SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Spartanburg County Library is displaying a piece of Christmas from Spartanburg’s past.
The year was 1946. Harry S. Truman was the President, Bing Crosby was on the radio and here in Spartanburg – a local artist was making a lasting impact.
“Somebody created these with their hands, they had a vision and created them,” Todd Stephens, the Director of Spartanburg County Libraries. “These dioramas were built out in the 1940s and into the ’50s by Buck Buchanan and they tell the story of the visit of Old Saint Nick.”
Buck Buchanan was an artist who crafted the dioramas by hand, bringing scenes from the poem “A Visit From St. Nicholas” to life.
“Buck was a window dresser, so at a time where people would go shopping and walk down the street and they would take the time to look in the windows to see what was for sale. Buck had outfitted the windows with this story of a visit from Old Saint Nick,” Stephens said. “He did use everyday unique items like clothespins to help make the bed, paper for papier-mâché, he sewed the outfits. He put a lot of work into this.”