The Citizen, 2017-12-07, Page 14PAGE 14. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2017.
Belgrave woman puts years of work into display
years when Doug had to get involved
and help make more space in the
living room.
Gerry said that much of what she's
designed has been based on the
world of Harry Potter. So, while it is
most certainly a Christmas display, it
borrows heavily from J.K.
Rowling's creations.
And while Gerry is always on the
hunt for new additions to her winter
wonderland, she has taken to making
a lot of them herself.
Gerry has been a crafter her whole
life, so it was only natural that she
would begin to put her own spin and
creativity into the project.
It started, really, she said, when
she began wanting to add pieces that
she couldn't find or that didn't exist.
Things like snails or water
fountains or lakes were just not part
of the model world, so Gerry worked
with items she had around the house
like beads and glue to make the
items herself. Now, they blend
seamlessly into the display with all
of the store-bought items.
Doug says that he enjoys the
display as well and he's worked to
add tiers to the display. Due to the
size of the family's living room,
Gerry can no longer expand out, so
she has to go "up", thus Doug has
constructed several shelves so that
the display can continue to grow.
Doug says that sitting in the living
room and looking at the display, he
feels he sees something new every
time he looks at it.
Similarly, Gerry says she loves the
disp ay to just look at and dream.
Marking the occasion
Gerry Fortune of Belgrave has been working diligently in recent years to expand her miniature
holiday display. Although, at this point, it may not be so miniature any longer. In recent years,
Fortune has worked hard to add to the collection, even creating her own custom pieces,
drawing on her years of crafting experience. (Shawn Loughlin photo)
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Gerry Fortune of Belgrave, along
with some help from her husband
Doug, has been working for years to
put together one of the more
impressive holiday displays you'll
see in Huron County.
Fortune has amassed a collection
of dozens of model buildings and
hundreds of miniature characters,
animals and property pieces that she
assembles every Christmas to create
a small city that takes up the
majority of her and Doug's family
room.
The collection features ceramic
buildings, people and vehicles that
used to be commonplace in the
department stores of decades gone
by, Gerry said. Every Christmas
such figurines would be on sale at
Zellers, Walmart or Sears. However,
in recent years, she said, they have
gone out of style and have become
harder to find.
She continued to add to her
collection over the years, but really
took it to another level in the last few
Spanning the room
The holiday display at the Fortune residence in Belgrave
only has one place to go now and that's up. Any further
expansion would mean people couldn't enter or exit the
home. (Shawn Loughlin photo)
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