Resident creates vast village of holiday splendor
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| Messenger photo by Sean V. Lehosit |
| Resident Wilma Grubb has collected more than 150 village miniatures for the holiday season. The villages that wrap around her living room range from florist shops, to supermarkets and skating rinks. It has taken Grubb nearly five years to accumulate this collection and she wishes to let it grow. |
There is a small village on the Westside that is already covered in snow. The villagers are buttoned up and stroll all day through the town made up of more than 150 homes.
The mountains, busy locomotives and frozen lakes make for great holiday sights. There is one catch though – none of them are the real thing.
For nearly five years now, Wilma Grubb has collected village miniatures as a Christmas decoration. Her collection has grown so large, in fact, she begins to organize the elaborate setup early in October.
It started with the purchase of only a few, which she organized around a desk. However, every year she would buy new miniatures – small schools, barber shops and other venues – until they overwhelmed the desk.
As the collection expanded, Grubb received additional miniatures during special occasions from friends and family. The collection quickly became a passionate hobby.
“I still want it to be bigger,” Grubb said.
Even with 150 miniatures on showcase, more of her collection stays in storage due to a lack of space.
Throughout winter the villages wrap around her living room and a train spirals around her Christmas tree. The collection spills into the kitchen, where a community of homes flanks a miniature Ohio Stadium. In the sunroom, Grubb crumpled up paper and painted them to illustrate mountains.
Grubb said the villages bring out the magic of Christmas, a spirit that can dull in grown life, but is reinvigorated through the creation of her villages.
Sometimes she sits at night, with all the villages lit, and appreciates the gentle warm glow illuminating from more than a hundred tiny windows.
While it can be hard to hold onto the magic of Christmas every year, Grubb said the gleam in her grandchildren’s eyes make it easier. This, after all, is her favorite time of year.
“Next year I hope to make it bigger and better,” Grubb said. “If I had it my way, if I had a big enough room, I’d have them up all year round.”