“I thought the exhibits were wonderful,” said the president of the Heritage Center of Lancaster County. “I was really impressed.”

The experience led to a partnership between the Heritage Center and the Christmas Center’s founder and director, Jim Morrison.

That collaboration became “A Lancaster Christmas,” now on display at The Lancaster Quilt & Textile Museum on North Market Street.

“It’s about nostalgia, which isn’t something the Heritage Museum usually specializes in,” Seibert said. “But honestly, that’s what we were going for with this exhibit.

“It’s not an intellectual show,” he said. “It’s more about how Christmas evolved throughout the years in our homes.”

The exhibit celebrates the Christmas season by re-creating family living rooms adorned in authentic decorations from the 1920s to 1960s. Morrison designed the displays using items from his own collection, and the museum provided some of the vintage furniture.

“Jim invited us to tour the Center, and I’m so glad he did,” Seibert said. “It was a fortuitous introduction. I’m really crazy about this exhibit.”

Since childhood, Morrison has collected keepsakes from his favorite holiday — starting with a glass Christmas tree ornament he found in someone’s trash. As he grew older, his collection grew larger and more impressive.

Morrison always dreamed of creating a museum that would celebrate the best of the Yuletide season, and five years ago he found the place to do it: a 20,000-square-foot banquet hall on Lincoln Highway East in Paradise.

Last year, the Christmas Center received a generous write-up in the December issue of Martha Stewart’s Living magazine, in which Morrison was praised for his collection of vintage tree ornaments, nativity sets and life-size figurines.

Morrison said the Christmas Center was established to help adults appreciate the Yuletide season as they did as wide-eyed children.

“When somebody looks in a display case and says something like, ‘Hey, that’s my Christmas mug when I was a kid!’ I love when that happens,” he said last year.

“A Lancaster Christmas” allows viewers to get a glimpse of authentic Victorian Christmas decorations, a Santa figurine display window and an enchanting selection of Christmas trees.

As the visitors walk further into the exhibit hall, they come across “living rooms” that represent the 1870s to the 1900s, and finally the ’20s to the ’60s.

There’s a Victorian room, lavished in lace, with a tree decorated in old-fashioned ornaments. The 1915 room has a fireplace, brocade curtains and wreaths.

The Quilt Museum’s tour guide, Warren Evans, said one of his favorite rooms is dedicated to the 1940s.

“See the Marine banner and the photograph of the soldier sitting on the cabinet?” he said Friday. “It really looks like someone’s living room during wartime.”

The ’60s room marks the popularity of man-made materials with a revolving aluminum tree. At the time, ads celebrated these modern alternatives to pine as “The Last Tree You’ll Ever Need!”

“See the toys under the tree?” Evans said. “A real Mr. Potato Head (’60s edition) and a Tooty Frooty game. Isn’t that something?”

Evans said the exhibit, which opened in October, has been receiving “raves” from visitors.

“People just love the exhibit,” he said. “Adults start remembering decorations from their childhood, and little kids press their noses to the windows to get a better look at the Santa Claus statues.

“Our curator, Wendell Zecher, used to be a carpenter, and since the summer, he’s been transforming the basement level of the Quilt Museum into a great display area,” Seibert said. “It used to be a garage.”

Seibert also praised Morrison’s ability to transform the space into a winter wonderland.

“Jim came in here, and it was like a blitz,” he said. “He was done in two weeks. He just has a great eye for everything.”

As for invoking nostalgia, Seibert said the exhibit is a success.

“A lot of people will remember what Christmas was like in downtown Lancaster when they come here,” he said. “Remember the Christmas decoration you could by at Woolworth?

“The ’60s room brings a lot back to me,” Seibert said. “That shag carpeting and everything. That’s my childhood.”

He said state Rep. Mike Sturla actually contributed to the ’60s room.

“He was closing his mother’s house right about the time I was looking for some retro items,” Seibert said, “so he allowed us to use some of her things to enhance the display.”

He pointed out that even people who grew up in the ’60s will recognize the decorations from the earlier decades.

“Christmas has a mixed-generation aspect to it,” he said. “People inherit old, favorite ornaments and figurines from their families.”

Seibert said he hopes to renew the Heritage Museum’s partnership with Morrison next year.

“We wanted a show that makes people say, ‘I remember when,’ and that’s what this does,” he said. “So far, people have loved the exhibit. We’d be crazy not to do it again next year.”


The National Christmas Center Presents: “A Lancaster Christmas” at the Lancaster Quilt & Textile Museum, 37 N. Market St., runs through Jan. 15. Adult admission is $6; children get in free. For more information, call 299-6440 or go to www.lancasterheritage.com. blog comments powered by Disqus