Why is a '70s Christmas bell still hung in Mount Dora? plus other Lake holiday memories

An old streetside holiday decoration and a heartwarming story are behind a series of social media posts coming from Mount Dora.

"Have you wondered why a 1970s City Christmas bell decoration adorns a telephone poll on Clayton Street and Third Avenue?" asks the Mount Dora History Museum on a recent Facebook post.

In the past week, the museum and City of Mount Dora-Government Facebook pages have posted pictures and narratives explaining the bell's backstory.

The story goes back 50 years, explains the history museum. Melanie Mae Wise, a young girl who suffered from epilepsy from the age of 1, loved to go on drives with her parents, Fred and June Wise, around town to look at the Christmas decorations.

"When she could no longer go, Art Womble, Mount Dora Utilities Director, decided to hang the decoration on the utility pole outside her home for her to enjoy," the museum's Facebook post says, adding that for the past 50 years, city employees have continued the tradition of hanging the decoration even though Melanie Mae died (at age 15) in 1977 and her parents no longer live there.

More: Let there be light

"It’s quite possible that no one in the Utilities Department today even knew Melanie Mae or her family, yet they still uphold the tradition of hanging the decoration in her memory," the post said.

Here are a few more memories of Christmases past:

This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: Why is a '70s Xmas bell still hung in Mount Dora?