Take It To The Fifth Dimension
by Jerry Sexton
(Reprinted from the Village Chronicle Magazine September/October 2001)

     If there is a fifth dimension to this crazy addiction, then there must be four other dimensions that are uniquely different from one another.
     It all starts with collecting. Everyone is a collector of something. When in grade school, two of our sons collected beer cans. An adult daughter now collects dolls. A brother collects baseball cards. A cousin collected and restored old gasoline pumps. As a kid I collected stamps, and now I collect little houses that light.
    One or two houses do not a collection make. One is a nice gift to your spouse or yourself. Two is a pair, and we have many items in sets of two in the house. But when you buy that third little building, it is a symptom of Village Fever. Once you have purchased three of something it is difficult to stop. I know of one case where a friend of mine did stop at three, but he was collecting old, full-size city fire trucks. His limitation was storage space. This is usually not a problem with villages until you reach a hundred or more pieces.
    Once established as a bona fide collector, you can move on to any or all of my next three dimensions.  The majority of collectors have taken up the hobby of display, some creating elaborate scenes, entering contests, holding open houses, etc. It can become a full-blown passion.
    Or you can decide to turn your village knowledge and experience into a business. Many collectors are involved in the buying, selling, and trading of village properties. Other are producing and/or selling handicraft items to enhance the hobby or display.
    My fourth dimension is socializing. This is done in a formal way through membership in a collectors club. There are regular meetings, tours, parties and many other events through which you can make new friends and socialize. But many more of us choose not to join a club. We enhance our social lives by inviting neighbors, relative and others over to see our displays. What good or pleasure comes from a collection or display that no one even sees?
     What is the fifth dimension? I call it interpretive display. It is informational, frequently historical, and presented in an interesting manner. It often includes storytelling. It is educational. It is usually done well by museums and at historical restoration sites. it takes the hobby of village display to a new, higher level.

A typical history of collection infection
    You no doubt have read or heard various versions of the same village collection story many times over.  It may even sound similar to your own experience.
    Wife (Marilyn) introduced husband (me) to little lit houses in 1988.  She only wanted a church and one cottage. In this case it is the husband who was bitten by the Village Virus. My collection infection spread form village to village until it reached over 400 lit buildings. My "last hurrah" open house was held on a weekend in February 1997. Some 500 of our closest friends attended.
    The New England Village display fills our three-season porch. Christmas in the City takes a full bedroom. Alpine, North Pole and part of Dickens' occupy the family room. A stained glass village is spread across the top of our kitchen cabinets. There is a display on the grand piano and a Halloween scene on the floor under the piano. Another display sits in the bay of our bedroom window. The basement is also full. I have "hit the wall" literally and figuratively. There is no more room in the inn (or house) for more little houses.
    For the next year or two I looked for a new home for my collection and displays. The idea was to go public, taking donations form visits for charity. Surprisingly I found lots of free space in shopping malls and other public places.  But the insurance, security and logistics made it an impractical solution.

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