Snowflakes fell on the hats and coats of those who took the Sippican Women’s Club’s 27th annual holiday house tour on Saturday. Attendees enjoyed walking through five homes of local Marion residents which were beautifully decorated for the Christmas season.
Handy’s Tavern, home of the SWC, was open for touring as well as the Elizabeth Taber Library, Sippican Historical Society Museum, and the Marion Art Center. A holiday luncheon was served in the First Congregational Church Community Center, and afternoon tea was served in the Parish Hall of St. Gabriel’s Church.
The open houses included two on Front Street in the village, including the home of Tabor Headmaster John and his wife Casey Quirk. Students from Old Rochester Regional High School and Tabor Academy greeted people as they entered and provided information on the age of the home as well as other interesting facts. The Headmaster’s home has a ‘great room’ used for entertaining and formal dances for students.
Tinker and Bill Saltonstall’s home on Front Street was also on the tour, and visitors were greeted by Saltonstall’s granddaughter, Lucy. The home is over 120 years old and was formerly a Tabor Academy dormitory. The home has rooftop solar panels for domestic hot water and electrical energy. Bill Saltonstall, who is a member of the Marion Energy Management Committee, provided handouts to visitors on ways to save energy in their homes.
Another house on the tour was the Curran home on Point Road, which was renovated to comply with the new FEMA regulations. The home was the venue for the Curran’s two daughters’ weddings this past summer.
The residence of Lars and Ruth Olson at Hammett’s Cove Road was also on the tour. This Carriage House was designed and built by Olson, who is a fine-home builder. The beautiful home overlooks Hammett’s Cove, and sweeping marsh landscape views could be seen throughout the home.
The Menzel family home, located on Moorings Road, off Converse Road, was the last house on the tour. Built in the early 1900’s, the home was originally used as housing for workers and servants during the construction of Converse Estate.
All the homes were decorated by local floral artists, and decorations were for sale.
“We were thrilled with the turnout,” said SWC President Susan Ford, “we’ve heard comments that it was the best house tour ever.” According to Ford, money raised annually from the tour is used to provide college scholarships for Marion high school seniors. “We usually give three or four scholarships for high school seniors, but also award continuing scholarships to those already in college who had a scholarship with the SWC before,” said Ford. “We want to recognize students who have been outstanding in their academic career as well as school activities and community service,” said Ford.
By Joan Hartnett-Barry
