c. 1997 Religion News Service

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. _ Otto Freudenberger may have spent a career as an aeronautical engineer, but he never questioned his wife’s design specifications when it came to helping her with her biggest art project, “Come to the Manger.”

“I just cut exactly where she told me to cut,” said Freudenberger, laughing. “It’s her project. I just followed her instructions.”

Every city and town has its car-stopping, eye-riveting Christmas lawn displays. But in Huntsville, what is arguably the most spectacular private Nativity extravaganza was created by Otto’s wife, Diane Burroughs Freudenberger.

The 57 life-size, realistic-looking, plywood figures are displayed across the Freudenberger’s front lawn in the southeast section of the city.

“I’ve always had it in mind to do something like this,” said Diane, a retired elementary school teacher. “It was a big undertaking. I had painted pictures and had done a life-size Santa and Mrs. Claus when we lived in California, but never anything as large as this.”

Diane started the project in 1996 and had the basic Nativity scene finished by last Christmas. Not satisfied, she added more figures this year to include children, shepherds and sheep. She has spent about $1,500 on the project.

“I wanted to do a Nativity scene because most of what you see is secular Christmas scenes today,” she said. “I’ve always loved Christmas and wanted to show what it really means to me. I’ve tried to make all of the figures smiling because it is supposed to be a joyful time.”

Diane, the daughter of a Cumberland Presbyterian Church minister, decided to make the Madonna and child the first figure, but was apprehensive about doing it.

“I had a lot of insecurity and was very nervous about doing it until I finished the Madonna and child,” said Diane, who with Otto, also retired, now attends an Episcopal church. “After that everything went together very well. I don’t think I struggled with anything else. I couldn’t have done it without Otto’s help, though.”

Otto, however, refuses to take credit for his effort, which included about 300 hours of cutting plywood. He did admit to building the stable and cutting out the figures, but he called his wife the project’s real engineer.

“She spent 600 hours just painting it,” he said. “She often worked into the early morning hours when she couldn’t sleep.”

Sometimes, Diane said, working was simply easier than trying to sleep.

“I would be dreaming about what colors they should be, so I would get up and start painting them,” she said. “Sometimes I painted 16 hours straight.”

Diane’s display is the sort that prompts drivers to slow down as they pass the Freudenberger’s home during the Christmas season. Diane welcomes everyone, especially children, and loves it when people exit their vehicles to get a closer look at the Nativity figures, one of which, a shepherd, is 6-foot-4-inches tall.

“We named it `Come to the Manger,’ because we want everyone to come and see it,” she said.

MJP END WHITE