GERHARDT CONTINUES HOLIDAY HANDIWORK IN MICHIGAN

When it comes to Christmas displays and decorations, few can equal the handiwork of Tom Gerhardt.

"I think Christmas is my favorite season," said Gerhardt, a former Cape Girardeau resident who now lives on Portage Point in Onekama Township, Mich., on the western side of the state along Lake Michigan, about halfway between Muskegon and Traverse City.

While living in Cape Girardeau, Gerhardt was involved in the restoration of the historic Glenn House at 325 S. Spanish after it was turned over to the historical association on Dec. 31, 1968.

But it was his decorating of the Glenn House for the Christmas season for which he was particularly known. The decorations involved antique toys, trains and Christmas ornaments.

Gerhardt left Cape Girardeau in 1986 to live year-round at the family home in Michigan, taking with him his artistry in Christmas displays.

For the past five years, he has lavishly decorated the home at Christmastime.

Gerhardt said a couple hundred people a year have viewed the Christmas decorations. The decorations and displays are the topic of an article written by Gerhardt that appears in the latest issue of Victorian Homes magazine. The article is accompanied by a number of color photographs of the decorations and displays.

This holiday season, Gerhardt's Christmas decorations are being displayed at the Ramsdell Theatre and Hall in Manistee, Mich.

"It is a very historic building so it is sort of like being back in the Glenn House," said Gerhardt. "Actually in the hall side of the theater building it was a ballroom originally and it was last used as a gymnasium. But it is a very beautiful room."

The room has oak paneling and benches and a floor-to-ceiling fireplace at one end. "So it is a very impressive room,' said Gerhardt.

Built in 1902-1903, the Ramsdell museum is featuring "A Century of Christmas At Home" this holiday season, with Gerhardt's displays showing Christmas decorations, traditions and toys from 1870 to 1970.

"We started out with the kitchen in the 1870s and 1880s," said Gerhardt. Other displays are set up to show off Christmas decorations from other eras in room-like settings.

The 1900-1920 era is depicted in the "drawing room in front of the big fireplace," said Gerhardt.

"There are seven settings or seven eras that are covered," he explained. "There are three different lobbies in the building that we also decorated."

Gerhardt's standard gauge and O gauge antique trains and accessories are part of the Christmas displays. "We have six trains running, whereas at the Glenn House we only had two running," said Gerhardt.

"It took two years of planning to put on this exhibit we are doing now," said Gerhardt, adding that the actual work of setting up the displays began Oct. 1.

The Christmas displays were opened to the general public Nov. 30 and will be exhibited through Dec. 28.

Gerhardt said some of the Christmas decorations and toys displayed were previously part of the holiday displays set up at the Glenn House.

"I'm still collecting as space permits," said Gerhardt, adding that he has antique Christmas decorations and holiday items stored all over his house, including under beds and in the loft of the outbuilding.

For Gerhardt, there's just nothing like Christmas, as his unique collection of toys and holiday decorations attests.