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Five varied dwellings on Delts’ Home Tour Sunday
The 35th annual Holiday Home Tour, presented by Theta Chapter, Delta Theta Tau Sorority, will be on Sunday, Nov. 19.
Tickets for the 1-5 p.m. home tour are $8 and are available at Myers’ Market, Eitel’s Florist, Almost Home, Completely Nuts & Candy Co., Creative Touch and from any Delt member.
Several discount offers are included as part of your ticket. You can enjoy a meal at one of the participating local restaurants either before or after enjoying the Home Tour. Several local merchants are also offering discounts. A Home Tour ticket and the enclosed coupon must be presented to receive discounts.
The home of Joe and Rita Ferguson, 951 Deerfield Ct., Greencastle, was built in 2000 by Chris and Jim Williamson, owners of Summit Builders.
The two-story brick has more than 4,000 square feet of living space, including a full basement with an adjacent patio. Among the holiday decorations are several nativity scenes, including ones from Eskimo and Native American cultures.
Treasured family keepsakes are proudly displayed including the Lady of the Lake quilt made by Rita’s great-grandmother (Sabina Kyger Pence) 102 years ago, her water glass and fruit cup, the Bible (all in German) which was given to her in 1860 as a wedding gift from her parents, and the cradle used by Rita’s grandfather in 1878. The love of family, good friends, and the spirit of the holiday season abound in this lovely modern home.
Harl and Saraellen Peters sold their farm and in June 2017 purchased the ranch style home at 2016 Fairway Drive which borders Windy Hill Golf Course in the Edgelea subdivision at the north edge of Greencastle. They immediately embarked on an extensive plan to remodel and modernize the home’s 2,000+ square feet.
The kitchen and master bath have been completely updated, and the living room and kitchen/fireplace area were opened up for a more modern floor design. The large windows in the fireplace area provide a great view of the lush green space behind the home.
The original hardwood flooring and old barn wood framing the windows were preserved and are a nice mix of old with the new. Gray tones and a snowman holiday theme throughout provide a fitting background for Saraellen’s artwork of watercolors, portrait drawings and pastels.
When Kimberly Fidler first saw the 1895 home at 203 Wood St. she fell in love with it and the existing claw foot tub. In the past five years she has updated the shell of this three-bedroom, 2-1/2 bath home with central air, gutters, siding and shutters. However, she has made every effort to keep and restore the home’s interior as it might have been in early years.
To ensure that authentic old-fashioned look Fidler shops salvage yards and older homes for items that can be reused or re-purposed. She has been able to add brick to the wall and ceiling of one bedroom and tin wall covering elsewhere.
Surrounded by old-fashioned Christmas décor and with a comforting fire aglow in the fireplace it is easy to relax here and sing a chorus of “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow.”
The Italianate style home at 429 Anderson St. was built in 1887 by John Ireland to showcase the beautiful woods and craftsmanship offered by his local mill yard. Each room is finished in a different wood and features 12- to 14-inch high baseboards and many stained glass panels. A five-foot pocket sliding door, cherry on one side and walnut on the other, matches the woods of the rooms each side faces.
DePauw University has restored the home, both inside and out. While there have been some updates, including modern and luxurious bathrooms and a kitchen well equipped for entertaining, each of the original fireplaces was retained and restored.
The home is now used as a guest house for visiting faculty, artists, speakers, and other dignitaries coming to the campus and it is furnished with period-appropriate décor and numerous pieces of DePauw artwork.
The two-story brick home at the corner of Franklin and Vine streets is believed to have been the home of Greencastle’s first blacksmith. After holding it as an investment property for some time Eric Wolfe decided earlier this year it would be a great location for the offices of his Prime Real Estate Group.
The living and dining rooms now serve as conference and meeting spaces and the upstairs bedrooms are now offices. The “breakfast nook” is a great little hideaway for those necessary copy and fax machines.
Be sure to check out Eric’s collection of Greencastle memorabilia in the front conference room.
Delts’ famous cheese balls (cheddar, beef and onion and dill - still just $6 each) can be purchased here during the Home Tour. They are also available at Myers’ Market.
Proceeds from the Holiday Home Tour and cheese ball sales support the Delta Theta Tau Scholarship Fund and philanthropy donations to Putnam County programs and organizations. The members of Delta Theta Tau thank all of the homeowners, businesses and individuals who have supported their many projects over their 108-year history in Greencastle.