Nancy Anderson spent hours upon hours, sometimes enlisting the help of her husband and others, to perfect the two miniature structures. One structure intricately depicts the J.J. Rundell General Store in South Dayton. Anderson said her grandfather owned the store and her mother’s family had lived in the upper floor of the building.

The house and store models reflect life in the early 1900s, Anderson said.

The store included a variety of items from the time period, including small magazines from the time, goods that would’ve been sold and more. There were several pictures in both structures that were hand-painted, miniature works of art by friends and family.  The house has a working wooden desk, and a piano that plays music as well.

“He had everything, which is what general stores did back then,” Anderson said. “This has paper dolls and magazines.”

Nancy Anderson proudly displays her miniature houses, one of which is a replica of a general store in South Dayton. Anderson did have help from her family members at times, making the houses true family treasures. P-J photos by Katrina Fuller

She built the miniature structures in the 1980s. Her husband spent hours putting the shingles on them, Anderson said, one-by-one. She purchased kits from Pearson’s Stained Glass and Miniatures.

“There is a house like this at Chautauqua Institution toward the main gate,” Anderson said of the small yellow structure. “There’s probably more than one of this.”

Her son, Michael, said all the furniture, decorations and more were extra items that she purchased over the years.

“They’re all to scale,” he said. “The whole angle of this is historical. If you look inside, there’s a wood-burning stove, and instead of a refrigerator, there is an icebox. We had to build all of these, so you put them together piece by piece.”

He said it allows the viewer to get a tiny glimpse into how people lived during that time.

Anderson said she  and her family became close friends with the Pearson family who owned the stained glass and miniatures store, which might have impacted her decision to start up the hobby, she said.

“When they came to Lakewood, I went to visit them,” Anderson said. “That did it.”

Each house took her several years to complete, including the additions of furniture and decorations. Even still, Anderson said she enjoys decorating the homes for the holidays, such as Christmas and Easter.

“I like every part. I like to move things around, and rearrange things,” Anderson said. “I do have some favorite pieces of furniture.”