A masterpiece in progress Published Dec. 6, 2009 By Staff Sgt. Megan Crusher 452 AMW Public Affairs MARCH AIR RESERVE BASE, CALIF. -- Last year was supposed to be the final year for the 452nd Civil Engineering Squadron's Santa's Village, as the Santa's Village mastermind and craftsman, Mike Kastner, is now retired from his position as a senior air reserve technician there. Kastner has been building Santa's Villages for the squadron since 2004 and they have become a beloved holiday tradition for the children of the squadron. But the kids won't have to be disappointed this year: Kastner has agreed to return and has been hard at work on one more Santa's Village. Santa's Village is a handcrafted, elaborately decorated cardboard maze of interconnected tunnels disguised in a gift wrapped Christmas village where the children of CE personnel explore and play during the squadron's annual holiday party. Although the finished village looks sleek and effortless, the village is neither quick nor simple to build. The design phase begins with a PowerPoint presentation that becomes the blueprints for the project. Kastner then gathers all the materials, which include cardboard boxes, tape and wrapping paper and starts building. Kastner's former job in CE was program management analyst, where he managed the squadron. But throughout the years he helped in different CE shops and he has put the knowledge he's gained into creating Santa's Village. "I've seen them and helped them build things and I use the same principles as you would with normal construction," said Kastner. This year is different due to Kastner's retirement and current unemployment. He had not planned on constructing the village until his former squadron began begging and pleading with him. "They basically ambushed me to do it," said Kastner with a laugh. This year has required a lot more time and energy than last year because of his situation. "I'm unemployed and I'm trying to divide my time between seeking employment and coming out here, so it's a lot of work," said Kastner. The 2009 Santa's Village is unique in its design. "This year is a lot different because I've added more twists and turns and it's more of a traditional old-time structure as far as construction goes," said Kastner. Last year, the measurements were precise and true, but due to lack of time he wasn't able to be as exact this year. But that helped the village look more like an 18th century alpine house, said Kastner. Kastner saved 19 boxes from last year to reuse for tunnels this year. He also saved the two tall towers that will be used to create this year's fireplace. Once complete, he estimates that 60 percent of the village will be newly created. It will take about 55 additional boxes to finish construction, not including the boxes used to make the roof. The boxes were donated from the on-base recycling center and the recruiters next door. All the boxes will be recycled once the party is over. Another difference from last year is that he had volunteers help him with some of the construction in 2008, but this year he's doing it alone and with less time. He's put four days into the project and plans to come in the rest of the week to finish by the Dec. 5 party. The village is created in CE's assembly room, which is a multi-purpose room located in building 1203 that can be divided into three classes to conduct training and have commanders calls, said Kastner. But during December, the room is transformed into a winter wonderland for CE children. Seeing the children play and have a good time makes it all worthwhile for Kastner. "I enjoy sitting in here watching the children play more than anything else, so in the end it's worth all the work," said Kastner.