Visitors to downtown Hattiesburg can enjoy a number of holiday-themed window displays, and one of the more prominent displays is a Christmas village – complete with businesses, houses, streets and even trains – furnished by a local business owner.
The village, which is displayed in the windows of the Kress Building facing Main Street, is owned by Dan Reid, who operates Grove Transit, a transportation service in the Hub City.
Reid started collecting the village’s various pieces 34 years ago upon his marriage to his wife, Suzanne.
“She grew up in a Victorian home in the Garden District in New Orleans, so, the first year we were married, I bought a collectible house that resembled that one,” Reid said. “I initially started the collection for her, but it really turned out to be my hobby. Over the years, I’ve added pieces to it.”
The collection was originally displayed only in the couple’s home, but, as it grew, it eventually “took over an entire room,” according to Reid. When the Reids built their Hattiesburg home on Corinne Street four years ago, Reid planned to set up the village there, but he quickly discovered that his wife “preferred that I set up the village elsewhere and not take over a room in our brand-new house.”
Reid learned that his friend Andrea Saffle, executive director of the Downtown Hattiesburg Association, wanted to create window displays throughout the downtown area during the holiday season, and he offered his village for exhibition. Over the next few years, the collection was displayed at the Carter Building and in the space that is now The Author Shoppe on Front Street.
“This year, Andrea found the Kress Building and asked me if I’d be willing to set up there again, and I said sure,” Reid said. “I found out that Dr. Jon Kittrell (pastor of Maybank Baptist Church in Hattiesburg) had contacted Andrea in the off-season and offered his model trains, and that’s a neat addition to the village. Every year, it’s set up differently, and it’s never the same. I’m the least organized person in the world, but the village is my one thing that I’m very detail-oriented on. I have a lot of fun doing it.”
The collection’s various components are from the ongoing collection of Department 56 snow village items offered by Macy’s.
“Department 56 was the department in Macy’s that originally sold those sets way back when … that was their big Christmas thing,” Reid said. “The snow village is the original village, and they now have all sorts of villages … Halloween, big cities of the world. This is the original snow village, which is set sort of in the ‘50s. Everything is authentic, and I don’t mix and match sets from other companies. I’m particular about it.”
Reid’s village now contains hundreds of items, including 25 buildings – such as police and fire stations, a coffee shop and other businesses – and 30 houses. The village is also home to numerous other figures, including characters, cars, trees and streetlights, and it continues to grow.
“Every year, they’ll come out with another house or two … or another business,” Reid said. “There’s probably 20 or so houses that I don’t have, but, each year, I go online – to eBay and Amazon – and look for people who are selling their collections, and, if they’re in good condition, I’ll purchase them.”
Reid grew up in California and worked in mergers and acquisitions until the Great Recession occurred from 2007-2009. He decided to purchase his own business, and he found the non-emergency medical transport industry interesting. There were several such businesses for sale around the country, including Grove Transit.
The Reids – who have three daughters – moved to Hattiesburg as the new owners of the business in 2010, and they originally lived here part-time while also living and working in California. They relocated to the Hub City on a full-time basis in 2015.
“We loved Hattiesburg from the minute we arrived,” Reid said. “We especially love the downtown area and our neighbors. It’s a great place to live. I’d never visited Hattiesburg before we came to look at the business, but I’m sure glad I did.”
Reid’s village will remain up for several more weeks, and he invites the public to go by and take a look. He said he hopes the village inspires a little old-fashioned Christmas cheer.
“I don’t see the point of collecting something if you’re not going to share it, so that’s why I put it out every year,” Reid added.
