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Library and Archive Curator Natalie Fritz said volunteers have been working on the project for the past several weeks. This year’s display features a scene split between summer and winter at the historic Springfield park. Fine details were created by hand and added to the Peeps to recreate old photos as closely as possible.
“We made little fishing rods and fish we had to attach to them,” Fritz said. “We made little sleds for the winter scene and little hats for the boaters in the summer scene. We thought of everything.”
The annual project started because of a contest hosted by the Ohio History Connection in 2012, Fritz said. The center recreated the “Battle of Peepqua” for that and has been continuing the tradition ever since.
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The heritage center typically looks for photos a few years in advance before deciding which scene they’ll recreate. This year, volunteers who helped to work on the project decided on Snyder Park.
“They really ran with the idea,” Fritz said.
Once the display comes down, she said the group keeps all the accessories but disposes of the Peeps humanely.
“We don’t eat them,” Fritz said. “They get pretty hard.”
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The diorama is currently on display on the second floor of the center and will also be able to be seen during the Night at the Museum event next month, Fritz said. People seem to enjoy seeing it every year, she said.
“Everybody gets a kick out of it, especially the kids,” she said. “It’s just another fun way to look at history.”
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