WINONA -- Winona’s Randy Flowers has been collecting pieces of the Dickens' Village series since the 1980s, and today, the enormous collection is the centerpiece in Flowers’ holiday decor.
Spread across the top of a 12-foot snooker table -- a large billiard table -- the village sits on a white blanket of faux snow and is illuminated by lights.
“It took us two nights to set it up this year,” Flowers said.
Flowers’ daughter-in-law Becky Flowers assisted in the task this year, and the two arranged hills and crests to really illustrate the landscape in a Victorian England village.
Flowers’ village includes a library, city hall, train station, book store, antique store, filling station, several homes, and an animated ice skating rink.
Even the Ritz Hotel is featured, and even a colored bottle tree.
However, for Flowers, her favorite piece of the village is more sentimental. The illuminated replica of Callaway Hall, the old dormitory at Mississippi University for Woman, holds special meaning for Flowers.
“I lived in that building my freshman year,” Flowers said.
Flowers began her collection after admiring several pieces in a Winona boutique, but she decided not to splurge on any of the pieces for herself.
Ironically, three of her dear friends purchased the ice skating rink for Flowers during an after Christmas sale and gifted her with it the next Christmas. From there, she was hooked.
“The first piece I bought was the church,” Flowers said. “Then I got the antique store and so on.”
To enjoy the village even more, Flowers said she can seat 12 people around the table, and serves Christmas dinner around the village.
“People really enjoy it,” Flowers said. “I had my Thursday bridge club over for Christmas this year, and everyone really enjoyed it.”
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