Since 1988, native Georgian Rhonda Byrd has called Bristol her home. The two-family house she shares with friends and extended family is appreciated by both children and adults alike for the elaborate and whimsical Halloween and Christmas decorations she creates. When not fulfilling her artistic passion, Rhonda is a nurse anesthetist at Rhode Island Hospital. She received her Nursing degree from the Medical College of Georgia and her Anesthesia degree at Warren Wilson College in North Carolina. Armed with a captain’s license, Rhonda savors time on her 38-foot sailboat in both local and Caribbean waters. After an experience with breast cancer two years ago, Rhonda had volunteer bilateral mastectomies. Compelled to put pen to paper she has published, My Life Is More Valuable Than A Breast, Is Yours? She will be doing a book signing Saturday, October 17 from 1-2:30pm at Barrington Books.
It began with Halloween. I first started carving pumpkins and used wire to cut out the figures, just like one would use wire to cut clay. Each year the designs kept becoming more elaborate. I used to be mad that my mother always made me make my clothes and prom gowns. Now I am so grateful. I can sew anything. I made these huge spiders and a web. One year I was decorating and heard this voice from across the street, “I used to be afraid of you but I’m not anymore.” I just loved that. There are some people at Home Depot who say, “Okay, you’re back, what is it this year?” I almost had a disaster putting up a gingerbread village. I was so stressed and thought, “I don’t need to make these so elaborate.” So I’ve tried to scale back. Then last year I did Frozen because a little girl, Alya Scorpio, asked me to. This Halloween you’ll have to wait and see. For Christmas I would like to do a thank you display for the soldiers.
After I moved to this town I saw Alfred Brazil’s house beautifully decorated with mannequin carolers. I got inspired and made a train and had it out front. We got Honorable Mention in the Christmas decorations contest. It dawned on me that I needed to hide our house. I came up with the idea of Santa coming out of the house. That was 1992 and I still have that Santa and he has come out a couple of times since. We had already received two first places and we received our third first place using Santa so he is really special to me. He is frail, so his 25th anniversary will be his last. My favorite is the 9/11 display of New York’s Rockefeller Center. The real tree has 75,000 lights on it. We put 7,500 lights [on ours]. Crazy, I know! The year I was diagnosed with breast cancer I wasn’t going to do anything but my niece, Victoria, was visiting and said, “Oh yes, you are.” I chose Raggedy Ann and Andy (made previously), put up in a pink themed Christmas to represent what I had gone through that year. I don’t think anyone got it.
When I started I never thought of the response. There were cars lined up and lights coming in from the cameras. I have kids who are now parents bringing their kids. [There are] people laughing and smiling. I was taking the decorations down, which I usually have to do by myself, I’m tired, wondering why am I doing this and then I found a note tucked into the bushes thanking me. It is my gift to Bristol, the town I love. I’ll keep doing it.
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