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Allen County Edition Ed E Reaching Fort Wayne And Surrounding Counties
www.seniorlifenewspapers.com
Vol. 34, No. 8
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%\ 9,1&( /$%$5%(5$ )HDWXUH :ULWHU In the Lerner and Loewe musical, Brigadoon, a Scottish village of the same name appears for one day every 100 years. Similarly, in Betty Olry’s household, a Christmas village that seems magically transient slowly is beginning to make its annual appearance during another holiday season as it has for some 40 years. Before she married her husband, Al, in 1966 and they raised two daughters, Traci and Cynthia, the most creative Olry got decorating for the holidays involved hanging beer cans on the Christmas tree in her apartment. When Olry’s daughters were old enough to get part-time jobs, they bought their parents a couple of Department 56 houses, a U.S. manufacturer of holiday collectibles, ornaments and giftware, known for its lit Christmas village collections.
Olry continued purchasing a couple of houses every year and has reached a total of 65, she said. Usually, the village set up with its people and accessories reaches three layers and fills a room. “But I can’t just stack one layer of houses on top of another, it has to be realistic so I create stairs leading to each level. And that takes time,” she emphasized. Olry began creating and setting up this year’s display in early November and hopes to have it completed by mid-December. Her husband does his part. “He moves the stuff downstairs, sets up the Christmas tree and puts the lights on it,” she explained. “If I do more, he has to do more,” she added. The Olrys store the treasured houses and accessories in an upstairs walk-in closet. Other items needed, such as Styrofoam shelves, tables, bricks, even a glass vase for support, are stored throughout their dwelling on Stone Lake in southwest Fort Wayne.
Olry was raised on a farm in the Rome City area, specifically Kneipp Springs located on Sylvan Lake, 45 miles north of Fort Wayne. Her first memories of celebrating Christmas were when her dad (or mom occasionally) took her, her two sisters and three brothers out on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning to look for Santa Claus. “While we were away, Santa had magically come to our house,” said related. At an early age Olry got involved in 4-H where her creativity began to blossom. She took an interest in baking, especially creating decorative cakes for weddings and other special occasions. She then refined her baking skills, studying under various cake-decorating artists and attending numerous conventions. She has created so many cakes and gingerbreads for various occasions the pictures of each confection when stacked on top of each other reaches 17.5 inches. Continued on page 3