Youths carry a statue of Mary across the street. (Eric Reed/Correspondent)
Displays in need of repair
Time, wear and tear, vandalism as well as the elements have taken their toll on the nativity scenes along the Euclid median.
The creches need to be replaced and the sculptures as well as backdrops in each scene need to be repaired and repainted.
Rehabilitating the historic displays could cost $40,000.
In an effort to spur action, Dobler as well as other religious leaders in the community and foundation members have launched a Nativity Restoration Fund. They are calling for a $1 pledge from religious people in the community.
The request has been well received from the public, with donations ranging from $1 to $100. To date, $700 has been collected, Dobler said.
"Unless the faith community (steps) in there's going to be nobody to restore them and pretty soon it (is) going to be something of the past," she said.
Fliers announcing the campaign will be sent to local church leaders so they can share the information with their congregation, Dobler said.
As church support grows for the program, Dobler said
A Bah'ai Faith display is erected. (Eric Reed/Correspondent)
She also envisions different churches coming together to host weekly Christmas events around the displays.
"This is a very unique opportunity in Ontario," Dobler said.
Christmas, she said, has become politically correct and celebrated through "snowflakes and nutcrackers." It has become less common to see religious symbols in the public, Dobler said.
And part of the reason for the lack of support might be because of the lack of knowledge.
Scenes have lengthy history in Ontario
Dobler said she only learned about the displays' historical background following a recent 50th anniversary celebration.
An Ontario resident for 10 years, Dobler said she wonders how many residents don't even know the displays' history.
The first scenes debuted in 1959 and were made for Ontario by Rudolph Vargas, a sculptor who worked for the Disney company and specialized in religious themes.
Vargas made the life-sized figures from wood and plastic.
Canvas backdrops - said to have an almost three-dimensional effect - were painted by Leslie Sandford and Jose De Soto, two Hollywood scenic artists. De Soto had painted scenes for the 1952 film "The Robe" as well as other films.
Vargas was commissioned in 1959 to produce two scenes - "Shepherds' Adoration" and "The Nativity" - for Ontario. The work was paid for by the Kiwanis and Soroptimist service clubs.
The nativity scenes soon grew in number - three were added in 1960, two more in 1961 as well as one each in 1962, 1963 and 1965.
Help comes from different sources
The recent partnership with Latter-day Saints and Redeemer Lutheran Church is exactly what Charla Lenarth had been hoping to establish.
Last year was the first time that Lenarth, director of operations for the chamber, supervised the displayed scenes.
After that experience, Lenarth said she knew she needed the religious community's involvement.
Among her goals, Lenarth wanted to streamline the process of assembling and taking down the displays.
Over the years, the creches had not only deteriorated, but had become difficult to assemble.
"There were different bolts - it's what people could piece together," Lenarth said. "My first goal was to rebuild the creches."
Lenarth soon contacted Frank Ward, a facilitator at the Ontario Training Center for the Southwest Carpenters Training Fund. Ward and another representative at the center saw the backdrops in 2010 and agreed to build 12 new ones for the foundation.
The foundation supplied Ward with the materials.
They spent the next nine months building new backdrops, at no cost to the foundation.
"It was a lot of work," Lenarth said.
The union has offered to set up and bring down the displays every year, she said.
With the displays complete, Lenarth still needed to have them painted.
Youth members of the Latter-day Saints stepped up to paint as did a commercial painting business at no cost, Lenarth said.
The next challenge for Lenarth was an issue that has dogged the foundation for some time: where to store the 12 displays.
Redeemer Lutheran Church members reached out to Lenarth and offered storage.
"It is great to watch the churches coming together and breaking bread for a common goal to see the nativity scenes are ready to go," Lenarth said.
Ideally, Lenarth said she would like four more local churches to take ownership of two displays each and assume responsibility for those two scenes.
"There are no words to express how I feel about watching a group of people coming together. It's great to be a witness to," she said.
Lenarth also credits Councilwoman Debra Dorst-Porada for playing a vital role in the display's existence for the past couple of years.
"The woman works harder than anyone I know," Lenarth said. "When it was hanging on by a thread, she had made sure these displays get up each year."
Dorst-Porada and Lenarth came up with the dollar campaign.
"Most everybody has a dollar. When you ask for a dollar, it doesn't seem so big," Lenarth said.
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