Local yard looking a lot like Christmas

Rev. Dr. Richard J. Bradley, pastor of Mt. Pilgrim Baptist Church in Opelousas, said when he returned to his Ville Platte home one evening just after Thanksgiving, “I didn’t recognize the place.” That’s because his wife, Regina, had strung up lights, wood cutouts painted by youngsters at Evangeline ARC, lined the front walkway with candy canes and put up more Christmas decorations. Beside the usual inflatable Santa and Frosty the snowman, there is a giant inflatable reindeer (Rev. Bradley’s favorite), an inflatable pool with an elf and a polar bear, and a reindeer that bobs to the surface of the water, and an inflatable RV trailer. People driving by the house, at the corner of East LaSalle and North Chataignier streets, have been slowing down for a better look, and sometimes going around the corner for a second look. The Bradleys have made their home, inside and outside, look a lot like Christmas this time of year during the three years they have lived there. But their six children, 12 grandchildren and two great grandchildren, some coming from as far as California, will still be as amazed as Rev. Bradley was that one recent night when he saw it for the first time this year.