Christmas Home Tour combines rural, old-town Berthoud homes for second annual event
By Shelley Widhalm
The Surveyor
For some Christmas decorating ideas, plus a quick history lesson, a local philanthropy group has the perfect event to add to your fun-things-to-do list.
P.E.O. Chapter HA-Berthoud changed up the second annual Christmas Home Tour on Dec. 14-15 by presenting four instead of three homes and by bringing in the rural area of Berthoud for the two-day, self-guided tour.
“All of these homes are very special, unique homes that have notoriety in the community, and everyone will love to see inside them after driving past,” said Stephanie Gregg, chairperson of the finance committee for the Berthoud P.E.O. chapter, which stands for Philanthropic Education Organization. “They will be filled with lots of Christmas magic.”
The homes include a folk Victorian, a Norman Rockwell, and a prairie farm sod, as well as the McCarty-Fickel Home Museum, each decorated to a different theme for the holidays. The tour will be 5-8 p.m. on Dec. 14 and 1-4 p.m. on Dec. 15, snow or shine.
“Each home was handpicked by P.E.O. members to provide a selection of rural and old-town Berthoud homes,” Gregg said. “What’s interesting is this year each home is owned by a P.E.O. sister, with the exception of the McCarty-Fickle Home.”
The McCarty-Fickel Home was bequeathed by a P.E.O. sister who requested each Berthoud P.E.O. chapter be able to use it annually for a special occasion. P.E.O. currently has two chapters in Berthoud, the HA and AS chapters.
The McCarty-Fickel Home, an American foursquare at 645 Seventh St. in downtown, was built in 1916 by Dr. David W. McCarty and his wife Jennie, and is now owned by the Berthoud Historical Society. It will be decorated in a simple style reminiscent of the 1910s and 1920s; with candles, evergreens, ribbons, and seasonal fruits and nuts.
The folk Victorian home, 705 Seventh St., is down the street from the McCarty-Fickle Home and is a middle-class version of Queen Anne Victorians. Built in 1914 by Lou Hendershott, it is now owned by Carol Brewer and Paul Alaback, who purchased it in 2006 as a place to retire after working in careers as scientists. The decorations reflect their interests, along with their family roots; with many candles and lights, several nativity scenes, and two large and two small Christmas trees.
“Our decorations reflect nature and the northern European roots of our family. We have a lot of decorations that are from Sweden and Norway,” Brewer said. “We also have one whole Christmas tree decorated with different animal ornaments that represent the different kinds of places that my husband and I did research before we retired.”
Brewer likes that hers and the other homes on the tour offer a variety of decorating traditions.
“Every family that has volunteered to be on the tour has unique traditions related to the holidays. It’s not only interesting to see their homes, especially if they’re historic, it’s also interesting to see how they’re decorated and get ideas from that,” Brewer said. “Beyond that, it’s a very good cause to support.”
The two rural homes also are near each other and are located one mile out of town limits.
“We thought that would give us a nice variety, because Berthoud is an agricultural community, and we wanted to tie Berthoud’s historical roots also into the tour,” Gregg said.
The Norman Rockwell home, 1001 N. County Road 19, was built in the farmhouse style in 1995 by David and Nancy Lamb and incorporates furniture from their grandparents to reflect their love of family history. The couple also loves tradition, so the home is decorated in a traditional style with the main Christmas tree full of glass ornaments, many of them gifts from Nancy’s family.
“That family just loved tradition, so the home will be decorated with many traditional decorations that have been handed down from generation to generation,” Gregg said.
The other rural home, a prairie farm sod home, 2829 W. County Road 8, was built in 1980 by Jerald Brekke, Sr., and now is owned by Jerry Brekke, Jr., and his wife Shauna. It is an earth home made out of concrete and steel with dirt on top and is heated by a wood-burning stove.
“It will have a very simple clean farmhouse theme with additional whimsical decorations,” Gregg said.
P.E.O. members will serve as docents at each home to talk about the significance of the decorations and the historical aspects of the homes.
The tour will take place during the third annual Berthoud Snowfest, a winter festival with a lighted parade, an artisan market, and the annual Colorado State Snow Sculpting Competition. The two old Berthoud homes are near the festival.
“We wanted to partner with them to offer them something unique for all the people attending Snowfest,” Gregg said. “They need to just walk two blocks and come into the two beautiful historic homes.”
The home tour raised more than $2,000 last year, and 150 people attended. The goal this year is to raise $3,000 to support scholarships for women pursuing all levels of education, including graduates of Berthoud High School and women who want to earn their master’s and doctoral degrees.
“We wanted to find a creative fundraiser that will help us earn money for scholarships that would also bless our community,” Gregg said.
Tickets for the tour cost $15 for adults and $5 for children ages 10 and under. Tickets can be purchased at the Berthoud Area Chamber of Commerce, Re/Max Town & Country, Indigo Sky Trading Co, Wishful Living, and Berthoud Vintage. They also will be available at the Snowfest launch party 5:30-7 p.m. Dec. 12 at Grace Place, from P.E.O. members and at the door of each home both days of the event.
“What makes it fun and interesting is the variety of homes and the unique decorations in each one,” said Marilee Goodrich, president of P.E.O. Chapter HA. “It’s a fun event for families and anyone who is interested in looking at fun Christmas decorations.”
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