even though it does get harder every year, especially climbing on the roof.”

House decorating is a Bergenwald family tradition – his daughter and son-in-law, who reside in the Grady’s Walk neighborhood, also won an award for their house decorations.

The city would not release the names of the other winners, but the following are the address of those who received awards:

*The Richard ‘‘Dicky” Anderson Award – Steven and Lenice Roberts, 7911 Old Barn Road, Saddlebrook East

*The Pirmohamed Family Award – Vincent DiLeonardi, 12411 Rambling Lane, Rockledge

*Woodson Family Award – Leonard and Ruth Drumm,12419 Shawmont Lane, Somerset

*Best of Bowie, traditional – Darrel Barfield, 16207 Pointer Ridge Drive, Pointer Ridge

*Best of Bowie, colonial – The Galentine family, 11901 Grady’s Court, Grady’s Walk

*Best of Bowie, religious – Donald and Barbara Beach, 12306 Starlight Lane, Somerset

*Spirit Awards – Jesse and Joyce Thomas, 3012 Belair Drive, Buckingham; Lynn de Seve and Scott Seymour, 12105 Forge Lane, Foxhill; the Westbrook family, 6307 Grady’s Walk, Grady’s Walk; Kelly and Patricia Rowe, 12810 Kendale Lane, Kenilworth; Kenneth Dailey, 12624 Millstream Drive, Meadowbrook; Keith Norris, 3514 Moylan Drive, Meadowbrook; Theresa and Johnny Carruthers, 8001 Overfield Court, Overbrook; Sam Huston, 1705 Perrell Lane, Pointer Ridge; Kristin Fitzgerald, 3007 Twisting Lane, Tulip Grove.

The winners used different methods and decorations, from simple wreaths and natural garland to red-capped frogs to a large-scale nativity scene.

E-mail Jason Flanagan at jflanagan@gazette.net.