The Nativity collector

An empty niche was all Dennis Ohrtman needed to begin a lifelong obsession.

Years ago, Ohrtman and his wife, Carol Ohrtman, moved into a Spanish-style home near Lewiston High School. Like many such homes, it was built with a special nook by the fireplace for a Nativity set. So the couple placed a simple, three-piece example there one Christmas.

"That kind of started it," the former Lewiston city councilor and retired Spanish teacher said, surrounded by his vast collection. "Now, the real problem is I want Nativities all year long. It's kind of like the theater of the absurd."

Later, the Ohrtmans built their current home in the western Lewiston Orchards and gave themselves plenty of space. That was a good thing since his Nativity sets now number around 200. There are 105 complete sets displayed on the main floor alone. Another five dozen or so are upstairs, and 14 nearly life-size sets are stored in the basement.

While each set depicts the same event - the birth of Christ in Bethlehem - they are wildly diverse in appearance. And the collection is still growing.

"Carol says I can't die yet because I have too many friends," Ohrtman joked, explaining that his wife would like to have enough sets to give one to each friend at his funeral.

A large portion of the collection is tied to Diane Vavak, Ohrtman's sister in Iowa who owns a large ceramic shop. He helped her paint more than 40 sets with 22 pieces each when he went home a couple of years ago to help his siblings tend to their dying mother.

And while the family lost its matriarch, Ohrtman found a new relationship with Vavak.

"I was 16 and she was 6 when I left home," said Ohrtman, now 70. "Painting all those sets gave us a chance to get reacquainted."

Vavak agreed that while their age difference led them to essentially lead separate lives over the years, painting Nativities at her shop was the catalyst that brought them together.

"We'd sit out there and cry a little bit, and paint a little bit, and talk a little bit and giggle a little bit, then start the whole thing over again," she said. "It's been really neat to connect on this. It's something that we both enjoy, and I make sure I have some Nativity sets ready when he comes."

One of the main attractions for Ohrtman is how each artist - including himself - interprets the Nativity scene. Many of his sets come from his travels to Latin American lands like Puerto Rico and Peru, and they reflect that heritage.

For instance, one Peruvian set features llamas in the stable keeping watch over baby Jesus.

"I love the ones that are eccentric," he said. "I don't think they're at all sacrilegious. They're all made differently, but we instantly know what they are. All cultures look at Christmas differently."

His favorite set is another from Peru that he purchased on a trip to Puerto Rico. It sports a multi-hued purple color scheme that makes the figures seem almost electric.

Most of the sets from Puerto Rico came from the same San Juan shop, a city that was devastated by Hurricane Maria in September. Ohrtman said his heart aches for the people who live in one of his most beloved places, but especially for the shopkeepers who welcomed them on each visit.

"I know that shop is probably gone," he said wistfully. "We were special customers, and they treated us well."

Other ethnicities are represented, like one set that depicts Mary and Joseph as Inuit people, bundled tightly in fur-trimmed parkas, a baby seal and a penguin smiling down at Jesus. Another "set" is just one piece, a cross decorated with childlike representations of the family and animals.

Ohrtman chuckled when picking up one of the three wise men from one large, painted ceramic set, noting that the mold maker accidentally placed the figurine's hands upside-down. One Puerto Rican set is in the form of a mortar and pestle, and others are shaped like globes. Some are even interactive, and have to be put together like puzzles.

Some are whimsical, like a set of rubber duckies, while others display more stoic characterizations. The sizes also vary widely, and Ohrtman has an entire section devoted to miniature Nativities.

The collection also includes some historic sets, like one peddled by Avon that his mother obtained when she worked for the company. Another classic is the 1932 Sears Roebuck set with a simple blue paint scheme that sold hundreds of thousands of units.

He picks up new sets at hobby and thrift stores, and repaints ones he doesn't like and fixes ones that are broken. Vavak also sends unpainted sets for him to finish, something that acts as a form of therapy.

"I like painting them because I can give them a different character," Ohrtman said. "And it makes me take the time for my hyper personality to slow down."

And as an avid Lutheran, the story behind the Nativity is a crucial component of his obsession.

"The Christ story is fun," he said. "For me, it just brings things into perspective."

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Mills may be contacted at jmills@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2266.