Members You Need to Meet
Linda and Noel Hyde
March, 2011
Every holiday season folks come by boat and car to gaze upon the sparkling scenes surrounding what has become known in Punta Gorda Isles as Christmas Cove. These breathtaking displays are a gift from Linda and Noel Hyde.
The Hydes, who have been married 45 years, met in high school in Texas. Noel, a pharmacist by profession, enlisted in the Navy and their travels began. His first assignment took them to the Naval Hospital, Subic Bay, Philippines. He said he drew the lucky straw, because the other pharmacist commissioned that year was sent to Iceland. Linda, an elementary school teacher, who sailed through college in three and a half years, had no trouble obtaining teaching positions at each of Noel’s nine duty stations.
“Linda has college credits from 13 different schools and has probably filled out more successful job applications than anyone you know,” he said with pride.
Other duty stations were perfect venues to support the Hyde’s love of sailing, most notably San Diego, Port Hueneme and Oakland, CA. Noel’s career included oversight of the largest pharmacy in the Navy, the medical care of the Navy Seabees and Civil Engineer Corps, and the deployment of the hospital ship’s staff on the USNS Mercy bound for Operation Desert Storm.
Sailing is what brought Noel and Linda to Punta Gorda in 1990, where they found a waterfront lot to moor their boat “Kismet,” moving here permanently in 1996.
So what about those spectacular Christmas lights? Noel was born on Christmas Day and it’s always held a special place in his heart. They decided to convey the spirit and joy of Christmas through their light displays Linda, the creative talent in the family, first sketches the ideas, then draws them on their driveway. They cut the netting, twist-tie the lights, and hang the displays from the rigs of their boat as well as their neighbors. Remember that happy pink pig adorning neighbor Tom Carroll’s boat “Pig Pen”?
Their collection features a trumpeting angel, a poinsettia/watering can, a Christmas tree, a snowman, a wreath and a dove. Assembly starts in October when the displays are rebuilt, the lights are checked, and installation begins. The Hydes admit this could not be possible without their friends, neighbors and fellow church members who volunteer to sit on the driveway for hours helping with the work for only ”a cold beer or a glass of wine for their efforts.”
Electric costs increase an extra $100 for a display to $400 for multiple displays during the time the lights are illuminated.
This year Christmas Cove featured 13 fabulous designs, including a giant champagne bottle pouring bubbly into a glass in the cul de sac in front of the Hyde’s home, special for New Year’s Eve. Then, as the lights go out and the Cove goes dark, the process of disassembling, lowering, folding, wrapping and storing begins. What a huge undertaking for this lovely couple who thoroughly enjoy spreading the spirit of Christmas from their hearts to ours.
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