Christmas Garden lights up

Hundreds of children and their parents braved bitterly cold weather on Wednesday to see the lighting of the Christmas Garden in Smiley Park. Jim Clay and his many helpers spent literally thousands of hours turning the garden into a shimmering fantasyland of color (above), while characters from The Wizard of Oz, the Grinch, and others (below) greeted the children. photos by Dave Mosier/Van Wert independent