Unflagging Patriotism
Forget the solitary American flag on the front lawn.
Barbara Hewitt Laughray Boyd’s house on Liberty Bell Road is decked out in red, white and blue--from miniature flags on the mailbox, to Uncle Sam at the front door to bunting hanging from a second-story balcony--all to commemorate the nation’ 224th birthday today.
In a corner of this city with street names like Paul Revere Drive, Declaration Avenue and Town Crier Road, Boyd’s holiday spectacular epitomizes patriotism.
Boyd, a 53-year-old ordained minister in the Church of Religious Science, says her passion for decorating began about a dozen years ago with a Christmas display.
Since then, her love of seasonal showcases has expanded to include nearly every major holiday.
“I’m known as the ‘Holiday House,’ ” Boyd said, standing in her family room festooned with Americana. “People walk by and tell me they love my house.”
Even so, Boyd says she doesn’t spend countless hours decorating to impress her neighbors, but rather to add a spark of happiness to their lives.
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“I feel strongly that we are way too busy working to get the almighty dollar,” Boyd said.
“We say we are working hard for our children, but we are not taking the time to create the memories. This is my way of bringing joy to my family and my neighbors.”
Boyd says she feels a special connection to Independence Day because she was born on the fifth of July and her parents called her “firecracker baby.”
Add to that the titles of 1967 Rose Queen, wife and mother, and Boyd has the perfect all-American biography.
About a month ago, Boyd began hauling five cardboard boxes filled with Fourth of July memorabilia from the garage to the living room, a mere fraction of the 100 boxes of Christmas stuff she’s accumulated over the years.
Out came flags, bunting, ribbons, ornaments, stuffed toys, place mats, doormats, wooden signs and planters.
That was followed by electric lanterns and strands of white bulbs that would make her house a beacon of light after dark.
Boyd said she gets decorating tips from her friend, Debi Thomas, who annually adorns a credenza with Fourth of July objets d’art at her house on Califa Street in Woodland Hills.
Like Boyd, Thomas says she has an unabashed affinity for flag-waving and firecrackers.
As a child, Thomas, 43, remembers watching the fireworks explode above Pierce College from her parents’ Woodland Hills backyard. Today, she and her husband, Terry Coupe, will join 40 family members for a cookout in that same backyard.
“I’m a very patriotic person,” Thomas said. “I appreciate the values, morals and opportunities we have here. I’ve been to a lot of countries and this is the best.”
Thomas, who co-owns Traditions, a collectibles shop in Woodland Hills, said she finds it ironic that most of her Independence Day bric-a-brac comes from European manufacturers.
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Although the pieces are imported, Thomas said she likes them just the same.
“Vintage patriotic stuff is cool,” she said, gazing at a tabletop evergreen tree laden with red, white and blue ornaments and Santa figurines dressed like Uncle Sam.
“You can display them for Veterans Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, election day, Fourth of July and back to school,” she added. “It’s more universal than Christmas or Hanukkah.”
But unlike Boyd, Thomas says her decoration obsession stops at the front door. “I don’t have the energy to do the outside. That’s too much.”
