VIDALIA &8212; Vidalia employees working on the Christmas decorations for the riverfront are motivated by the memories they have of the old International Paper displays.

Project leader Burnley Cook, 45, said the displays are replicas of the original displays built by Lanus Hammack and other former IP employees from 1956-72.

&8220;Mr. Hammack actually came by here when we first started building them,&8221; Cook said. &8220;He was impressed with the construction and said everything was much more hi-tech compared to the old displays.&8221;

Hammack, 83, hopes the Miss-Lou will be moved by the displays.

&8220;I think it&8217;s good for the community to be involved in this and to keep the genuine spirit of Christmas alive,&8221; Hammack said. &8220;It seems to be getting smaller and smaller every year and maybe this will help it grow stronger.&8221;

Cook said he, the employees and a few volunteers started working on the displays last April.

Seventeen displays are already completed, including 10 box displays, which are electronically animated, and seven free standing displays, Cook said.

The displays depict several scenes of Christmas including elves skiing, Santa Claus hanging a star on a Christmas tree and Santa waving from a carriage at the passers-by.

&8220;Three of the free-standing displays also depict different scripture passages of the Nativity,&8221; Cook said.

Carpenter Michael Eames remembers the old IP displays.

&8220;It used to be a yearly event to go and take my nieces and nephews to see the old displays at IP,&8221; Eames said. &8220;Now I&8217;ll be able to take my grandchildren to see the new ones.&8221;

Electrician Norman Edwards said he was excited to hear that the city of Vidalia was recreating the old displays and that he would be working on them.

&8220;My eyes lit up and I was real enthusiastic, kind of like a child,&8221; Edwards said.

Sue Stallings is an artist working on the project and is also a former employee of IP.

&8220;I started in 1974 and the company had just quit doing them, so when I heard they were going to be back I was really excited,&8221; Stallings said.

Stallings husband Steve is also working on the displays and can&8217;t wait to see the faces of the people who remember the old displays.

&8220;It&8217;s going to rekindle a lot of memories for the people who used to work at IP and the people who remember the old ones,&8221; Steve said.

Samantha Allen, 22, is a student at the University of Louisiana Monroe.

Allen volunteered to work on the projects last summer while she was out of school but comes home on the weekends to help the rest of the crew.

&8220;I really want to see this project through and I have become really attached to the group working on the project,&8221; Allen said.

The displays will be unveiled Nov. 24, free of charge to the public and will line the Vidalia riverfront from the south side of the Mississippi River bridge toward the Riverfront RV park, Cook said.

Cook said he and the team plan on adding to the display each year.