SIKESTON COUPLE CREATE SNOW VILLAGE

SIKESTON -- In 1987, Amy Burns acquired a special piece of real estate.

With snow on the roof and the soft glow of light inside, the Ramsey Hill House had an undeniable charm.

Today, Burns is something of a real estate mogul. Her Snow Village, a miniature ceramic town populated by miniature ceramic people, miniature ceramic pets and even miniature ceramic cows, is a holiday treat for family and friends.

"We started the village with just the one house in 1987," said Amy Burns. "That was enough to get me hooked."

The next year, Burns and her husband, Pete, discovered a store which sold Snow Village items and purchased additional buildings and accessories."

That same year a display appeared along one wall of the Burns living room, featuring the Original Snow Village items produced by Department 56, Inc., headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minn.

"We enjoyed the display," said Pete Burns, who engineered the display. "The next year we purchased some additional buildings and the dream of a complete snow-covered village started forming."

Over the years, the Burnses' dreams have turned into reality as they have added buildings and accessories to their growing village each year.

"I don't know where we're going to put it next year," admitted Mrs. Burns. "When we ran out of wall space, we started building over and around the furniture and now the entire room is filled."

Counting the 1995 items in the display, the Burns village has grown to include 120 lighted structures -- houses, churches, diners and restaurants, municipal buildings -- and another 50 to 75 accessory pieces -- characters, animals, trucks, cars and much more.

The village is displayed in sections, said Pete Burns. "We have a downtown area, a residential area, a farm and more."

Although the Burnses have two train stations in their collection, Mrs. Burns hopes eventually to acquire the 1979 edition of a train station which includes three lighted train cars.

"The only way we'll find one of these is on the `secondary' market," said Burns. "The designs are retired from time to time. The 1980 train design was retired in 1985."

"We don't have a number of the earlier items," said Pete Burns. "But we're always looking for them."

The Burnses are members of a Snow Village Club, and on occasion find a "retired" item through the club.

Each year in late October, the Burnses haul out their village. It is no small task. "We utilize sheets of plywood, wire, cotton and special granulated snow produced by Department 56 to create our annual Snow Village Christmas scene," said Pete Burns. "We keep the display up into February."

Mickey's Diner is among Pete Burns' favorite pieces.

"The diner is based on a railroad car diner," he said. "When we visited Minnesota, we had an opportunity to see the real Mickey's Diner in St. Paul."

One of the newest items on the Snow Village list is Mrs. Burns' favorite -- the rustic Fisherman's Nook Resort and Cabins, which consists of the resort building and two cabins.

The Burnses share their hobby with friends and relatives.

"We enjoy collecting Snow Village, and we meet a lot of people through the collection," she said. "Friends and relatives enjoy seeing our village."

A large sign in front of the Burnses' Sikeston home proclaims: "Season's Greetings From the Snow Village Place," complete with artwork created by Gene Hosey, a minister at the Burnses' church, Shady Acres Church of Christ.

Pete Burns recently added another Department 56 line to the village collection. The North Pole collection is one of the newest by Department 56. It was added to the Heritage Village Collection in 1990 and includes a Santa's Workshop, North Pole reindeer barn and elf bunk house, and a dozen other whimsical, glitter-touched buildings.

The Snow Village Collection is the first creation of Department 56, Inc. The company unveiled its first village buildings in 1977 when it introduced six nostalgic miniature structures, including a mountain lodge, a small chalet, an inn, a cottage and two churches.

Over the years, Snow Village has continued to grow, with new designs and accessories. Only three new buildings -- a mansion, Victorian house and stone church -- were introduced during the second year. A general store was added in 1978, along with some accessories.

Since 1977, the company has introduced 178 lighted pieces, and more than 100 accessories.

Each lighted item in the Original Snow Village series is handcrafted, of ceramic, and hand-painted to create the details of a Norman Rockwell-type village.

Snow Village collectors will have more to look forward to in 1995.

"One of the big items on the 1995 list is a Coca-Cola Bottling Plant," said Mary Lou Hinton, manager of The Fantasticks, a gift shop in Plaza Galleria in Cape Girardeau.

Hinton said other offerings for next year include a wedding chapel, a federal house, a skate and ski shop and beauty shop.