St. Paris was alive this past weekend as it welcomed visitors to the 26th Annual Historic Home and Garden Tour! The Champaign County Preservation Alliance (CCPA) wishes to thank all those individuals who made this happen. Viewing a 16-room mansion which served as a “summer home,” marveling at the creative use of space in an 840-square-foot home and touring a home that once served as a funeral home, the visitor traveled through a wide variety of architectural styles, sizes and ages of homes to discover the feasibility of adapting the older structures to the needs of the 21st century – all without destroying the integrity of the building!
The CCPA is extremely grateful to the home and garden owners, the St. Paris United Methodist Church, The Covenant Lutheran Church, The Pony Wagon Museum, the Evergreen Cemetery Chapel and the St. Paris Library who opened their doors for the public to experience preservation first-hand. This is a great commitment on their part and we appreciate their generosity in making the tour possible. Thank you!
The CCPA would not be able to sponsor this event without the monetary support of the entire community and we offer a special thank you to our benefactors, Bundy Baking Solutions and the Peoples Savings Bank and our site sponsors, Atkins-Shively Funeral Home, Champaign County Visitors’ Bureau, CT Communications, Darby & Urbana Dental Smiles, Henderson Land Investment Company, Dusty Hurst, Real Living Darby Creek Realty, Market Square Realty, Tri-County Insurance, Turner Landscaping, V. Patrick Hamilton Group RE/MAX Alliance and Willman Furniture. Thanks also to our booklet advertisers, patrons, Sandy and Vince Gonzalez, The Medicine Shoppe, Tim and Kris Cassady, our special friends, The Hall Company and contributors, David Dye and Suzanne McCoy.
Our 229 volunteers who served as guides at each site and those who drove the shuttle vans truly make this event possible. We could not offer this tour without your help. It is a community event and we appreciate your support!
To the St. Paris Mayor Brenda Cook, the street department, and the police department we appreciate your help with displaying our banners, keeping our visitors safe and all the “behind the scenes” support given to the tour committee. To the citizens and merchants a special thank you for all the preparation for the tour and for welcoming the visitors to the community. Many comments were made about your friendliness and helpfulness – a fitting tribute to your community!
The Urbana Daily Citizen did an outstanding job with the separate tab edition and feature articles both before and after the event. Our thanks to Brenda Burns, Kathy Fox, Lane Moon and staff for their help and cooperation with the coverage of our event.
Many thanks to White’s Ford, SVG Motors and Kehl Chevrolet for the loan of the shuttle vans, Ethel’s Flowers for all the beautiful arrangements, Boldman’s for their work on the ticket booklet, area businesses for their advertising, and help with our pre-sale tickets and all the crafters and entertainers who participated.
Our hats off to the excellent tour committee who dedicated hundreds of hours to ensure a fun-filled, memorable weekend for those who came to experience St. Paris hospitality. They are one awesome group!
