Compass Self Storage owners Fred and Lorraine Liebenau bring Villagers closer to home with their collection of Christmas homes on display in their office.
In 1989, Lorraine and her husband managed a motel in Denver, Colorado, where the collection first began. After shopping at a Hallmark during the holidays, Lorraine purchased a model of the yellow “Honeymoon Motel” that was on display.
Lorraine, who is a December baby, began to receive Christmas house models as gifts from relatives and friends, which she added to her ever-growing collection.
For seven and a half years, she and Fred then lived in an RV and travelled every where, from New England to Florida to out west in Oregon. Every state, the couple purchased a model home build onto their collection, which Lorraine calls it a “labor of love.”
The 28-year collection of all 82 houses is on display, at 20 feet long and 4 feet wide, at Compass Self Storage on County Road 466. The address is 4477 E. County Road 466. The phone number is 352 399 6893.
Some of the senior residents, Lorraine said, come in busloads just to take a look at the collection.
Lorraine says that seeing the visiting Villagers’ eyes light up truly warms her heart. She said that a spectator once told her that he has seen a model of one of the homes back in his old hometown.
The collection will be on display even after the holidays and all through January so that snowbirds can also take a look at it.
There is no charge to see the grand collection, but a donation box will be available.
All donations go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, an organization with whom Compass Self Storage frequently partners.
If any one is interested in seeing the array of model homes, they can visit Compass Self Storage Monday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. or Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
