Holiday Village in Miniature

The model train scooted in and out of the holiday village scene in the Gerry 5 social club Saturday afternoon.

It whistled past pond skaters, past skiers — even past a house on fire.

Stu, 73, and Chicki Curtis watched the watchers with satisfaction.

Their wintry village was 23 years in the making and took four days to erect at the Beacon Street social club in Marblehead.

Along the train route stand heirlooms such as the horse-drawn, antique firefighting pumper made by Chicki’s dad, Larry Sager. Her family comes from Swampscott.

Larry was a .

Another item in the village scene is a miniature replica of an antique firefighting tool used to douse fires hundreds of years ago. 

Stu's family comes from Marblehead. The Curtis line goes back to the 1700s, he said.

On Saturday, parents and children came from Marblehead and Swampscott to see the enchanted village draped in snow.

It has 65 houses, Stu said.

“God knows how many people and Christmas trees,” he said.

Stu was reclined in a wheelchair.

The former owner of Curtis Fence Co. greeted old friends and explained to kids how to make the train stop and go, and how to sound its horn.

Parent Mark LeCain and his children, twins Susie and Todd, 4, were among the visitors.

“Todd says it’s the best train set he has ever seen,” the father told Stu.

Stu smiled.

The Curtis couple would show the train to kids down in Florida at Christmas.

They moved to Englewood, Fla., south of Sarasota, more than 24 years ago.

The holiday village got its start with a single miniature house, a gift from a family member.

They started collecting and making miniature pieces. The village scene got bigger and bigger and was a connection to their North Shore roots.

The couple moved back to the area this year after Stu fell and seriously injured himself in Florida, he said.

On April 7, he was showing someone how to get into a hammock and he fell and broke his neck.

He attends physical therapy sessions and is trying to recover more feeling in his body.

The train set and village represent a different kind of feeling. It is a gift the Curtis couple like to share.

It will stay at the Gerry 5, each year to be set up as a holiday treat for local children.

Gerry 5 Club Manager Arthur Dodge said once word broke that the train set was there, kids were asking to see it. The club decided to open their doors to the public for a holiday event.

Santa was there on Saturday, albeit playing second fiddle to the holiday village.

Stu hopes the holiday model train display becomes a tradition at Christmas, a time for local children to come see the little wintry village that bears a resemblance to home.