Published in the December 4, 2018 edition.
By GAIL LOWE
WAKEFIELD — The Colonel James Hartshorne House on Church Street drew people from all over Wakefield and beyond to the annual Christmas Tea and Open House on the afternoon of Sunday, Dec. 2.
Before the event, Wakefield Garden Club members decorated the house with greens, wreaths and garden goodies to give the home a festive flair. There were also pretty candles, a six-foot Christmas tree and an assortment of beautifully wrapped raffle prizes displayed on the stairway just inside the front door where Directors Faith Hodgkins and Erin Fopiano greeted guests.
Treasurer Jay Landers was also on hand, dressed as the Colonel himself.
The aroma of home-baked cookies and tea, served in china cups, filtered through the air while people chatted and toured the first floor of the House.
Directors Lisa Tecce and Abigail Russell sat at a table in the living room to the right of the front door where they sold the January Fundraising Calendars. For a $10 donation, those who bought a calendar are now eligible to win one of 38 prizes during January, including gift cards and wrapped gifts.
Each day in January, a name will be drawn for the prize of the day. The daily winner then will be notified by one of the Hartshorne House directors before the prize is mailed to him or her. All money raised will go toward meeting ongoing expenses associated with the upkeep of the House. (For more information, visit www.HartshorneHouse.org.)
The Hartshorne House, the oldest part of which dates back to 1681, is listed on the National Registry of Historic Houses and is on the shores of Lake Quannapowitt. Until 1919, the House was privately owned.
The town then purchased the property, allocated money to restore the House and formed the Col. James Hartshorne House Association to preserve and maintain the House.
To this day, the House has been served by a dedicated association, which oversees the maintenance and capital improvements of the home.
