by Jack McMeekin, 2015 Christmas-Holiday House Tour Chair

Many thanks to all who made the 22nd anniversary of our 2015 Christmas-Holiday House Tour and Preview Party a success. What a great way to kick off the holiday season. Approximately 700 people attended this year’s tour and Preview Party.

Those who visited the five warm and welcoming homes had the opportunity to see the diversity of Chestnut Hill homes – including a charming cottage, a stately stone colonial, a colonial revival, a second empire twin, and a Norman country house. A particular word of thanks to homeowners Hannah Griswold McFarland, Bob Boyer and Jessie Deming, Andy Kite and Karl Martin, Jeanne Wedgwood, and Patricia Cove, and special thanks to Richard Snowden and Fred Holzerman who hosted the glamorous and fun Preview Party on Friday evening. Many of you caught up with carolers from the St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Choir.

Our Chestnut Hill merchants also did a great job in support of the house tour by offering discounts to tour attendees. Those who took the opportunity to start their early shopping were greeted by handsomely decorated stores and a wide assortment of holiday gift items, some displayed in several of our tour homes. Hill Company, which served as one of the two onsite registration locations with Woodmere Art Museum, took the cake for store decorations.

The Chestnut Hill Community Association’s Christmas-Holiday House Tour Committee went to great lengths to make the start of your Christmas-Holiday season a pleasant experience. Special thanks to committee members Will Detweiler, Laura Lucas, Jeanne Wedgwood, Helen Phillips and her husband John, Madeleine Nist, Dan Compton and Richard Snowden. Hats off to Janet Gala and Kate O’Neill for the graphics and advertising effort that went into this event, to Noreen Spota for ticket sales support, and to the many volunteers who made it all possible. Thank you to our house captains: Kathi Clayton, Marilyn Paucker, Marianne Dwyer, Anne Henry, Tony Crist, Nick Lattari and Bruce Levin.

Also a big thank you to our Associate Sponsors Chestnut Hill Hospital, Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Fox & Roach Realtors and The Trident Group; our Trolley Sponsors: Independence Blue Cross, PECO, and Bowman Properties, and our Friend of the House Sponsor Senior Helpers.

And one last word of appreciation to Mother Nature, who gave all of us a just perfect day to spend in Chestnut Hill, touring, shopping and just visiting our community.

My thanks to all of you.