SpringfieldNewsSun.com

Springfield, Ohio — Elaborate background displays and hand-crafted figurines line the walls of the old Meek's Sporting Goods Store in downtown Springfield.

But a simple curtain might be the most important piece of the display for the Christmas Village at the old store this year. On Tuesday, Oct. 28, students from the Springfield-Clark Career Technology Center were busy installing brackets to hang the curtain, which formerly resided at Springfield North High School.

The curtain was almost lost to a landfill when the high school was demolished, said Mike Frey, a display designer for Holiday in the City. Instead, it will serve as the background for a Cinderella's Castle display.

"It's a focal point because it's the first thing you see when you walk in the door," Frey said.

The Christmas Village, included as part of the Holiday in the City, includes animated figurines set against elaborate backgrounds. Frey said there were discussions about how to obtain the curtain once talk began of tearing down the high school. Although it seemed destined for the landfill, officials at Catholic Central Schools stepped in and purchased the two curtains from the school auditorium. Central Catholic kept one while the other was donated to Holiday in the City.

The donation was important, because a similar curtain could have cost as much as $1,000, Frey said.

"It's kind of a win-win situation for everybody," he said.

Contact this writer at 937-328-0355 or at msanctis@coxohio.com