Editor’s note: This is one of several daily profiles of tour sites on the Cancer Association of Champaign County’s Candlelight Tour of Homes in Urbana scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 7, from 3 to 8 p.m.
Several families are graciously opening their homes and sharing their holiday spirit. The homes on the tour this year are: Robin Miller and Anthony Joy, 232 W. Reynolds St.; Doug and Cheryl Wears, 124 Tanglewood Drive; David and Kelly McIntosh, 152 Tanglewood Drive; Jim and Cheryl Cave, 111 New Haven Drive; and Jim and Mary Collier, 425 Eastview Drive. In addition, the Champaign Family YMCA, located at 191 Community Drive and celebrating its 20th anniversary, will be on the tour.
During the tour, Tanglewood Drive will be a one-way street with the entrance being at the west drive (across from SVG Motors) and exiting at the east drive (across from the Kroger Fuel Center).
Today’s featured tour site
The original owner of this house at 124 Tanglewood Drive was John Hance, builder/contractor. He built the home in 1959. At the time the house was built, it had 1,926 square feet. Doug and Cheryl Wears purchased the home from Donald and Peggy Baker in April of 2008.
Since moving to the home, the Wears family has made many changes to the home. The first project was the four-season sun room. Originally there was a concrete patio on the back of the house. Half of the patio was turned into the current sunroom. This was added in the summer of 2009.
Part of the brick paver patio and fire pit were installed and the hot tub was added at the time the sunroom was added. The latest update to the sun room was done this year. The pool was added in summer 2012. At that same time, the rest of the brick paver patio was installed, along with the fence and the shed. The house originally had a gravel driveway. This was replaced with asphalt in 2014.
The master bathroom was redone in February of 2016. The bedrooms had carpet from the day of purchase. In 2016, all of the carpet was removed and the original hardwood floors were restored. One of the bedrooms was turned into the office when the floors were done.
When the home was purchased the basement was already finished. In 2018, the basement was completely redone. The basement now proudly displays memorabilia from Doug’s 20 years in the Marine Corps and their love for OSU. The pergola was added in 2018. Most recently the front door was updated and the spare bathroom was remodeled. Within the next couple years, there are plans to renovate the kitchen and update all the trim and doors in the home.
Typically there are three Christmas trees put up for the holiday. The basement tree is OSU-themed. The Christmas tree in the sun room is beach-themed. And the tree in the living room is a family tree where many of the ornaments are personalized and tell a story about the owners’ past.
How to take the tour
Presale tickets for the tour are $10 and may be purchased at the YMCA, Perpetual Federal Savings Bank, Civista Bank and Peoples Savings Bank. Tickets are $15 the day of the tour and may be purchased at any location during the tour.
The outstanding community support of this event has always been an integral part of the CACC’s fundraising as well as these sponsors: Peoples Savings Bank, Boldman Printing, Perpetual Federal Savings Bank, CRSI, Civista Bank, Champaign County Chamber & Visitors Bureau, Security National Bank, Edward Jones, CT COMM, Phillip Edwards, Fetz Plumbing, The Medicine Shoppe, Skelley Lumber, Steve’s Market, Willman Furniture, Kyte Realty, Carpets of Urbana, NAPA Auto Parts, REMAX, Guild Galleries, Market Square Realty, Reser Motorsales and Beachy Barns, HER Realtors, and Wreck-A-Mended.
For nearly 40 years, the Cancer Association of Champaign County has provided financial assistance to county residents affected by cancer by providing payments for treatment, prescriptions, fuel cards, wigs, prostheses and other needs as prescribed.
The CACC is an all-volunteer organization designed to help the community by keeping funds local and maximizing those funds toward patient services. The tremendous support of the community, sponsors of this and other fundraisers, and the United Way make this mission possible.
