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Have
you ever noticed that many of the Department 56 clubs define themselves
with words like addicts, dreamers, wacky, maniacs, jesters, flakes, madhouse,
etc? I figured out why one day when I clicked on Matt Lake’s Department 56
Extravaganza web site where the disease "villagitis" is explained. After reading
it I realized that I had a full blown case. (Don’t worry, it’s not terminal but
it is very contagious and my daughter now has it also.) From what I can
see most people don’t even realize they have it until they start running out of
room to store their little houses. By then it’s too late and you just have to
let it run its course.
I believe it was 1997 when mine started. My husband and I were in a
department store Christmas shopping when we happened upon a display of The
Original Snow Village. We stood there totally mesmerized like little
children in a candy store. After some discussion we purchased The Coca Cola
Corner Drugstore with the intention of adding a piece each year. That night
I had trouble sleeping with my mind racing with thoughts of how to display my
treasure. Little did I realize that I had caught the infamous disease "villagitis"
and was already exhibiting early symptoms.
Early the next morning, I was out the door and heading back to the mall in
search of more treasure. Needless to say I found several more pieces and my
village has been growing exponentially ever since.
Soon I was subscribing to the Department 56 magazine and the Village Chronicle. It was then that I realized that I wasn’t alone. There are a lot of crazy people out there! I started buying videos on how to set up displays and learning how to make mountains and rivers etc. My little village was becoming more like a small city and my children were making fun of me.
By 2003 I had won a Village Chronicle display contest in the Snow Village division and this year Department 56 featured a picture of my skating pond on their website under "Village Features & History."
It’s the first of September and Fall is fast approaching; my symptoms are surfacing again, stronger than ever (my “villagitis” tends to be more seasonal than some). Will I have time to set up my Halloween display or maybe I should jump right into Christmas……..should I add a train this year, hmmm? Oh, if only we had a bigger house!
Story and photos courtesy of Eileen Endres.