It was once a small, intimate collection that has quietly and quickly grown into a large village for Boyle’s mayor.
Over the past five years, Mayor Bob Clark has been creating an elaborate Christmas village in his home – a project that has gone far beyond what he originally began as a hobby.
“I started with just a few little pieces on the hearth of the fireplace. And then it just seemed wherever I went I saw something that would, ‘Well, that would be nice to add to it,’” he said.
“So it went from the hearth to the coffee table to a spare bedroom and now it’s (on a) ping pong table top plus an extra piece.”
The village has almost 300 pieces – which includes 29 buildings, various people, animals, a train and railroad tracks.
The pieces come from all over – anywhere where he’s visited.
“The pieces have come from Victoria to Phoenix, Arizona and all over western Canada, wherever I go and I see something and I pick it up. Every year, there’s new types of figurines that I like to add,” Clark added.
It takes Clark two weeks from start to finish to build and take it down, plus the layout changes every year. The village stays up for most of December and January.
Clark stated he creates the village because it’s enjoyable and because of the expressions of the faces of the people who come to see it – he invites people from the senior’s villa and people with children.
“When people come and look at it they say ‘Oh my gosh’ and they start looking at the different pieces and they say ‘Oh where did you find this?’ or ‘Isn’t that different?’” he said.
“The sayings and expressions on people’s faces is as much enjoyment as looking at the parts. It’s bringing joy to people at this time of the year.”
