By: Helen Elkins
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
Having trouble finding joy this Christmas? Spend some time with Montpelier’s resident elf and holiday happiness will naturally well up in you and overflow.
Melinda Richmond has a zest for life which can barely be contained.
One cannot be in the presence of this lovely lady without getting caught up in her Christmas spirit. Her love for the holiday season and the community is contagious.
Her father Max DeGroff was the original Montpelier elf. Melinda said her dad and mom always scrimped and saved to have gifts to give each year.
“Dad loved Christmas,” Melinda shared, “and he always made a big deal about it.” It was his love for the holiday which gave her a love for the season and an admiration for Santa Claus.
She has a collection of over 100 Santas, most of which she’s made or painted herself. She also gets Santa ornaments, figurines, pictures, etc. from family and friends.
Along with the Santa collection, she also collects sleighs. She admits that her first love is Santa, but the sleigh is very important to her holiday traditions.
One Christmas, long ago, while living in the farmhouse, she heard the sleigh bells and looked north to see Santa’s sleigh going across the sky.
Each December, as all 19 family members gather together in her home to make their traditional buckeyes, they hear the sleigh bells. “He flies over each year to see who’s been naughty or nice,” Melinda explained.
“I’ve always heard the sleigh bells around the holidays,” she added.
When people ask her if she still believes in Santa, she says, “Yes, I have always believed and will continue to believe.”
Although she loves and collects Santa, she recognizes the source of the holiday. “The mantle is the reason for the season,” she said, referring to the manger scene, one she painted, which rests above her fireplace.
For her, Christmas combines the birth of Jesus, the One who gave the ultimate gift, and the story of St. Nicholas, who sold everything he had to give to the poor, sick, and needy.
The reason she likes Santa so much is because of what he represents. “He gives gifts to the children in need,” Melinda said.
She enjoys giving gifts, as well, especially homemade ones. To her, they are much more personal.
Melinda starts making gifts in January, sometimes 30 to 40, to give to friends and family the following Christmas. In keeping with her Santa collection, she paints four new wooden Santa figures each year, one for herself and one for each of her three children.
She loves to paint. She paints on almost anything: glass, ceramic, trays, plates, etc. but her favorite is the wood cutouts, which Marvin Blanchard provides, and she even takes painting classes at the Blanchard home.
Along with her other hobbies, Melinda makes, paints, and decorates Putz houses and always has a village, ceramic or cardboard, under the Christmas tree.
Melinda is very generous to those she loves, but her generosity and gift giving doesn’t stop there. She also makes and paints little ornaments for guest who stop by for a visit. There is always a little something for everyone.
Decorating the house is another way to keep the Richmond traditions alive and show Christmas spirit. After the Thanksgiving meal, several boxes come down and decorations are up within the week.
Her generous spirit is mirrored in the abundance of holiday decorations adorning the house. Several Christmas trees, villages, sleighs, nativities, and Santa decorate the Richmond home and boast of a family who cares. “Christmas is a time to enjoy your family,” said Melinda.
Inside and out, the Richmond house pronounces that Christmas is here and it will be filled with good cheer.
Helen Elkins may be reached at publisher@thevillagereporter.com