In 2016 the Glastonbury Historical Society kicked off a new initiative, a Christmastime home tour of about a dozen local historic homes, all decked out in their Christmas finery.
The program, which was an outgrowth of the society’s summer house and garden tours, was an instant hit. High school kids sang carols inside some of the homes, the society set up a free hot cocoa station for people touring the properties, locals put luminaries in their driveways to help light the way for the dozens of people who walked up and down Main Street to tour the houses.
“Some people even had professional decorators come in and decorate their homes, said Sue Marchinetti, the membership director for the society and one of the volunteers who helped create and coordinate the biannual home tours.
“The tours were so much fun, it was just so cool to see Main Street full of people, hundreds of people walking up and down the street. It was just so alive.”
The every-other-year tours became one of the society’s biggest annual fundraisers, bringing in at least $30,000 and sustaining the group throughout the coming year. This year was supposed to be the third tour and Marchinetti said the society was looking forward to showcasing properties in South Glastonbury this time.
Covid-19, of course, derailed the event and sent the society scrambling for grant funding, which it got, to replace the revenue the tours typically raised.
“I couldn’t ask people to open their homes up to the public without a vaccine being available. Even with a vaccine I’m not sure we could have,” Marchinetti said.
Although the tours are supposed to be held on even years, Marchinetti said the society is now looking to restart the Christmas event next December. The group is worried how it will pay its bills, which includes the salaries of three part-time employees and the maintenance of its properties, without its biggest fundraiser.
“We have the museum on the Hubbard Green, the building that houses the Chamber of Commerce and the Welles-Shipman-Ward House, all of it supported by volunteers and fundraising,” she said.
Some of it is also supported by the annual dues of some of the society’s 300 members, but Marchinetti said other local residents can help out by becoming members as well.
“If people buy a membership for $50 a year they’ll get our newsletters as well as free admissions to some of our events. We’ve done some garden and cemetery tours where some of our members dress up in colonial garb and tell the stories of real people from the past.”
In the meantime, she said, the society is starting to plan for the holiday home tours of 2021 and are hoping to hold the event on the first Saturday in December. They will again try to showcase homes in South Glastonbury and are hoping for a Covid-19 vaccine before then.
