Editor’s note: This is the fourth article in a series of five about the 3-8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, Tour of Homes, sponsored by the Cancer Assn. of Champaign County. Each article will feature one of the five homes on the tour. Pre-sale tickets are $10 at Urbana banks and credit unions. They will be available for $12 at each featured home during the tour.
Tour homes are the Bob and Tammy DelPico home at 445 E. Court St.; the Corey and Emily Huffman home at 227 W. Reynolds St.; the Mikoca Neeld home at 217 E. Ward St.; the Gary and Shelly Reser home at 921 Bon Air Drive; and the John and Cindy Zugaro home at 945 Bon Air Drive.
For a chance to create a scene using the characters from the “Dennis the Menace” comic strip, purchase raffle tickets ($1 each, six for $5)at Urbana banks, the Chamber of Commerce and the Daily Citizen office prior to Tour day. CACC board members also have tickets to sell. The winning ticket will be drawn during the Tour of Homes.
Corey and Emily Huffman bought their home on West Reynolds Street in 2009 and say that lots of blood, sweat and tears have gone into the home. Some would call it a labor of love.
A prior owner said that the original part of the home was built in 1858 for an Urbana University mathematician. Additions to the house came over time, with the most recent in 1920. Hints of the house’s past can be seen today: tree trunks that make up a majority of the floor joists, sleigh runners used to help brace the floor, and large field rocks that serve as the house’s foundation.
Throughout their renovation projects, Corey and Emily have found relics from the past. One of the most complete is framed for display, a letter to a son from his father, dated March 9, 1884.
Among improvements to the house have been a complete kitchen, laundry room and full bathroom renovation downstairs. Extensive landscaping was done to overhaul overgrown flower beds in the back yard and the mosquito-haven bushes that took away from the stately columns in the front of the house.
The Huffmans’ Christmas decorations include a “family tree” with personalized ornaments in the living room and a live tree showcasing glass ornaments in the dining room. Look for Santa and Christmas Jim Shore figurines to be on display throughout the home. Emily’s collection grows each year.
