The spirit of the season — in miniature
The train carrying Santa comes around the corner as skiers descend a snowy mountain high above. Skaters glide across a frozen pond while water flows from a fountain. Over there is a farm with livestock and a windmill. A Ferris wheel spins while revelers ride in sleighs and shoppers check out the stores.
And it’s all happening in a North Little Rock garage.
For 13 years, Richard and Bonnie Nannen have assembled this postcard-perfect Christmas village at their 2308 Crestwood Road home, and in that time about 12,000 visitors have walked down the Nannens’ driveway to view this miniature winter paradise.
But it’s all about to end. On Saturday, the Nannens will pull the plug on their winter village for the last time. The last four days of viewing begin Wednesday, with the village on display from 6:308:30 p.m.
“We always said that when we turned 80, we’d be done with it,” says Bonnie who, like Richard, is 79.
The couple, married for 60 years, has two daughters as well as grandchildren and great-grandchildren. They are speaking in the living room of the home they bought in 1970, when Richard took a job with Commercial National Bank and they moved to North Little Rock from Lincoln, Neb.
The village out in the garage, with its little shops and houses, began in this room with just a few pieces.
“There were roughly three houses on the coffee table, and it kept growing and growing,” Richard says.
When it threatened to overtake the house, the Nannens, who are both retired, moved it to the garage and decided to invite people to take a look-see with a sign posted in their front yard that says,
“Walk down and view our Christmas village.”
And people did, especially after the first year or two when Richard had “Walk down” added to the sign.
“People didn’t realize they could come down and look,” he says.
Neighbor Nicole Schafer makes the trek down the drive with her daughters Kate and Caroline on a Saturday evening to see the little village for the first time.
“We just live right over there,” Schafer says. “We drive by here all the time, but we’ve never stopped.”
Both Kate and Caroline agree that the train was one of their favorite parts of the village, while their mom is impressed with the effort it must have taken to assemble it all.
“It was beautiful, and lot of work,” she says. “It was bigger than I thought it was going to be. They’ve got water running through it and moving parts. It was really nice.”
Another visitor, Tamara DeBoard, is taking in the holiday cheer with her son, Luke, and her stepfather, Tony Violette.
“We’ve been before. It’s amazing,” DeBoard says.
“The entire thing is just gorgeous,” Violette says. “The craftsmanship and everything is just fantastic.”
The village sits on a special table made by Richard and takes up a good piece of their two-car garage. He built the snowy mountains using insulating foam and rigged a motor from a rotisserie grill to keep a tiny sleigh with Santa and his reindeer constantly circling over one mountain. The whole thing sits behind a screen to keep curious little hands from reaching out to touch some part of the village.
Besides assembling the town, the Nannens also decorate their yard and their home’s exterior with Christmas lights. An archway spans the drive and is watched over by a pair of toy soldiers. There’s a manger scene, carolers and Santa being pulled in his sleigh. Icicle lights hang from the roof line.
“We have the serious part of Christmas, with the baby Jesus, and we also have the fun part of Christmas,” Richard says.
Stringing lights on all those figures is Bonnie’s job, and she pays close attention to the details.
“[Richard] measured every inch of the frames and then I divided by an inchand-a-half because that’s how much each bulb takes,” she says. “There are 50 bulbs in a cord and I wanted to know if I was going to come out with even cords or if I would have some cord left and would have to adjust.”
They usually get started decorating and putting items out in October, but this year was different.
“We were behind with everything,” Bonnie says, shaking her head. “I was in the hospital when we should have been decorating. He usually has the lights up in October, but it didn’t get touched until after the first of November.”
The couple does more than just put up the lights and assemble their village. Dressed as Santa and Mrs. Claus, they greet visitors, have photos taken and pass out candy canes.
It’s not unusual for visitors to also bring little gifts.
“There was one teenage boy,” Bonnie remembers. “He was mesmerized. His folks kept saying ‘Let’s go.’ They must have told him three or four times.”
About 30 minutes after they left, the boy returned with a fruit basket for Santa.
“I’ve gotten lots of candy and cookies,” Richard says.
The occasional treat is where they draw the line, though.
“People say, ‘Let us donate some money to you,’” Bonnie says. But she and Richard aren’t interested. “That would take all the joy away from us.”
After 13 years, the Nannens have become familiar with some of the regulars who stop each year to see how the village has grown. One family has been coming since their daughter was a year old. They now have four children.
“They were over here a couple of nights ago,” Bonnie says. “‘This is our annual ritual,’ they said. ‘Now we’ll just have to come knock on your door.’”
Although their winter wonderland will remain packed away next year, the Christmas spirit will still be around for the Nannens.
“The village will be shut down,” Richard says, “but the lights will be on.”