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Chase Garland sets up a three-tiered Christmas train display every year at his Partlow home in Spotsylvania County.
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As soon as the weather starts turning cold, Chase Garland starts thinking about the holidays.
"All my life, I've always loved Christmas," he said. "The rest of the holidays are just another day on the calendar for me."
A lifelong resident of Spotsylvania County's Partlow, the 83-year-old Garland makes the holiday special for others, too, who visit his enormous Christmas village.
He's always had a train running under his Christmas tree. But about 15 years ago, he started building a little village. A decade ago, it grew into a whole Christmas city.
When asked how much room it takes up, he chuckles, "Too much!"
The first deck is about 18 inches off the floor and is 5 feet wide and 8 feet long. His big train runs along the outside of that deck.
The second deck is 4 feet wide and 6 feet long.
The third layer is about 3 feet square. Santa and his reindeer fly around the top.
"It's as high as I am tall," Garland says.
The display stays out through January, but Garland says leaving it out year-round isn't an option.
"I'd get run off!" he said. "It takes up about a third of our living room."
Each layer has ice skaters and plenty of red-suited St. Nicholas figures he refers to as "Santy Claus." One's writing a list, one is dancing with Mrs. Claus, in honor of Garland's wife of 61 years, Roberta. One Garland bought for himself.
"I played music for about 28 years," he said. "So I got a Santy Claus playing a fiddle."
Music was just a hobby for Garland, who worked in engineering supervision at the FMC cellophane-manufacturing plant in Fredericksburg for 39 years and nine months.
Now the Christmas display has become his hobby.
He carefully places carolers who sing, ice skaters who skate, children who pop up and throw snowballs, and running-water fountains.
There are ice cream and cookie houses, a post office and fire station, and a carnival complete with a Ferris wheel and merry-go-round. A farm on one side includes tractors and cows.
There's a railroad station and the "Dead End Hotel," which Garland says "stays pretty booked up."
Garland's not particular to any particular brand of Christmas village pieces. He just buys what he likes.
"It takes me two weeks to get it all put up," Garland said. "My daughter and son-in-law come in one weekend to help me."
Taking down the display takes even longer. Each house and electrical item has to go back in its own box, matched up with the correct cord.
"There's a different voltage for everything," he said. "And it takes up half the basement just storing it."
Garland gets the trains running and the lights working every day when he gets up, but it's best viewed after dark.
"Anyone who wants to can come by and see it," Garland said. "Quite a few come and the kids get a big kick out of it. There are lights flashing everywhere.
"I love Christmas, I love children, I love people. It's a thrill for me to have the children come in and get all excited about it. I love to watch them.
"I tell the children when they come in, that this is Christmas in Partlow."
Laura L. Hutchison:
Email: lhutchison@freelancestar.com
