Holiday tree house: Ligonier Township home decked out with dozens of themed Tannenbaums

Dec. 23—Jane Mattern decks out more than 40 Christmas trees, at least one for every day of the holiday season and for every room of her family's expansive Ligonier Township home.

The variously themed trees range from an 18-foot live Fraser fir that stretches toward the living room's cathedral ceiling to a pint-size replica in a dollhouse she's styled as a bed and breakfast.

"Every room has a different Christmas theme of some kind," Mattern said. "There's a lot of stuff to see."

When friends drop in during the yuletide season, she said, "It takes two hours for the full tour. People love to come see it. That's why I love to do it."

Mattern's flair with holiday finery began decades ago when her family was living in a historic 200-year-old farmhouse elsewhere on their property. Her collection of trees and decorations has grown to fill the 10,000-square-foot dwelling they've occupied since 2001.

That includes 64 wreaths she purchased, one for each window in the house, when the Ames department store in Hempfield had a going-out-of-business sale.

"That was at the same time we were building our house," she said. "I kept going back every week, and I kept stacking (the wreaths) up."

Many of Mattern's holiday decorations are whimsical: a giant Tootsie Pop propped against the kitchen wall, a tiny clothesline strung with Santa's laundry and the Foghorn Leghorn character perched atop her country-themed tree.

"That's my favorite chicken," she said.

Other items are more sublime.

There is a hand-painted wooden Nativity set that was created as a gift by a friend who is an architect.

Twin curved corridors that connect separate wings of the home gleam with a display of lighted white trees. "At night, it looks really pretty," Mattern said.

Still blooming is a Christmas cactus that has been growing since the 1920s, when it was started by her husband Gerry's German grandfather, who settled in the Punxsutawney area.

"We almost lost it," Mattern said of the seasoned succulent. "The pot fell over and I didn't know it. It was enormous. It's slowly coming back."

Mattern has a special sentimental attachment for several of the trees in her Christmas collection.

There's the "grandma tree." She explained, "It has little things the grandkids have given me over the years."

In return, she has made personalized Christmas stockings for members of her extended family. The clan includes four children and eight grandchildren, respective spouses and seven great-grandchildren, with an eighth great expected in January. She also has written a unique children's book for each great-grandchild.

Another tree is arrayed with handcrafted ornaments and an angel tree-topper she made one winter in a joint project with her late mother, who came to stay with the Matterns when they were living in the farmhouse.

"We made the same angel for all the kids, so they all have one on their tree," Mattern said.

42-year tradition

Tucked away in the basement is a tree that recalls the Dairy Queen ice cream shop that the Matterns outfitted as a Gay '90s-themed

parlor and operated until 1991 in Ligonier Borough. Ornaments shaped like a hot fudge sundae, a banana split or a Dilly Bar appear on the tree — along with red spoons and straws, in place of icicles.

Mattern can't begin to estimate the number of ornaments she's unpacked every November to adorn the branches of her indoor forest. One large tub of decorations is set aside for each of the artificial evergreens.

She's ordered some ornaments from catalogs and has discovered others at flea markets.

"My sister worked at a thrift shop and would send me a box every year," she said, "and friends would bring me ornaments. I've been collecting for 60-some years, so you get a lot of stuff."

The selection, transportation, placement and trimming of the Matterns' lofty live tree involves a process the family has followed for 42 years, beginning with a visit to the same Indiana County tree farm.

"We go in October and mark the tree we want," Mattern said. "They cut it the day after Thanksgiving and bundle it for us, and we go get it."

This year, they rented a trailer and hauled the tree home with help from some of their children who were visiting.

"It's got to be full enough that I can put all the ornaments on it," Mattern said of the ideal tree. "I don't want to be able to see through it. We always get a Fraser because they last. We keep them up until after New Year's."

While the large living room calls for a tree of equal scale, it has to be able to fit through the window. In 2015, they selected their largest, a 27-footer.

Mattern decorates the live tree in red, white and blue ornaments. That matches the patriotic theme of the living room — a tribute to George Washington, whose Mt. Vernon inspired the design of the Matterns' home.

While Jane Mattern takes charge of the home's holiday decorations, her husband enjoys the end result.

"It's a happy time of the year," Gerry Mattern said.

He installed the wiring to support the lighting that brings the Christmas displays to life. That includes a miniature Christmas village with lighting and audio effects that fills two basement rooms.

Last year, the Matterns switched to more efficient LED lights to make the live tree glow.

"Before, when we put 10,000 lights on it, it got really warm in here," said Jane Mattern.

With no room left to expand her Christmas village, Mattern has taken up a new hobby. She restores and decorates vintage dollhouses and hopes to complete one modeled after the family's former farmhouse.

Since she and her husband are both in their 80s and their children are not close by, it has become difficult to move all the Christmas decorations out of storage.

As a result, she's resigned herself to the prospect that this will be her last full-scale display of holiday trees.

"I'm so sad about not doing it anymore," she said. "I love to decorate."

Jeff Himler is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jeff by email at jhimler@triblive.com or via Twitter .