East Huntingdon couple crafts Christmas village, spreads cheer

An East Huntingdon couple put this spring’s stay-at-home orders to good use — greatly expanding their wooden Christmas yard display.

Robert and Marilyn Greenawalt used the extra time to design, cut and paint a gingerbread house village that now sits in their yard and an adjacent property on Route 31 in Ruffs Dale. But there’s plenty more that didn’t make it out of storage this year.

“We actually had more things in our basement,” Marilyn Greenawalt said. “I think we’re done making everything.”

The couple has been creating the displays for the last few years, with the number of pieces gradually increasing annually, said Robert Greenawalt. They used to own an arts and crafts business and winter in Florida, but have lived in Ruffs Dale for the past 31 years.

Each piece is expertly painted and creatively arranged — there are wooden reindeer behind a fence, snowmen, soldiers and houses. Dozens of Christmas trees are lit up with at least 20,000 LED lights. This year, the Greenawalts made 16 gingerbread houses, a hot air balloon and a clock tower.

The expansive gingerbread village has everything a gingerbread man or woman could need — stores for spices, ice cream and baked goods, town hall, a sewing center and even a place to take a ride on a wooden hot air balloon. The couple’s five grandchildren each have their own house with their name painted on it.

“We probably worked on it a month,” Marilyn Greenawalt said. “My husband cuts all the wood, I design and paint it.”

They started setting the display up in October and turned on the lights the weekend before Thanksgiving. It takes four long weekends to cart everything out of storage and secure it in their front yard and neighboring property they have permission to use at the intersection of Route 31 and Buttermore Road.

“We’ve counted them once and then lost count,” she said, laughing.

Once the display is all set up, the Greenawalts know it is appreciated by passersby. They see vehicles parked in a small lot across the street and hear horns honking.

“Every night we watch cars going by real slow,” Marilyn Greenawalt said. “We enjoy doing it.”