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DECEMBER 30, 2021-JANUARY 5, 2022
Looking by Back Ed Pany Weaversville to War, Part 1 of 5
Herbert J. Ruch served in the U.S. Army from 1941 to 1945. Photo courtesy of Beatrice Christoff. Today, Mr. Larry Oberly and this writer are visiting Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Christoff. Stanley’s wife, Beatrice, was an excellent student in my Northampton High School classroom. She takes us back to World
War II, when her father, Herbert J. Ruch, served in the U.S. Army from 1941 to 1945. She has discovered a 34-page diary and 268 letters. He never talked about war Continued on page 4
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Sights and sounds of a winter Wonderland on display in Northampton By KERI LINDENMUTH If you spend a winter evening walking past 1220 Main St. in Northampton, make sure you take a moment to pause and listen. You may hear the songs of carolers. The engine of a train. The echo of a silversmith. Follow the sounds up 1220’s front steps (a sign on the front porch invites you to take a peek). One glance through the front windows and you’ll be transported to a miniature winter wonderland. There’s a snow-covered school with children playing outside. A Salvation Army marching band performing. A crackling fire that villagers gather around to keep warm. Warmly lit mansions decorated in garland. A farm with the animals out to graze. A ski lodge and ranger station. A 5&10, a barber, a bank, a cafe, and a newsstand. A nativity scene. Look closely and you’ll see kittens playing in the snow, a woman selling wreaths, and a horse pulling an ice cart. The handpainted Christmas putz on display is the work of Nancy Kumernitsky, 91. She has been painting and displaying ornate Christmas putzes since the 1980s. Children walking down Main Street to get a snack from the nearby convenience store often stop by, eyes wide, as they watch the moving skiers, the twinkling trees, and the dancing skaters. Kumernitsky’s Christmas putz rivals the holiday window display of any department store. “I love watching the kids,” Kumernitsky says when asked why she continues to put the putz on display every year. “Their eyes sparkle,” she adds
with a smile. She watches from her living room, waving people up who may be too shy to approach from the street. Her daughter, Jean, says the joy of other people is her mother’s greatest joy. The putz truly is a labor of love. It takes anywhere from one to three weeks to construct the eight-and-a-half-foot-long display. Meanwhile, painting a single building can take hours (this year’s putz has two dozen stores, churches, and school buildings on display). Some of the villag-
ers Kumernitsky painted had their eyes painted on with a cat whisker, as that was the only tool small enough to capture the details. Kumernitsky’s father started Continued on page 3
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