“We’ve been doing this for years,” said Dave Gill, a resident of Poplar Drive. “People look forward to it. Their parents brought them here to see it, and they take their children to see it. It’s like a big traffic jam down here during the Holy Walk.”
But not this year.
The residents of Poplar Drive have agreed to pass along this beloved Christmas tradition to the congregation of Bremen Church of the Brethren.
Poplar Drive resident Connie Gill, who has been overseeing the project with her husband Dave for nine years, had mixed emotions on the day a group of church members came to haul the plywood scenes away.
“It bothers me,” she admitted through tear-filled eyes. “But everybody just can’t do it anymore and we need to keep it going.”
Members of Church of the Brethren are happy to take on the project.
“We’ve got some people in the church who can help repair them,” said Joyce Sheneman, church secretary.
This year, they hope to put a few of the pieces outside the church and preschool located on South Montgomery Street.
But eventually, they plan to display the entire scene along Woodie’s Lane, across from the Parke View subdivision, on the property where they plan to build a new church someday.
This is not the first time the scenes have changed hands. The decorations actually  have a long, rich history that dates back to the 1940s.
According to newspaper articles and letters collected in a scrapbook that travels with the lawn scenes, John and Mary Walker brought the scenes with them from Texas when they moved to Plymouth in 1949. In San Antonio, the scenes earned first place in a Christmas lighting contest for several years prior to that time.
When the Walkers moved to Plymouth, they arranged for the scenes to be placed on the Marshall County Courthouse lawn during the holiday season, where they were viewed by thousands in 1949 and 1950. At different times during the season, local ministers would narrate the Christmas story and the Plymouth Male Chorus would sing.
Bremen resident Willis Haenes then acquired the scenes from the Walkers, displaying them on his front lawn at 326 W. Grant St. He won first place in the 1951 Christmas decoration contest in Bremen with the scenes.
In 1952, Haenes erected the display on the South Street lawn of Bremen Public Schools. He then loaned the collection to the Nappanee Library for 1953 and 1954, then brought the scenes back for display at his home for many years after that.
A 1957 newspaper clipping claims that Haenes won first prize in that year’s Christmas decoration contest. He won a cash award of $25.
Eventually, the Haenes’ property was divided to allow access to a new retirement home, now called The Whitlock, and residents there enjoyed the scenes, too.
In 1983, Haenes handed over the scenes to the residents of nearby Poplar Drive, where they have been displayed every Christmas season since.
Look for part of them to appear this year in front of Bremen Church of the Brethren, located on the corner of South Montgomery and East Sherman Streets.