“No Room at the Inn,” circa 1967, courtesy of the Model Colony History Room, Ontario City Library. Below is the same scene in 2009.
The Nativity scenes in Ontario have been a 50-year tradition on the Euclid Avenue median. (See my Christmas Day column for more.) What you may not know is that all 12 scenes did not debut the same year; they were built as money could be raised from 1959 to 1968.
When did each scene debut? Here’s a list pieced together from Daily Report stories in the Ontario City Library files.
1959: Shepherds’ Adoration (Scene No. 4)
1959: The Nativity (Scene No. 5)
1960: Arrival of the Wise Men (Scene No. 7)
1960: No Room at the Inn (Scene No. 2)
1961: The Annunciation (Scene No. 1)
1961: Shepherds’ Vision (Scene No. 3)
1962: The Presentation (Scene No. 6)
1962: Flight Into Egypt (Scene No. 8)
1963: The Holy Family (Scene No. 9)
1965: Jesus in the Temple (Scene No. 10)
1968: Come Unto Me (Scene No. 11)
1968: The Light of the World (Scene No. 12)
Any thoughts or memories regarding the scenes? Post away below.
And Merry Christmas!