Trees of Christmas promises to be magical
Nov. 14—A walk through a park covered in freshly fallen snow, snowballs arcing toward cousins, a family dinner at Grandma's, gingerbread houses under construction, and goodies of every flavor baking in the oven: From one room of the Baldwin-Reynolds House Museum to the next "elves" worked busily this weekend, transforming their crafting labor into "Magical Christmas Memories."
The elves in this case were volunteers from Meadville Garden Club, and the magical memories will be on display as the theme of the 2022 Trees of Christmas event that takes place this coming weekend and the next at the museum.
"It is so much hard work, but so fun in the long run," event co-chair Barb Spencer said this week, "because everybody works together and everybody tries to surprise the others with what they've done. It's so rewarding to see the people come through the house. It's just a festive event for Crawford County."
Trees of Christmas may itself seem a magical memory to some who have been attending since the mid-1970s. Last held in 2018, the 2020 edition of the biennial tradition was canceled due to the pandemic. Now back on schedule, the fundraiser has contributed more than $300,000 to the museum and other local nonprofits in the nearly 50 years since it started.
Spencer and her fellow event co-chair, June Schlosser, moved from room to room Friday as dozens of teams armed with hand-crafted holiday decorations festooned Fraser firs from SJ Carroll Wholesale LLC in Cochranton.
"This hole, right here?" Schlosser said, pointing toward a section of exposed pine needles near the top of a gingerbread-themed tree. "It looks like it needs something."
"Is that that spot where we've been fussing with it?" Rhonda Sippy responded. "Oh, I was going to do ribbon there — ribbon there would be good."
The decorations are the culmination of months and months of preparation, but the shift from planning to hanging ornaments on actual trees inside the 19th-century mansion keeps can be challenging.
"Every year, you don't sleep at night until you get here and then it all kind of comes together — with a lot of tweaking," Sippy said as she eyed the top of the tree. "Every year we've had the trees, I always think, 'Oh, my gosh, the trees couldn't be any better — how could they ever improve on it?' Every year, it's so different and so incredibly good."
The elaborate decorations spanning 10 of the home's rooms start with trees but go well beyond. In the dining room, for instance, the table will be set for a holiday dinner using china once owned by the Reynolds family. In the "Christmas at Grandma's"-themed room, hand-made doilies — several made by the actual grandmothers of the garden club members doing the decorating — will contribute to the magic wrought by nostalgic memories of Christmas past.
A tree-topper in the "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" room is fashioned from a children's picture book and a decorative mouse can be seen not far from the tree, though it obviously won't be stirring as the expected thousands of visitors make their way through on the two weekends of the tour.
With toys ranging from antique marbles to a vintage 1970s banana-seat Schwinn and turn-of-the-century Beanie Babies, a Toyland-themed room will similarly inspire memories — and will have children of today marveling at an authentic Sears Wish Book from the early 1990s.
"We're hoping that everybody that walks through this room sees something that they're like — 'Oh, my gosh, I loved that game' or 'I had that when I was a kid,'" said Kelly Carder, standing next to a box of Hot Wheels vehicles.
Another element that's likely to produce nostalgic memories is the cost of admission, which Spencer noted is still $5 for adults and $2 for children, as it has been for decades.
"We will keep it that way," she said, "so that everybody can enjoy it."
Mike Crowley can be reached at (814) 724-6370 or by email at mcrowley@meadvilletribune.com.
