Holiday charm Holiday charm (December 17, 2004)

Scenes of Dickens warm hearts at Ridge View
by Dolores Fox Ciardelli

A chorus of carolers sways in two rows as they sing out traditional Christmas tunes. Children bundled in scarves and caps go up and down on a teeter-totter. Elegant couples can be glimpsed doing the waltz in an upstairs ballroom.

These wintry scenes of merry old London are all miniatures in the collection of Pleasanton resident Bill Kraus. They can be viewed during the holiday season in a sitting room at Ridge View Commons, where Kraus has painstakingly set them up on a soft ground of cotton around a large U-shaped seating area. On a table in front rests the North Pole.

"It took me two-and-a-half days to set up, working 9 to 5," Kraus said. "It's a lot of work but I enjoy doing it."

Kraus, 84, has been collecting the miniature buildings and scenes from Charles Dickens' London since around 1990, when he and his wife Florence lived in New York.

"We were upstate one time and saw the police station," recalled Kraus. It caught his fancy, since their son is a policeman. "I bought the police station and the train station."

The miniatures are made by Department 56, a company in Minnesota well known for its hand-painted ceramic buildings, Christmas scenes and collectibles.

"One led to another," he said. Soon his family began to give him the figures on holidays. "I said, 'Instead of shirts and ties, buy me a house.'"

The figures are not inexpensive; a building can cost as much as $100-$120. Kraus has many that have been discontinued.

Kraus and his wife Florence moved to Pleasanton from New York two years ago to be near their daughter Carol Raimondi and her family. At that time he gave away 40 buildings from his collection to his grandchildren. He needed storage for the rest at Ridge View Commons.

"They were good enough to allow me to use an empty storage room," Kraus said. He keeps each one in its original packing.

Last year, their first Christmas here, he approached the management with photos and they agreed he could display the village scenes in the lobby.

"This year, everyone kept asking me right after Thanksgiving when I was going to put them up," he said.

First he lays down the cotton. Then he puts down the buildings. Next he assembles the wiring for the streetlights, interiors of the houses and the moving parts. Then come the trees, the fences and figures such as the stagecoaches.

"I had it all set up and Florence came in and said, 'All the figures are going the same way,'" recalled Kraus. He appreciated her noticing the oversight and put them in a more realistic formation.

Over the years, he's tried different ways of setting up the figures to make them more stable. He tried applying wax to the bottoms but they became stuck in the cotton.

Kraus checks often to make sure nothing has fallen over, and he noted that people are very good about not touching anything, as a sign requests. He also likes to watch people as they enjoy the charming scenes and see their delight as they spend time discovering the details.

"Some Brownies were here last night. They were fascinated," he said.

"The best part is the appreciation," said Florence Kraus. "It gives you the greatest joy."

"I'm going to do it every year until I can't do it anymore," her husband noted.

As the day darkens outside, the little village lights begin to twinkle, making the scene even more enchanting. The figures on the ice pond skate round and round, and Santa's elves in the North Pole are hard at work. It's all about the magic of Christmas.

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