By Lynn R. Mitchell
It was a brisk and blustery evening to meander the neighborhood as the sun sank tonight behind the Appalachians. Magical twinkly lights lit up the darkness … white and colorful and brilliant … the illuminations brought holiday cheer to the cold December night. Lighting was tricky so there’s some blurriness but it was fun to see my neighbors’ houses all dressed up for Christmas.
Photos by Lynn R. Mitchell
December 13, 2014
LynnRMitchell.com 
By golly, Belle Vista did very well !! Great photos!! When I was growing up, there were always two real unforgettable annual “treats” for Bettie Mel and me; #1 – Pop put us and Mom in the car and rode up and down both sides of Chamberlayne Ave. (ran parallel to Seminary Ave. where we eventually lived from my age 9 on) Those big old private homes were always lighted to the hilt at Christmas. Most eventually became “Tourist Homes” after the depression and during WWII. #2 – We always went downtown and parked on the street and savored the Christmas show-windows at Miller & Rhoads and Thalhimers. Naturally, I was always most fascinated by the M&R 5th and Grace corner window’s electric train displays .
My sister was named after MOM’S old-maid Aunt, Bettie Melville Samuel, who rescued Mom at about age 9 from the predictable education-less farm life “drudgery” facing her in Caroline County, and brought her to Richmond and educated her. Consequently, after being sent to “Secretarial School”, Mom had some superior (for a girl) jobs before she and Pop were married-Mom at age 25. The Richmond Stove Company gave the newly-weds the three-piece sterling silver Tea set on tray you have seen as a wedding present. They liked her !! Bettie’s name was misspelled Betty way into her adulthood before someone noticed the discrepancy. She was always “Betty Mel” in my growing up years. She eventually became more sophisticated and dropped the “Mel”. YLSF