Former mayor recalls Yellowknife's early days of holiday lights

With over a hundred Yellowknife homes in the race for best holiday lights this year, a former city mayor recalls light displays being much simpler 20 years ago. 

Dave Lovell has lived in the city since the 1950s and served as the mayor of Yellowknife from 1994 to 2000.

He says there were only a few holiday lighting displays at the time.

"The odd person would put up a tree out in the front yard or something. But it was nothing like what's done today. You know, it's way beyond what it used to be."

Lovell said the city first started putting up holiday lights in the 1990s. 

"When the city first started to put the lights out, it was sort of a good thing because everyone was sort of pretty gloomy and angry at their neighbours and everything else," Lovell said.

Lovell recalls a moment from when he was a councillor during the Giant Mine strike in 1992. 

"I was on city council at the time and the mayor said, 'I've given orders that the Christmas lights be left on day and night.'"

Back then, there was just a telephone pole and a 300-watt bulb around his house, he said. 

"In those days you gotta realize there was not ... street lighting. I'm not talking about traffic lights. I'm talking about the street lights."

Nominations for Yellowknife's annual holiday lights competition concluded last Friday. Over 100 homes are in the running. 

Yellowknifers can now vote for their favourite homes until Jan. 6. 

Lovell said he loves the decorations at city hall. 

"I live right across the avenue from the city hall display, and I'm really fond of that," Lovell said.