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In Focus: Kraynak’s in Hermitage displays Santa’s Christmasland
Kraynak's
Gallery
HERMITAGE, PA — Kraynak’s Inc. is more than a seasonal specialty store — it’s a family tradition.
John Kraynak founded the store at 2525 East State St. in 1963.
It started as a lawn and garden center with greenhouses and expanded in 1969, when the main store was built.
The 20,000-square foot store is open Monday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays.
And this time of the year, the store features one of its best known displays, Santa’s Christmasland.
As patrons walk the one-way lane that winds through the store, they see Christmas tree displays decked out with vibrantly colored ornaments and fluffy fake snow and surrounded by various stuffed animals.
Each display is unique and themed, ranging from Rudolph to arctic animals and even a nativity scene at the end. The displays are planned up to a year in advance. The organizers spend time at Christmas trade shows to pick out the newest and best displays and merchandise.
Today, you can still see the tradition being kept alive by the founder’s grandson, store manager Dan Zippie.
“We have a team that goes to various shows and we start buying for next year in January,” he said.
The trees are put up in July. In August, the decorating begins. Santa’s Christmasland is displayed from Sept. 10 thru Dec. 24.
See this Vindicator In Focus feature, complete with a series of photographs of the Santaland display, Monday in The Vindicator and on Vindy.com.