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After a dreary, rainy Saturday, we were rewarded
with a crisp, dry, sunny Sunday; the perfect weather for our 16th
Holiday House Tour.
With
booklets in hand, our participants started touring the homes at 12 noon.
Playing in the background of the Brooke home, an original Havemeyer home
built in the late 1800’s, was holiday music recorded by the owner. Two
Marines stood guard as they accepted toys for the USMC’s
“Toys for Tots”
program. The Hart home had the
unique feature of two entrance doors in the section built in 1780; one
door for the gentlemen, the other for the ladies. The Holwell home, built
in the early 1900’s by the Raynor family, showcased the family’s love of
maritime artifacts and artwork. The Kreutzer home is located on their
son’s property, known as Twifere, and was the gardener’s cottage. It has
been lovingly restored by the owner for his parents. Ticket holders were
greeted at the Foley-O’Boyle home with the delicious smells of cookies
being baked by one of their daughters.
After
touring the homes and
St. Mark’s
Episcopal Church, tour participants entered the gaily decorated Fenton
Hall, where the reception was held. Coffee, tea and hot chocolate were
served as well as cookies baked by both the
BOCES Culinary Arts
students and the Islip Middle and High School Career students.
Entertainment was provided by the harmonious voices of Chapter 4
Barbershop Quartet. Our Main Street merchants and various members outdid
themselves with their donations for our Chinese auction; there were over
90 prizes!
The
Society would like to thank the various board and house tour committee
members for another outstanding tour. We are also grateful for all the
volunteers who come out and help us on ‘tour day’; getting the costumes
for the guides, running the reception, the auction, kitchen, society table
and 50/50 raffle. Thank you, also, to Karen Schill for her wonderful
drawings, which are presented to the homeowners, and Lori Zegel, of
Nook & Cranny
Gift Boutique and Linda Low of
Little Shop
of Shamrocks for handling our ticket sales. The house tour is a
wonderful way to start the holiday season.
Photo Highlights
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