CATAWISSA RR - It's not hard for 92-year-old Mary Marut to recall her family's Christmas display that once spanned the living room of her Springfield childhood home. The display, which featured a train and a waterfall, was built from scratch by her father, Peter Harris.
The size and complexity of that type of display is something that is not easily forgotten, she said with a laugh.
While looking at two 8-by-10 photos taken some 85 years ago, she points out in detail every area of the display that transformed the Maple Avenue home into a holiday attraction: mountains made from spray-painted wrapping paper and a Christmas tree positioned in the center - so large it required the ceiling to be protected by paper to prevent scratches.
Marut, who now lives with her daughter in rural Catawissa, said an arrangement was made between her father and Thomas Studio in Shamokin to take the photos of that year's display. The photos reveal a display built out of love for his family, and also the community where he lived.
Also in the display was a 2-foot model of St. Edward's Church, in Shamokin, that included a small organ redesigned by Harris to play music. Near the church were houses made from small, delicate pieces of wood; Santa Claus on a sleigh pulled by reindeer, and tiny cars on streets surrounded with lampposts that could be illuminated from a switchboard nearly a foot long.
"Everything was homemade and everything lit," Marut said. "It was wonderful."
Harris' affection for his community stretched far beyond the walls of his home, she said. Harris, who operated several family owned greenhouses near his home, organized the planting of dozens of conifers near the Springfield playground and a bank along state Route 61 at Luke Fidler, which today stands as one of the area's largest natural restoration projects. The plantation was named after him and was marked by a brown and white sign that bears his name. It is still visible today, next to the trees that now stretch to the sky.
Through all her father's personal and professional triumphs, Marut said the annual display was still one of his most talked about accomplishments.
"At the time, I had no idea how neat it really was," she said.
Over time, parts of the display were distributed among family members, with many pieces surviving today. However, some were not as fortunate. The model of St. Edward's Church was donated to the congregation of the church, but was destroyed when the actual church burned in a spectacular fire on April 8, 1971.
Although the display is now gone, the size and detail of it has been preserved through the photographs taken decades ago. Marut made copies of the photos to ensure future generations of her family can appreciate the originality of the display during a time when few technologies existed.
"They were thrilled. They were really thrilled," she said of her family's reaction. "They thought it was really neat."