{"id":3173,"date":"2026-03-20T21:19:36","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T21:19:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ericjbusch.com\/EJB_2022\/?p=3173"},"modified":"2026-03-21T03:51:21","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T03:51:21","slug":"village-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ericjbusch.com\/EJB_2022\/2026\/03\/20\/village-people\/","title":{"rendered":"Village People"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Folklore holds that in the mid-1970s, a group of friends in Minnesota ventured to a quiet river town to enjoy dinner at a small country inn. As they rounded a bend, they were enchanted by a picturesque village, adorned with twinkling lights that shimmered against a backdrop of freshly fallen snow. The spirit of the holiday season sparked joyful conversations filled with Christmas memories, and eventually inspired the concept of a lighted Christmas village.<\/p>

A supposed member of that dinner party was Ed Bazinet, who at the time worked for Bachman’s, a premier retail florist in Minneapolis. Bazinet was in charge of Bachman\u2019s wholesale gift-imports division, dubbed “Department 56” (a nod to the unit number assigned by the company\u2019s accounting system).<\/p>

The notion of a holiday-themed lighted village materialized in 1976 when Department 56 launched its first village product line, The Original Snow Village. <\/em>Although popular, it did not become a collectible until 1979, when Department 56 retired the first group of buildings to make room for 12 new additions in the line,\u00a0unintentionally turning these retired items and subsequent releases\u00a0into collectibles.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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1976: The original Snow Village by Department 56<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The overwhelming success of Snow Village<\/em> and the resultant growth of Department 56 under Bazinet\u2019s supervision led to Bachman\u2019s spinning off the division as a $15 million subsidiary in 1984. That same year, the company launched The Heritage Village Collection<\/em> and introduced the Dickens Village Series<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Reminiscent of Victorian England during the life and times of the famed British author, Charles Dickens, the initial village offering featured seven proprietary shops and a church, all of smaller-scale architecture and a non-glazed porcelain\u00a0finish, which provided for smaller accessories and greater detail. The series would be expanded in the following years to include other buildings referenced in Dickens\u2019 works, such as pubs, theaters, shops, and notable landmarks.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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1984: The first set of buildings offered for the Dickens Village Series<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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In 1986, Department 56 expanded the collection with the release of the New England Village Series<\/em>, which depicted life in the American northeast during the early 1900s. Inspired by the charm of small-town New England life and focused on themes of community and simplicity, the collection\u2019s aesthetic reflected the architectural styles of the region’s historic towns.<\/p>

The original set of seven buildings depicted charming shopfronts, cozy homes, and a steeple church, each telling a story that connects with the rich history of the region. It quickly became a beloved series among fans of traditional Christmas decor. With its snow-dusted roofs and warm ambient lighting, it perfectly represented a quintessential winter landscape during the Christmas season.<\/p>

In early December of that same year, a few hours north of Department 56\u2019s Eden Prairie headquarters, my father visited a newly opened World of Christmas retail store located south of Walker, MN, and purchased one of the original New England Village Series buildings, Steeple Church, <\/em>as a gift for my mother.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The original seven buildings of the New England Village Series<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Neal and Carol Holter's World of Christmas stores: Park Rapids (opened 1978), Detroit Lakes (1980), Pequot Lakes (1984), and Walker (1986)<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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WOC location relative to BHR<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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My father repeated this gift procurement process every December for another four years to expand my mom\u2019s village to a total of six buildings:<\/p>