Today let’s take a brief, blessed excursion to a less stressed, more festive yesteryear when the chaos and clamor of daily life could be merrily sidetracked by a few moments spent riding the rails of tradition.

Our conductor is Scranton attorney Chris Munley, standing in for the late, great Don Clark, whose “Miniature Memories” toy train display is back on its tracks after a nine-year derailment. The sprawling, detail-rich cityscape debuted at the Woolworth’s at Keyser Oak Shopping Center in 1977 and became a beloved local treasure with whistle stops at a Gertrude Hawk outlet and the Marketplace at Steamtown.

Scranton attorney Chris Munley poses with a portrait of the late Don Clark, creator of the beloved “Miniature Memories” toy train display. Munley bought the long-shuttered collection, which is now on display at the Everhart Museum. (CHRIS KELLY / STAFF PHOTO)

This holiday season, “Scranton to Scale: Don Clark’s Miniature Memories” is the hot ticket at the Everhart Museum.

“I remember the first time I saw it,” Chris said as he and Everhart CEO Tim Holmes gave me a guided tour early Thursday. “I was in Gertrude Hawk’s and I was an adult, not a kid. I was there getting Easter candy, and I remember wandering in there and I felt like one of those kids on the tour at Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory when they walked into that amazingly bright, sunlit room with all these beautiful colors….

“It just fascinated me. I fell in love with it and I went to visit it a lot, not for any other reason than it was a way to lose yourself in something for a few minutes. When it was at the mall, I used to take breaks from work, just wander down and go in.”

Don Clark, the master architect, builder and engineer of “Miniature Memories,” was 77 when he died in 2010. His daughter, Kathy Clark-Shock, and her husband, Joe Shock, worked hard to keep Clark’s legacy rolling, but 2016 saw its last public run. Mall management evicted the exhibit two years later. With no destination for a new home, the local treasure was buried in boxes.

Chris Munley bought the display from the Shocks with the hope of finding it a new space for public enjoyment. His first choice —Steamtown National Historic Site — seemed like a seamless fit.

Chris Kelly (TIMES-TRIBUNE FILE)

“The superintendent at the time said to me, ‘We’d be happy to take it, but you have to donate it to us,’ ” Chris said. “That was not a problem, but in the conversation, it became clear that there were no guarantees that this wouldn’t be boxed up and put into government storage.”

So he stored it in his attic. Last Christmas, Chris set up some of the display in his home. Guests were just as fascinated as he was. At an event celebrating the Scranton-set global sensation “The Office,” Chris broached the idea of bringing “Miniature Memories” to the Everhart. Museum Curator James Lansing replied, “When can you have it here?”

Word of the return of “Miniature Memories” in time for the holidays sparked immediate buzz, Tim Holmes said. Response to the museum’s Facebook post announcing the exhibit was overwhelming.

“We’ve never had this kind of reply to a Facebook post,” Tim said. “We had 900-plus likes, over 200 shares and 114 comments. It’s wild how much local interest it’s generating, along with the international interest ‘The Office’ exhibit is generating.”

Tim walked me through it, too. It’s as impressive, inventive and authoritative as any exhibit you’ll find in New York or any other major city. In recent weeks, Tim said “The Office” attraction has drawn global visitors from France, Malta, Brazil and Canada.

“They all felt this draw to Scranton,” he said. “They’re coming to get a piece of Scranton, and the cool thing is the timing with the ‘Miniature Memories’ exhibit. What piece of Scranton is better than this?”

“Pieces” fits better. Clark’s expertly scaled and detailed models of local landmarks like the Lackawanna County Courthouse, the Scranton Cultural Center, the Glider Diner, Nay Aug Park and the Everhart itself are uncannily realistic and all hand-made. Clark never charged admission, but accepted donations he passed on to St. Joseph’s Center and the holiday bureau, which helps the less fortunate during the Christmas season.

“I really want all of this to be about Don Clark,” Chris said. “I want it to be about him because he was a genius and an understated genius. He was a very simple man, a bus driver, but this man, if he had plied his talents commercially, he would have been a tremendously successful artist. Imagine what he could have done in Hollywood.

“Don Clark may not have been a household name, but in the lives of literally thousands of people, this man created a Scranton land-of-make-believe that people could get lost in for a few minutes. It’s nice to have that back.”

All aboard!

CHRIS KELLY, the Times-Tribune columnist, hopes you enjoyed this brief excursion away from clamor and chaos. Contact the writer: ckelly@scrantontimes.com; @cjkink on X; Chris Kelly, The Times-Tribune on Facebook; and @chriskellyink on Blue Sky Social.

IF YOU GO

What: “Scranton to Scale: Don Clark’s Miniature Memories”

When: Dec. 3–March 2026

Museum hours: Wednesday to Sunday 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Closed Monday and Tuesday

Museum admission: adults, $10; seniors (60+) and students, $5; children 12 and under, free; Everhart, NARM and ROAM members, free; SNAP, WIC and EBT recipients, free; active and retired military and family, free.

For more: Visit https://everhart-museum.org/ or call 570-346-7186.