Sugar and Spice All Very Nice At Sharon Hospital Lobby


SHARON — The gingerbread Christmas display is up in the lobby of Sharon Hospital, and it’s big. Eye-catching. Impressive. Festive.

Sugary.

Chef Mark Waldron of Pine Plains, N.Y., did "99 percent of the work this year," he said.

The display is 64 square feet, almost all of it edible. Waldron made the first batch of dough — 35 pounds — in late September, and work began in earnest on Oct. 1.

The display is mounted on two 8- by 4-foot sheets of plywood; each sheet of plywood is cut in three sections.

The work is done in Waldron’s basement. Family members and friends helped out with the detail work, such as the marzipan figures.

Waldron said he put about 250 hours into the project. "The cleanup alone takes a lot of time — all the sugar and the bags..."

The most expensive and labor-intensive part is the NECCO wafer roofs. You do the math on those, and it comes to quite a bit.

The artist was unable to put a precise dollar figure on the materials (never mind the labor) but said the hospital covers it.

"And Leslie Moran at the Gazebo [gift shop] is a great source of candy."

This year’s design has two interesting features: The railroad station is based on the new Union Station in North Canaan, and the church is based on the East Canaan Congregational Church.

"That’s a really good-looking church in the winter," said Waldron.


— Patrick L. Sullivan

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