>> Check out the gorgeous Dayton Woman’s Club, decorated for the holidays
A downtown Dayton day trip with my grandchildren last week made it clear that the charming animated windows still have the power to engage and delight. Our family — and the others gathered in front of the colorful scenes — had fun pointing out the moving parts: a brother in a bunk bed swatting at his sleeping sister below, two little bears on a teeter-totter in the forest, an elf driving a rocket ship in Santa’s Workshop. In the Victorian house, we watched dad rocking to and fro as he played his trumpet, mom hanging an ornament on the tree and a little boy moving his new truck back and forth. In the middle of the candy shop, a delighted little girl is twirling.
Those are all good reasons to help support the “Merry Makeover” project that will ensure the display cases and old-fashioned settings — now known as the Rike’s Wonderland Windows — will be around for many years to come. According to Ricia Ballas, vice president of development for the Victoria Theatre Association, the goal for the project is $65,000. The hope is to have a totally reburbished display by next Christmas season.
Impressive history
The history of the window displays, according to Dayton historian Curt Dalton, can be traced back to 1943 when the National Cash Register Co. placed five scenes from Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” in its New York City office windows. Dressed in period attire, the figures were incorporated into elaborate backgrounds built by NCR carpenters.
In 1945 Frederik Rike, owner of the Rike-Kumler Co., successfully campaigned to move the display into the windows of his department store at Second and Main streets in downtown Dayton. From that time on, a visit to the windows became a popular tradition for many families in the Miami Valley.
>> Great places to shop for gifts in Town & Country Shopping Center
After the store closed in 1991, the window displays were auctioned off to other communities and private buyers. Purchased by Columbia Building Co. of Bellefontaine, the animated figures and The Tike’s Shop — the kids-only zone where children can shop alone — took up seasonal residence at the Huber Centre. When space issues closed the Huber Centre’s holiday display, many of the remaining animated figures were purchased by the Downtown Dayton Partnership.
Years of wear and neglect had taken their toll — duct tape held some of the characters together and others were missing limbs and clothing. A thousand bricks gathered from the 1999 implosion of the old Rike’s building were donated to the DDP and sold for $50 each, which helped pay for restoration.
The display found a new home in 2003 when the Benjamin & Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center opened and the Downtown Dayton Partnership donated the holiday figures to the Arts Center Foundation. Restored by Hamberger Displays of New Jersey, the animated figures were placed into newly created displays that were conceptualized by the Arts Center Foundation, designed by John and Pam Larvarnway and built by Scenic Solutions.
>> MORE FUN FOR THE HOLIDAYS: You won’t believe this EPIC Christmas display in Piqua
The displays are refreshed each year. Although additional figures are sometimes added, many of the restored figures you’ll see today are more than 50 years old, purchased by Rike’s shortly after World War II.
Figures continue to surface
Some of the historic characters are still unaccounted for; others continue to surface. According to Janice Potter, assistant production manager of the VTA and “keeper of the elves,” there are now 53 figures on display. “I enjoy people telling me their stories of visiting these windows during their childhood,” says Potter. “Now they bring their children and grandchildren, continuing their family traditions. It’s rewarding to see how happy its makes them.”
Her most recent exciting donation came from Jan Hoehner of Bellbrook a couple of years ago. Jan’s husband, who loved woodworking, had purchased some of the characters decades ago when a neighbor who worked in maintenance at Rike’s told him they were going to be dismantled and sold at auction.
The family had moved to Dayton in 1959 when Winston Hoehner accepted a job as news director of WHIO radio.
“We had small children when we came here and we would take them downtown to see the Christmas windows at Rikes,” Jan remembers. “They were so beautiful.”
>> DAYTON GIFT GUIDE: Agnes & Orson has gift ideas galore this holiday season
By the time her husband purchased the two elves the couple had grandchildren. “One of the elves was sawing wood and the other was working on a wood lathe and making a spindle,” she explains. “They were mechanical and on an electrical system and we just plugged them in.”
She says each year her husband would oil them and make sure they were ready to go. “He would bring them into the living room and set them near the Christmas tree and our grandchildren would have such fun with them!”
After Christmas, Jan says, her husband would carefully cover his elves with heavy plastic and place them on a shelf in the garage. When the grandchildren outgrew them and after her husband died, the elves remained on the shelf.
“Now my grandchildren have their own children and I asked each of them if they wanted the elves as a memory of their childhood, but they had no room for them and liked the idea of donating back to the organization that wants to revive and preserve them,” she says. “They were happy to know that more children would have the same kind of enjoyment they’d had when they were little.”
Ricia Ballas says the VTA was thrilled to receive the Jan’s call and her donation. “The elves are adorable, they were so well preserved and lovingly taken care of,” she says. “There was no window for them, so that is one of the things the ‘Merry Makeover’ project can accomplish.”
>> CHECK OUT THESE PHOTOS: See Dayton’s First Baptist Church decked out for Christmas
Ballas says the boxes that house each scene are starting to fall apart and need a lot of work. “No one had thought about how they would be stored when they weren’t on display,” she explains. “They have to be completely disassembled each year to go into the elevators in order to be stored in the Schuster basement.”
Other issues range from the sound systems in the scenes to the ability to get into the boxes when something inside needs to be fixed.
This project, Ballas says, is all about preserving history. “Rike’s stood at the same location as the Schuster Center and the windows were such a holiday tradition for many families in our community. All you have to do is walk through the Wintergarden at this time of year to see that tradition continuing. People love them!”
HOW TO GIVE:
What: "Merry Makeover," a campaign to refurbish and preserve the historic Rike's Department Store animated window display
Goal: $65,000
To donate: Go to the donation page on www.victoriatheatre.com and designate gift for "Merry Makeover." You can also contact Ricia Ballas at (937) 461-8195 or email her at richia.ballas@victoriatheatre.com
All donations are tax-deductible.
HOW TO GO: The Wonderland Windows are available to view Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m., and Sunday noon-6 p.m. They are closed during private events. You can also call (937) 228-7591 to confirm hours.
To find "Santa's Secret," look for the common object hidden in each window box. Once you've solved it, fill out an entry form and drop it into the entry box! Here's a clue: The common thread always relates to Dayton! Children are encouraged to enter.
The winning entry will receive a family four-pack of tickets for the rest of the Morris Furniture Co. Family Series 2017-2018 Season.
About the Author