New home for Nativity

It was 40 years ago when she first saw it.
Now it has a new home.
In 1970, longtime General Shanks Elementary School teacher Luetta Bowen wandered into Boxberger’s Teachers’ and Religious Supply Store in Fort Wayne.
A handsome crèche, with nearly two dozen pieces depicting the birth of Jesus, caught her eye.
Soon, she and three other Shanks teachers — Jane Spencer, Kay Locker, and Juanita Steigerwalt — came to the conclusion that it would be a great seasonal addition for their school.
With a little persuasion, then-principal Lamar Shoemaker agreed to the expenditure of between $70 and $75 for the set from extracurricular funds.
During the “Teachers’ Institute” break that fall, the four traveled to Fort Wayne and made the purchase.
That December it went on display.
“It was in the big showcase just outside the office,” said Spencer.
“It was there as long as we were there,” added Locker.
For years, the crèche made its annual appearance in a school display case, though there were concerns about the religious display in a public school.
“Right after I retired (in 1993), someone requested it not be put up,” said Bowen.
It could have simply been mothballed and forgotten, but it made a reappearance this year.
The crèche had been displayed at the Nativity Festival at Trinity United Methodist Church, and someone felt it ought to find a permanent home.
It has, with the Jay County Historical Museum, where the same now-retired teachers are active members of the historical society.
“It was in a big tub marked ‘General Shanks,’” said Locker. The tub even included the original straw from the display, though Locker and Bowen disagree over whose farm supplied the straw in the first place.
Along with an antique Hummel crèche that once belonged to the late Dr. and Mrs. Donald Spahr, the Shanks nativity set will be on display at the museum throughout the Christmas season.
The museum will be open Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. and Monday through Thursday, Dec. 23, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
It will also be open Monday, Dec. 27, through Thursday, Dec. 30, from 1 to 4 p.m.
Admission is free.
Again this year, the museum has Christmas trees decorated by each of the county’s elementary and middle schools.
Visitors are asked to bring non-perishable food items or paper products for the Helping Hand Food Pantry. The items can then be used to vote for visitors’ favorite tree. The school with the most votes by Dec. 22 will receive Jay County history books for their library.[[In-content Ad]]