Christmas Village comes to life

Tom Anderson surveys his handiwork.

Looking for a Christmas tree to buy at the Outlaws Booster Club sale last week, Carl Newport unexpectedly found a magnificent miniature holiday village.

As it was early in the day, nobody was on duty at the tree lot so Carl went into the nearby Comfort Inn asking for help. Manager Tom Anderson said he could lend a hand and after getting Carl his tree asked, "Would you like to see something special?"

Carl followed Tom into one of the side rooms at the motel and was astonished at the beauty and creativity of Tom's miniature Christmas village set up on several tables.

There were carolers, trains, skiers, toboggoners, colorful buildings, tiny lights, carousel figures and other holiday items. Each building scene has controls for turning window lights on and off, doors opening and closing and trains running on "HO" and "J" tracks.

Carl went out to his car and brought his two-year old granddaughter, Delaney, in to view the majestic winter wonderland.

"I enjoy having children see my winter village," said Anderson. "Their eyes get as big as their head when they see the various figures, lights and houses."

Anderson has been at this for about 25 years.

"I start setting things up the weekend after Thanksgiving and it usually comes down in middle January," he said. "Each year it's different. I get a fairly good idea where the train track will go and then set up the rest of the displays around that.

"People come each year to view the miniatures and say 'I didn't see that before when I was last here'.

"This is a fun thing to setup and share with people at Christmas time. There are 20 women from Tollgate that swim here in the winter season. They always stop by and view the village Christmas setup," he said.

Anderson's friends participate in the creation of this unique village.

"My birthday is right around Christmas time and people tend to give me gifts for my village," he said.

Tom and his wife Mabel have been resident managers at the Comfort Inn for the past five years.

"Mabel has a good eye for suggesting how to set up display pieces in the village. I tend to carry out the electrical and building setups," said Tom.

Mabel also has about 500 teddy bears displayed year round in the motel's lobby.

"My next project is a Bethlehem village," Anderson said. "The people at Sisters Drug have been very helpful with ideas and suggestions. They are a very talented group."

There's no end in sight to this project.

"No, this is a work in progress forever."