’Tis the season to share holiday cheer
Staff writer
It’s not yet Thanksgiving, but it’s time to begin thinking Christmas.
Marion City Library will sponsor its annual Christmas home tour fundraiser Dec. 7, offering a chance to see how others prepare for the holiday season.
Tickets cost $5 and are available only at the library.
Librarian Janet Marler is estimates that 200 to 250 people will be visiting the homes from 1 to 4 p.m.
Homes,. previewed here, can be visited in any order they choose, Marler said.
Greg and Melinda May
19 Echo Lane
The Mays moved to Marion about a year ago after purchasing their home at 19 Echo Lane.
“I grew up in Marion, and we made Marion our second home over the years,” Greg said. “We enjoy the small-town atmosphere and have always loved camping at the lake.
“We bought a fixer-upper and spent the last year updating the home.”
The Mays enlisted Dylan Pippen and J.D. Bauman for the renovations, replacing walls, flooring, and interior and exterior paint and fixing seven unique outdoor doors.
Interior colors were green and yellow with an orange highlight. They were replaced by a white interior.
The geodesic dome is unique hereabouts. A dome structure on one side is joined to a non-conforming loft for bedrooms on the other side of the home.
Their Christmas theme this year is a play on of words: “very Marion Christmas,” reliving Christmas past from Marion County Record newspapers.
He is not sure why they agreed to be part of the Christmas tour, but regards the library is one of the best small-town libraries he has seen.
“Since ticket sales go to help the library, it is even better,” he said. “The library is amazing — its historical location, the programs hosted there. And the staff is top notch, especially Janet Marler.
“We decided on a theme, spinning the ‘Christmas Carol’ and ‘Have a Merry Christmas,’ to ‘Have a Marion Christmas,’ highlighting Christmases past.”
Teresa Huffman
327 Elm St.
Teresa Huffman moved to Marion in 2007 to be closer to family and purchased her home at 327 Elm St.
The home at 325 Elm St. was owned by George Hauser. In 1954, he sold two lots to Evelyn Rupp with the stipulation that he could use the driveway and carriage house that he used as a garage until his death.
Rupp built and occupied until her death a house located to the north of Hauser’s home at 327 Elm St. In 1990 the Rupp estate sold the home to Will and Juanita Helmer. In 2007, the home was sold to Huffman.
“To me, it was built right,” she said. “It is just right.”
Huffman loves to decorate for the holidays and especially enjoys Christmas lights, placing multiple trees in each room of her house.
She even decorates two vintage campers on her backyard. They will be lighted up and on display during the tour.
Her home is filled with antique furnishings. Many things on display are handcrafted items made by family members.
A list of handcrafted furnishings and items of special interest, along with a brief description of their relevance to Huffman, will be handed out at the door.
Visitors will see figurines that have a piece of her heart as her sons made some of them. Others were purchase at Wal-Mart.
“I have special memories of what is inside my house,” she said.
When Marler approached Huffman about being on the tour, she was replacing her floors. When the project was done, she was asked again
Huffman moved to Hillsboro from Oklahoma for a year before coming to Marion.
“I love the location to hike, and being four minutes away from dropping my kayak into the lake is great,” she said.
She also said the location allow her to get to anywhere she wants.
Huffman has four sons ranging in age from 43 to 57. She always tried to make sure her sons enjoyed the time around Christmas.
“I just like to decorate,” she said. “I have the things I need to decorate.”
She likes living in the country. What makes the city more pleasurable, she said, is that it has a hospital, a food store, and a pharmacy.
“I would not want to live in a county that does not have these three,” she said.
Huffman once owned a gourmet store in Independence that sold county gifts. The store was so successful Huffman had to move twice for a bigger building.
She now works part-time at a winery in Whitewater.
Zach and Keri Collett
324 Locust St.
The Collett found their dream house at 324 Locust St. after already leaving in a home on Roosevelt St.
They sold the Roosevelt home and moved into their Locust St. home in July of 2024.
“The house is a beautiful house,” Keri said. “It’s so cool. It’s been two years since July.”
When moving to Marion more than six years ago, she had wanted to purchase the home, built in 1940.
She drove around neighborhoods looking at homes. She fell in love with her current home’s curb appeal, as most of the homes she saw were bungalow style.
When she found her future house, however, it wasn’t immediately available. So the couple moved to Roosevelt even though they knew it was going to be too small for the couple’s three kids.
“There was not enough space for the kids,” she said. “This was meant to be.”
Since moving, the couple have remodeled everything except the basement. They added 1½ bathrooms and a master bedroom in the front of the house. One of the bedrooms by an egress window is 16x20 and could be converted into two bedrooms, though she said that was not going to happen.
When the couple moved in, a white picket fence was covered with dirt and grime. Pressure washing restored it to its original glory.
Collett is not finished with her decorations for the home tour yet, but when Marler asked her to show her home Dec. 7, she did not hesitate.
“I love decorating the house,” she said. “I really enjoyed it.”
One of the decorations she is putting up will be a decorated Christmas tree in the front window.
The home also will have a real wreath, she said,
“A lot of my friends have not seen the house since the remodeling,” she said. “It will look completely different.”
She also likes the idea that the tour will raise money for the library.
“It helps the community,” she said “We put our blood, sweat and tears in this for the tour.”
Collett and Marler have known each other for a while, and Collett likes what the library has become.
Lesa Kendus
5 Dan Dr.
Lesa Kendus purchased her 1980s ranch style home at 5 Dan Drive in 2023 because she liked its style.
A major renovation, including addition of a three-car garage, recently was completed.
This month, an 800-square-feet area above the garage will be turned into another living area with the construction of two bedrooms, a bath with laundry area, a kitchen and a living room. The project is scheduled to be completed early next year.
Her house is not easy to find.
Before getting to the lake on Upland Rd., take a left on Gilham Rd. and follow a gravel road before it turns onto Dan Dr.
The Christmas theme of the home is “Our Precious Savior’s Birth,” so the precious metals of silver and gold are prominent of the décor, she said.
Kendus said they were reminders of precious gifts brought to baby Jesus by wise men.
Many deer figurines, collected by her over 40 years, also will be on display.
Actual deer and other wildlife frequently are seen in the 2 acres surrounding the home.
From her porch she can see a small part of the lake and is close enough that she can visit anytime she wants
Kendus was honored when she was asked about her house being on the tour
“I guess I was shocked because it’s not an extravagant house,” she said. “It gets you in the Christmas spirit. I really like the idea that we are contributing to the library.”
What she will enjoy the most during the tour is seeing all the people, several who she has met at the lake.
Being so close to the lake is also something she enjoys.
“It’s quiet and accessible to Marion,” she said
While she is selling her home and moving to the Manhattan area, Kendus said that has no bearing on her home being on the tour.
“I just went to do it for the library,” she said.
Although Kendus has lived in Marion for less than three years, she fell in love with the rural community and the people who live here.
“There are a lot of friendly people here,” she said. “Everyone knows everyone.”
Kendus, who studied nursing at Emporia State University, is semi-retired but will resume her career after moving.