Page 16 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • December 7, 2011 Holiday tradition began with famed architect The Christmastime display of Walt Disney characters has been a fixture on the Ridgewood Water Company pumping station property on Godwin Avenue in Midland Park since the 1950s, attracting thousands of young and old alike to the borough. While the display may be familiar to many area residents, citizens may not be aware that the figures were originally created by the late Carl Kemm Loven, a famed architect who resided in Glen Rock. Loven received special approval from Walt Disney Studios to produce the wooden cartoon characters from a number of Disney’s fulllength films along with Santa Claus and other traditional holiday figures. The architect made the 150-piece display over time, exhibited his collection on the lawn of his Rock Road home every Christmas since 1938. Banned by Glen Rock officials in 1953 because of the traffic and crowd problems it created, the display was discontinued and some of the figures were sold. Years later, members of the Midland Park Volunteer Fire Department discovered some of the pieces in a local antiques shop and purchased them at a nominal cost. Firemen John Foley and Werner Schneider and Schneider’s wife Marjorie undertook the task of replacing and restoring the figures, displaying them at the Water Company property for the first time in 1967. (The firefighters used to conduct their annual Christmas tree sale on the adjacent vacant (continued on page 21) Happy Holidays Gingerbread Consignment Shop �������������������������� �������������������� �������������� ������������������������������������������ ������������ ������������������������������������������������������������������ A scene from this year’s holiday display. 12-7-11 ester/janine GingerbreadHoliday3x2(12-7-11) 3 col. x 2”