How a haunting 80-year-old Eaton's Christmas display lives on in this Sask. museum

Randall Simpson is diligently working behind the scenes at the Western Development Museum, maintaining the iconic animatronic Christmas display that’s become a must-see for Saskatoon residents during the holidays.

The Eaton's Once Upon a Time Christmas display was built in 1948 as a celebration of the transition to peace, originally crafted by the Canadian Air Force using spare parts from the Second World War.

Simpson calls it a marvel of 1940s mechanical engineering.

"They used their expertise they developed during the war working on airplanes, and surplus parts. To take machines of war, and to turn them into a children's Christmas display," said Simpson

Simpson volunteers his time for the rare opportunity to work with and maintain systems from a bygone era.

"I enjoy the mechanical aspect. The creativity to try and get something that's 70-years-old to work," said Simpson.

Some systems, nearing 100 years old, require meticulous maintenance to ensure the display runs just as it did when first showcased at Eaton's.

One model, Punkinhead, is Eaton's distinctively Canadian take on the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer story.

Punkinhead is a sad little teddy bear who’s bullied for his woolly tuft of hair.

"They adopted Rudolph as a marketing mascot, and Eaton's said ‘that's a great idea.’ So they approached the creator of Bugs Bunny, who created this character Punkinhead," said Simpson.

The character's mythology didn't endure as long as the story of Rudolph, but thanks to the work of people like Simpson, Punkinhead lives on at the museum.