Christmas Tour of Homes in Greenfield Dec. 7
By Harold Schmidt
Greenfield Historical Society
GREENFIELD – This year’s Christmas Tour of Homes for the Greenfield Historical Society will feature five homes and a church.
The tour will be held from 12:30-4:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 7. A baked steak dinner will precede the tour at the Grain and Hay Building at the corner of Jefferson Street and McArthur Way from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. The cost is $8.
CHURCH OF CHRIST
• The Greenfield Church of Christ will be the historic church this year at 955 Jefferson Street. This church was started in Greenfield in 1896 by C.A. Freer. The first Church of Christ was located on Midway Avenue (later became the General Telephone Company) and was dedicated on Christmas 1897.
From 1900-21, the church moved to South Street near Seventh Street (became the Woodmansee Ice Cream factory). The Central Church of Christ from 1951-57 was then relocated to the corner of Washington and South Street (became the Masonic Temple).
The present Greenfield Church of Christ was built in 1957 and has been a part of Greenfield for 57 years now. The exterior walls are covered with a tangerine brick with sandstone paneling and trim from Scioto County. Fresh new sidewalks have just been completed around the exterior. Members of the church will welcome visitors and share some of the special features inside the sanctuary including the open wood beam ceilings and the picture of Jesus over the baptistery. The church will celebrate Christmas with decorations in the sanctuary and in a few of the Sunday school classrooms.
BOYD HOME
• The first house featured at 829 Jefferson Street is owned by Chris and Lisa Boyd. Their family has lived here for seven years. ]They love how spacious the home is and are trying to keep it as original as they can.
Chris and Lisa have a modern décor with a few old pieces. Lisa loves all the original woodwork and the sliding pocket doors. They continue to work on restoring the house and can point out the changes and additions made to the original home to the tour visitors. They have three Christmas trees throughout the home. The upstairs tree is decorated by the children with their special ornaments. The main tree is decorated in red and gold and coordinates with the bannister. The third tree is a white tree with blue and silver decorations located in the playroom.
HATFIELD HOME
• The next home is owned by Hester Hatfield and is located across the street at 808 Jefferson Street. Hester moved into her home last year and she loves the cozy feel of her new place. She has many primitive accents with country furniture. Her favorite parts of the house are her red bedroom and the craft room upstairs where she can work on the many crafts she enjoys. Hester will have two large trees decorated for Christmas and is working on two small trees with many of her hand-crafted ornaments on them.
WISE HOME
• Sheryl and Steve Wise own the third home at 705 Lafayette Street. They have lived here for 28 years. The exterior brick is a glazed brick fired on site and was built prior to 1930.
Sheryl describes her style of décor as eclectic, having a mix of old and new. Her favorite place is her antique room located upstairs holding many family pieces and gifts from her family. That room has a Christmas tree covered with many older ornaments. There will be six trees throughout the home. The kids’ room will have a snowman tree and there will even be a bent tree to see. Santa is expected to be at the home to visit with guests.
[[In-content Ad]]
CATHOLIC CHURCH RECTORY
• Father Mike Paraniuk will welcome people to the rectory beside the Catholic Church at 218 South Second Street. Father Mike is pastor for two churches, St. Mary in Hillsboro and St. Benignus in Greenfield. He began his work here in April 2009.
He decorates his home with old radios he finds at yard sales and antique stores. He loves to search for a bargain. Father Mike’s cherishes his 1960 CBS Masterwork Console Radio. Its features include being six foot long, weighing 250 pounds, and loaded with a reel to reel player, record player, and AM/FM radio. Father Mike invites all to stop in and enjoy his radio collection of about 100 different ones.
BALZER HOME
• The final home is located out east of Greenfield off State Route 28 about ten minutes from town. John and Dorothy Balzer live at 3627 Westfall Road in our oldest house on the tour. This farmhouse was built in 1846.
John’s grandparents bought the home in 1946 when it was 100 years old. Several different family members have lived there since and John and Dorothy moved there 26 years ago. Dorothy describes her décor as Early American style with primitive accents. Her favorite parts are her remodeled kitchen completed in 2005 and the newly added outdoor patio completed in 2013. Dorothy has lots of greenery for Christmas and many snowmen and Santas as accents in her downstairs rooms. Her main tree will be in the living room with lots of family ornaments on it.
All five families are excited about the tour this year and hope many come through to see all their hard work and Christmas decorations.
The historical society truly appreciates all their efforts and time. They help the society carry on its work to preserve history in Greenfield. Tickets are $10 for the tour and are available at the Community Savings Bank starting Nov. 24. Tickets will also be available the day of the tour at the Grain and Hay building and at the homes. Also, there will be books and gifts available for Christmas giving. Come out and support these families who so willingly said yes to participating in the Tour of Homes.