The Citizen, 2010-12-23, Page 22PAGE 22. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2010.Miniature city built near Walton for Christmas
A new town of more-than-40
buildings springs up every winter
just south of Walton at the Dodds’
homestead.
Maja Dodds, wife of Don Dodds,
started her collection of miniature
houses just under 15 years ago with
two buildings and a train.
“Originally, all we had was a
Canadian Tire, a bed and breakfast,
and the train,” she said.
“The Canadian Tire was what
really kicked off the collection, it
was a limited edition anniversary
model,” Don added, saying there
were only so many produced.
Maja remembers when her
grandkids, now approaching their
20s, would come to visit at
Christmas and be fascinated by the
collection.
“They could barely reach the train
engine to turn it on then,” Maja said.
“It was cute.”
The collection comes from all
different makes and models and
started on one table, but it has now
spread to several special-made
platforms, a bookshelf, and a nearby
china cabinet.
“Those [miniatures on the china
cabinet] are like a separate, close-by
town,” she explained. “If the
collection is Seaforth, then the part
on the china cabinet is
Egmondville.”
Don, who is in charge of storing
and wiring the set, says that the
collection has grown exponentially
in both ways.
“Originally, we started with one
box,” he said. “Each building has its
own special box that you have to put
the building or miniature in, then we
pack them in a bigger box.”
Dodds said that the collection now
takes more than 10 boxes.
The wiring is a challenge as well,
but worth it for the finished product
according to Dodds.
“We started out with just one
outlet, but now we’re up to seven
power bars running from three
outlets in the room” he said.
The buildings take a day to set up,
according to Maja, and she is
looking for more pieces to complete
the town.
“I’m still looking for a hospital
and an accountant’s office,” she said.
“I have a doctors’ office and an
apothecary, so the hospital would be
nice to fill it out.
“My one son is an accountant, so
we need to get that one,” Maja said,
explaining that the rest of thefamily’s occupations wererepresented with shops like a lawyer’s office.Throughout the town’s 43
JAMES BROWN PHARMACY
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Christmas builders
Maja and Don Dodds stand beside the village they build every year in their house. Comprised
of easily more than 50 buildings, scenes, figurines and lights, the collection has taken Maja
more than 10 years to accumulate. (Denny Scott photo)
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
Continued on page 23