The Shadow
Ten years ago —December 6, 2013 to be exact— Donna Dressler-Miller, who prefers to be addressed by her first name, stopped at the Covington Courthouse after her shift at West Rock [formerly Westvaco] to capture a photo of the newly-decorated tree out front.
“…That night, I had gone by the courthouse and saw the tree and I thought, ‘you know, that’s the prettiest tree I’ve ever seen decorated,’” Donna began. “I just loved it. It was all different colors. It was just beautiful and it just caught my eye… and everything was kind of down in Covington at the time.” Donna then parked her car by the old Wells-Fargo and stepped out to capture a photo of the impressive tree.
“I just started taking pictures all the way down the street… When I got home, I thought, ‘I’m not ready to go to bed yet’…” Donna said. She then took her digital camera over to her computer and started downloading the images. What she saw next completely shocked her!
“All of a sudden, there was a little wisp-looking thing at the tree… the third one [photo of the ‘wisp’] was this,” Donna stated, pointing at the large canvas painting of her 10-year-old photo which hangs in one of the offices at the Covington Courthouse. “I just started crying. I cannot believe this! I just cannot believe this… That’s an angel and you’ll never tell me any different.” She then called her daughter to disclose her amazing story of how she captured a photo of an angel standing in front of the Covington Courthouse by a beautifully decorated Christmas tree.
Since she captured the photo, Donna has given away many copies and learned of a beautiful story about the very tree that captured her attention on that December night ten years ago.
Apparently, the tree had been decorated by Sylvia Via that year. Via, an Alleghany County employee, lost her husband, Donnie, the year before and was still trying to cope with his passing. As a way to distract from her broken heart, she volunteered to don the tree in front of the Covington Courthouse with sparkling Christmas lights, believing it would bring her comfort and it did… In more ways than she could have ever expected.
After Donna captured the photograph of the angel in front of the courthouse and learned of Via’s story, she said those details made the photo all the more precious and special. We can certainly agree.
As for Sylvia Via, we dedicate this article to you and your angel. Merry Christmas!
