Page 18 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • December 5, 2012 The Christmastime display of Walt Disney characters has been a fixture on the Ridgewood Water Company pumping station property on Godwin Avenue in Midland Holiday tradition began with famed architect Park since the 1950s, attracting thousands of young and old alike to the borough. While the display may be familiar to many area resi- The annual setting up of the Christmas decorations at Ridgewood Water’s property on Godwin Avenue was recently conducted by Midland Park’s Pack 157 Cub Scouts. dents, 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 full-length films along with Santa Claus and other traditional holiday figures. The architect made the 150-piece display over time and formerly 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, and displayed 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 lot at the corner of Godwin Avenue and Witte Drive, now Jacobsen Landscape and Design’s office.) When the Loven family saw that the figures had found a permanent home in Midland Park, they gave the firefighters the rest of the pieces, which they had originally decided to keep for themselves. The firemen also added a manger scene and a wishing well, installed lighting, and piped in holiday music. When the Schneiders moved from town in 1974, interest in maintaining the display waned and the firemen considered selling it. However, the Midland Park Chamber of Commerce and its then president, Patrick “Bud” O’Hagan, decided to coordinate a restoration effort as a community project and donate the display to the town. The Chamber, (continued on page 22)