Wanted: A New Home for Miniature ‘Maybeland,’ a Fantasy Christmas Dis…

In a St. Charles, Illinois, basement, a whimsical Christmas fantasy of lollipop forests, root-beer oceans and glittering ice castles lies hidden away, carefully packed into a collection of plastic totes. The fanciful landscapes of “Maybeland” and the curious creatures that inhabit it were handcrafted in intricate miniature by a Chicago father who made it all to display in his family’s Portage Park bungalow every Christmas season.

In the late 1980s, model hobbyist Ronald Konecki created an 8-foot diorama depicting the adventures of a radio show character named Paddy O’Cinnamon, better known as the Cinnamon Bear. The display follows the Cinnamon Bear as he helps siblings Judy and Jimmy Barton on their magical quest through the enchanted Maybeland to find their family’s treasured Silver Star Christmas ornament.

Ronald Konecki’s son Tony Konecki said his father, who died in 2017, never intended for the display to be seen by anyone but his own family. Indeed, other than two…