At Christmas 1965 Elmer Down received a new table saw from his wife Helen. The first project he undertook was the creation of a Nativity set. No one asked him to build it, he just decided the church needed a nativity scene and he had some ideas. He was convinced that a traditional North American barn design wouldn’t fly so he created a design from his own understanding of the biblical stories and era. He wanted to be able to display the stable, loft and animals, hence, the open-door effect. The whole structure is built with pine boards, cut to size, with the bark from cedar trees as the roof. Stained and mounted on a platform, all it needed was figures representing the people and animals, but he can’t remember if he provided them. He revitalized it about 10 years ago, adding a new fence and applying fresh stain. It has been displayed every year since, a traditional piece of Ebenezer Christmas decor. Thank you, Elmer, for enriching our Advent and Christmas celebrations with this beautiful work of art.