WEEDSPORT - Under the bounty of light shining through a stained-glass window hung the artistic output of Weedsport.

Deer fed along a dirt track, fall foliage rising above them on steep hills, in an oil painting by Eula Lamphere. A Monarch butterfly fluttered over a serene field dominated by a Hereford cow in an acrylic by Dawn Jordan.

The work of 22 artists were gathered under the roof of a brick church that has moonlighted as a library and now as a private home owned by Joe Guszcza. On Saturday, 2701 Brutus St., Weedsport, it was an art gallery for the day as the entire village produced festive products and displays for the Old Tyme Christmas. Local businesses tempted holiday shoppers and local organizations inspired seasonal goodwill, especially toward the star beneficiary, the Brutus-Sennett Food Pantry.

At the temporary gallery, postmaster Donna Coe collected hundreds of holiday cards from local residents to place a special

seasonal Weedsport mark on them.

Artist Cheryl Schoonmaker made this year's holiday stamp. Based on a photograph, it depicted a happy couple in old-fashioned dress against the American flag and sent holiday wishes from “Weedsport Station.”

“This way Weedsport gets on the map all over the place,” Schoonmaker said.

Coe and Schoonmaker estimated they had about 200 people pass through the gallery on Saturday.

On the corner of Seneca and Brutus streets were dozens of knitted and crocheted winter wear items made by Karleen Johnson and her mother, Helen Clinton, and her sister, Dawn.

“We had a pretty good day,” Johnson said. “The cold weather put people in the mood. The cold sold a lot of hats and mittens today.”

What began as a crafty hobby for all of them became a business when they became just a little overproductive - now they have hundreds of items. “You can only give your family so much stuff,” Johnson said.

Johnson's nieces and nephew helped clear out the lot from snow to make a “fort” from which they slid for the afternoon. The kids had also helped paint the crafters' decorated gift bags.

Rick Bowen, a Weedsport resident with a wood shop in the village, was perusing for ideas about the shapes of furniture and knick-knacks he could then craft out of wood and metal.

He said the annual downtown event showcases the best of Weedsport.

“It gets people to see what stuff there is here,” Bowen said. “It's what Christmas is all about.”

Staff writer Amaris Elliott-Engel can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or at amaris.elliot-engel@lee.net