Kenney Dickerson jokes the 86 angels in he and his wife Pam's yard can be seen from the International Space Station.

While Pam says this is a stretch, the cherubs, some pink in honor breast of breast cancer survivors, some with trumpets and some watching over smaller angels, glow brightly in the dark and can easily be found in the 500 block of Henry Street.

The angels are a way the couple honor the spiritual meaning of Christmas and they have also come to serve as reminders of near-personal tragedy.

On one night last year they served to honor the memory of those slain in the Newtown, Connecticut, school massacre, as most of them were turned off.

The Dickersons stand next to the first angel.

“My dad passed away in 1989,” Pam said. “Soon after that my son had a near death experience sledding. He just said he felt like his grandpa kept him safe.”

From there they were given an angel figurine, which slowly turned into an collection.

Then came the purchase of a big angel around 1993 or 1994 from a Christmas tree lot on Capital Boulevard in Raleigh.

It was the angel that started the purchase of many more, anywhere from Walgreens to Lowe's and Big Lots to Home Depot, Kenney said.

Within the last four to five years the Henry Street angels have become a Christmas decoration destination in Roanoke Rapids, Pam said.

“I'm shooting for 100 or until I flip the breaker and they won't start anymore,” said Kenney.

The angels require maintenance, Pam said. Six or seven have already been rehabilitated and the lights of one of the pink ones have started to fade.

“When I get them out I say a little prayer and flip the switch,” Kenney said.

They have added another outdoor receptacle and added to the breaker panel to keep the angels lit from Thanksgiving to New Year's Day.

For Kenney, it is worth the effort. “I think it's great.”

Neighborhood children come to look at them. “They all love it,” said Pam. “A friend's daughter is coming home from England and this will be her first stop.”

Friends have also related a story to the couple from last year of a mentally challenged child who needed to have his parents take him by the house to help him sleep.

Then there was the memorial last year when news of the Newtown shooting broke. “We were sitting and watched it unfold,” Pam said. “As a teacher and parent it was sad. Having taught first-graders it tore my heart and I wanted to do something to honor them.”

Only 26 angels were turned on that evening to remember the victims, 20 small ones to represent the children and the remaining ones to remember the adults.

The yard of angels stand as a testament to the Biblical meaning of Christmas. “I'm delighted to honor the birth of our Savior,” Kenney said.

For Kenney, taking the angels down at the end of the holiday season is a bit sad, but he says, “Then I look forward to next year.”