BROWNSTOWN — A Christmas village with nearly 60 hand-painted ceramic buildings was illuminated with strings of white lights.
Figurines were strategically placed on the snowy streets, and the back part of the display featured a woodland scene with trees and animals.
On a nearby window counter, a snow park was set up with figurines making snowmen and snow angels and sledding.
It took Deb Schwartz and Dylan Bridges about three hours to set it all up inside the livery barn on the Jackson County History Center campus in Brownstown.
Throughout December, people visiting the history center’s fourth annual Festival of Trees could check out their display along with a few others and the 21 Christmas trees decorated based on a snowman theme and cast a vote for their favorite.
Since their display wasn’t one of the trees, Schwartz and Bridges didn’t know people could vote for it for one of the four awards handed out.
On Tuesday afternoon, they were presented the first-place ornament.
“We were shocked that we were in first place,” Bridges excitedly said. “It brings us joy when we see this (Christmas village), and it’s amazing.”
For the first two years, only a people’s choice award went to the tree receiving the most votes. Last year and this year, organizers still gave out that award but also first, second and third places since there was a record 21 trees or displays up for votes.
Other awards for the fourth year went to Brownstown Central High School FFA, second place; Janet Kiewit, third place; and Brownstown Public Library, people’s choice award. They each received an ornament, too.
The livery barn once again was illuminated with nearly 30 trees, including others that were decorated and lit up as filler, and several displays, including three with snowmen, a case with caroling figures and a woman riding in a buggy along with the Christmas village.
Schwartz said the village was inherited from her aunt, Marty Sloop, in 2018. Over nearly 40 years, she would have family members pick ceramic buildings to paint and add them to the collection.
“This is three generations of painting, and she just kept adding to the collection,” Schwartz said. “It just kept growing, and it ended up being like a family tradition.”
Each year, Sloop would set the village up in different areas of her home.
Four years ago, she decided to hand over the display, and Schwartz’s sister recommended it go to her.
“She put my name in the ringer and she knew I wouldn’t say no,” Schwartz said.
In 2018, Sloop showed Bridges and some of Schwartz’s former students at Brownstown Central High School how to set up a Christmas village, and they put it on display in the school’s auditorium lobby for the band and choir concerts in December.
“She says you have to create stories,” Schwartz said of Sloop’s guidance in placing the buildings and figurines to be arranged with a town, a neighborhood and a forest.
It also was on display for the concerts in 2019 but wasn’t the next two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
When history center volunteer Margo Brewer asked Schwartz to set it up with the Festival of Trees this year, she agreed to do so but was nervous about it since it would only be her and Bridges.
“Once we put down the snow and we ran those Christmas lights and we created our town, our neighborhood, our forest and outdoor play area, all it was was creating stories, and he and I did this in three hours,” Schwartz said. “We had fun setting it up.”
Schwartz and Bridges also volunteered at the Festival of Trees, greeting people as they came in to view everything.
“They are just absolutely amazed,” Schwartz said of people’s reactions to the Christmas village. “I’m tickled with it, but I also am a little bit overwhelmed, but it’s a good overwhelmed. It brings a lot of joy to different people, and that’s what it’s all about. That’s what Aunt Marty wanted. She wanted people to enjoy it.”
Besides being open every weekend in December and the week leading up to Christmas, the Festival of Trees could be viewed during special events at the history center, such as Christmas in the Barn, and group tours.
“It just really brings the spirit of Christmas to the community,” Schwartz said. “A lot of communities don’t have anything like this.”
The BCHS FFA chapter went with a white tree with multicolored lights and added a face, buttons and twigs and placed a pair of black boots at the bottom and a black hat on top to look like a snowman.
Chapter President Brocker Bottorff said Adviser Blake Hackman asked students what they wanted to do for a tree this year.
“They voted and decided on what to do. He really just let the classes decorate it and come up with the idea,” Bottorff said.
FFA member Kylie Eglen said students volunteered for the project, from buying the tree to drawing ideas of what it would look like to decorating it.
Fellow member Claire Schepman said she liked how the tree turned out.
“It’s great to have all of the students involved in making something,” she said.
Bottorff said he was really excited to accept the second-place award along with Eglen and Schepman.
Kiewit also was excited about winning another award, as she won people’s choice last year when the theme was “My Favorite Animal.”
This year, she thought outside the box and went with a deconstructed snowman. Ornaments on the tree were parts of a snowman, including coal, carrots and hats.
“It has a lot of homemade elements in it as well as bought ornaments,” Kiewit said. “I love this tree, and I think it’s going in my house next year.”
She also volunteered at the Festival of Trees this year and enjoyed interacting with visitors.
“I did get to see a lot more people coming through and how they enjoyed it, so that’s a new perspective,” she said. “I just really enjoy the other trees, and then I loved watching Dylan win, coming in first place. They are so excited about it.”
The library had its patrons and staff members make snowmen out of various materials for ornaments for the Christmas tree adorned with red lights, red garland and a snowman topper.
“We had a contest where people from the public — anybody — could come in and they could make an ornament, and then we gave away some craft books to the winners,” said Michelle Owens, youth services specialist at the library. “Then also, all of our staff made ornaments. There are some made by children and some made by adults.”
The library purchased the lights and garland, and the tree was donated by Barry and Teresa Cutter.
“It was just 100% a big community effort,” Owens said.
All of the winners said they are interested in participating in the Festival of Trees again this year. The theme will be gnomes and elves.