Worker displays his Christmas spirit

Although represented in miniatures, Chester Plecha's love for Christmas is one that is collectively large.

"This is how much I love Christmas," he says, opening his arms wide and motioning to a table filled with hundreds of Christmas nativity scene miniatures.

For the past 22 years, Plecha has been collecting the Christmas figurines - which are part of the Fontanini collection. This year, as a maintenance worker for Brandon Wilde in Evans, he decided to showcase his Christmas village for the facility's residents.

"I usually display them at my house," he said. "This is my first year doing this at Brandon Wilde."

The collection being shown at Brandon Wilde - some of which Plecha said is owned by his girlfriend, Cindy Gilbert, who also has collected figurines for several years - is displayed on several tables inside a sun porch. It includes everything from a lighted marketplace valued at more than $90 to a piece representing the Nile River.

There's even a traveling minstrel group, several stables and angels mounted to a wall above a manger scene.

Louise Pike, a resident of Brandon Wilde, said the display has gotten her into the Christmas spirit.

"We all think it's beautiful," she said.

Julian Smith, vice president and executive director of Brandon Wilde, said he, too, has been pleased with the holiday addition.

"Any employee that gets into the spirit of his work and the season, we're always proud of," he said.

But Plecha says the display is only a small showing of just how much he enjoys the season.

"This is less than half of what I have," he said with a laugh. "I just love Christmas."