New Freeport Homes Featured in “Holiday House Tour” this Weekend

by Jonathan Weaver

 

Historical houses in Freeport Borough will be filled with Christmas cheer this weekend during the annual “Holiday House Tours.”

213 Market St., the historical “King Home” now owned by John and Susan Lowers, is one of the new stops this year.

The house built in 1918 was owned by the family who ran the lumber yard in town. The Lowers (both Freeport High graduates) are only the third family to own the home since it was built (John’s mother, Josie, even cleaned at the house for the King family).

Susan said it has taken about a week to decorate the home with five large trees and several small ones.

“But, we’re not done! There may be more by the time the tour starts – you never know,” Susan said. “They keep getting inspired every time they walk through. It’s hard to say what it will look like.”

“I have friends now who have decorations,” Susan laughed. “I normally only have one tree for Christmas, but they’re going to let me borrow them all the way through Christmas.

“I’ll have to have a lot of parties to have people see what it looks like. I’ve been very pleased - They’ve been very nice.”

Even without the parties, a lot of family members come into town – between the couple’s two daughters, John’s family and grandchildren –recognize the Lowers’ approximately six foot tall tree beside the grand wooden staircase as they walk through the front door.

“We’re a pretty popular place – they usually call it the Lowers’ Hotel,” Susan said.

Included in the room themes are a gingerbread men kitchen and teddy bear, snowmen and Victorian bedrooms. The living room and dining room will also be shown.

“Nobody’s allowed in the attic or the basement,” Susan laughed. “Everything is somewhere and I hope after Christmas, I’ll be able to find it again.

“I’m just glad I don’t have to store all the decorations – this is probably the perfect way to get your house decorated. It’s like having grandkids visiting.”

The house was also on a tour before the Lowers’ owned it in 1996 due to its unique features (including a high-water mark from the 1936 flood) and stained glass windows. Susan looked forward to the opportunity.

“First time – to help the community,” Susan said. “I think it’s a great opportunity for Freeport to show off all this neat stuff that is here.”
Family members and friends will guide tours Friday and Saturday while the Lowers’ are traveling.

Susan has also been on a Christmas house tour herself and found it very entertaining and inspirational

Dr. Cynthia Neff – who owns the Freeport Eye Care Center across the street from owns 319 Fourth St. with her husband, Tom Swisher – a house which was built in 1875. She said the house is well-known by local children who knew the banker that gave out quarters during Trick-or-Treating.

The front porch, kitchen and two bedrooms were added on to the house, and the house has been under-renovation since they moved in about seven years ago.

“I think we may be one or two short of 100 snowmen in the kitchen,” Neff said. “It is a team effort.”

Neff – also a participant of the house tours - said that half of the ornaments upstairs are antique – including Lithuanian ornaments in honor of Swisher’s grandmother - with the others new or borrowed

“It’s a tradition going on house tours and seeing how they decorate,” Neff said. “I had slowly, gradually, been collecting over the years – I had trees for every room already and my mother-in-law, Pat (of Dubois), brought her collection of trees so that’s why my dining room is full.”

The couple has continued to add trees since they’ve lived in Freeport. When living in Brackenridge, they only had two trees.

Pat will be traveling to Pasadena, Calif. in the next few weeks for the annual Tournament of Roses Parade.

Neff and Swisher usually decorated by the middle of December because of family gatherings.

“I’m usually done early, but not this early,” Neff said. “The porch is always done the weekend after Thanksgiving for the neighborhood.”

All five bedrooms, the front room, dining room and kitchen will all be shown – and small trees and decorations are even on the front porch before visitors enter.

The Freeman House along Woodbury Drive will also be shown along the tour – which will be held Friday and Saturday from 5-8PM and Sunday from Noon-4PM.

A shuttle bus will depart from the Freeport Kindergarten Center on High Street for participants and loop through all three stops.
Freeport Renaissance Association – which formed in 2005 – has sponsored tours ever since. The tour started with just one house

The $10 each tour proceeds – with tickets available at the three homes - will go toward other community projects – such as matching grant funds to add a courtesy boat dock in Riverfront Park in the Allegheny River this Spring.

Tickets are available now at The Canvas or Freeport Area Library.

The tours purposely coincide with “Freeport Celebrates Christmas,” the town annual event that includes Breakfast with Santa at the United Presbyterian Church, a garden train display as well as a separate miniature train display and an afternoon parade hosted by Freeport firefighters, as well as various other events, before Light-Up events begin at 5PM (when the tour also begins).