A Christmas Tradition

February 18, 1978, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

Well, this is a bit late, coming so long after the Christmas season, but its Winter, so we can live with it.  This village looks so much like the one my Mom put up every year in our own dining room.  It may not have been as extensive and certainly never got the press this one did, but it was a cherished memory for all the years I lived in that house.  The trees and the church in the right photo look just like the ones she had, and of course, the display grew yearly.  She'd put old coffee cans to make hills under a white sheet and sprinkle fake snow around to give it an authentic look.  I marveled at her ingenuity and I was always thrilled when the village made its appearance because this one act signaled, for me, the start of the Christmas season.