Greenfield Historical Society
It’s time for the 16th annual Greenfield Christmas House Tour hosted by the Greenfield Historical Society after a two-year hiatus.
The tour will be from 12:30 to 4:30 pm on Sunday, December 4 and will feature four houses, an art studio, and the B&O Depot. The cost of the tour is $10. A chicken noodle dinner will precede the tour at the Grain and Hay Building from 11:30am to 1pm. choice of cakes
The business featured this year is the Dancing on Tabletops Art Studio at 11220 SR 753 South, owned by Cathy Daniels Rivas. The studio was a two-year project opening in the spring of 2022. Cathy calls it her “happy retirement” of hers. It’s an eclectic studio located on her family’s farmland. The Danielses began farming this property in 1841. Cathy has an art studio and a guest area that includes two small bedrooms, a small kitchen, a bathroom, and a sitting room. She offers workshops and enjoys completing her own artwork here.
Our first house featured will be at 671 South Washington Street, the home of Dean and Sylvia Waddell. The house is 163 years old and was built by GI Rucker with stones from his quarry. Dean and Sylvia have lived here for five years and have done extensive restoration to the interior and exterior of the house while maintaining a very traditional style. They are still working on the wall facing the house and the landscape. Dean’s favorite place is the basement where his hobbies come to life. The house has five bedrooms and 4½ bathrooms, and they have added air conditioning. They will have Christmas trees for the holidays
Our second home is Tom Schluep’s house at 131 North Eighth Street. It was built in 1950 and Tom has lived there for two years. Tom loves his cozy home and he has lots of antiques throughout. They include an antique cabinet from the Presbyterian Church, a stool from Pearce’s restaurant, and old newspapers from the Greenfield Daily Times. Tom likes to do crafts and he will have many on display. He will also have Christmas decorations throughout the house.
Our third house is the home of Trevor and Brittany Quigley at 930 Jefferson Street. This house is 100 years old this year and has a lot of history in the basement with hand prints and owners names and dates on the walls. Their style has been primitive, but they are moving towards an organic modern style as they update the furnishings. The house suffered a fire in 2018 and was restored and remodeled before it was purchased a year ago. They continue to make improvements and repairs to the house, including a recent water leak. They will have a big Christmas tree and some other decorations in the home.
Our final home belongs to Eric and Mel Salyers at 12618 SR 28 West. The ranch house was built in 1974 and is described as a European country house. They moved in two years ago and their family room and living room are their favorite places because they are their gathering place to enjoy family and friends. They will have Christmas decorations throughout the house with a special tree in memory of Eric’s grandmother and the decorations from the Frosty Eskimo friends that she gave Eric every year for Christmas.
Finally, the B&O Depot will be open for visitors. The historical society wants to share with the community the wonderful blueprint of Greenfield over the years given to them by Tom Adams. The warehouse has been remodeled in the past year with a lowered ceiling, new windows and doors, lighting and fresh paint. Tom has reorganized his display, added enhancements to it, and improved signage and information. Tom is also hosting holiday displays in the downtown stores this year. His beautiful handmade scale models of our town are amazing to look at and remember our town in the 1920’s-50’s.
The four families are excited about this year’s tour and hope that many visitors will come to see all their hard work and Christmas decorations. The historical society really appreciates all of your time and effort. The tour helps the society continue its work to preserve and share Greenfield’s history.
Tickets are $10 for the tour and are available at the Community Savings Bank from November 21 through noon December 3. Tickets will also be available on the day of the tour at the Grain and Hay Building and at the houses. Also, if you need gifts for Christmas, we have many ideas available, including our McClain High School book, available in the Grain and Hay building. Remember, a meal will be available at Grain and Hay from 11:30 am to 1 pm for $10. Come out and support the Greenfield Historical Society and these families who have generously opened up their homes for the tour.