Annual Municipal Woman’s Club Christmas House Tour

The Ellwood City Municipal Woman’s Club 29th annual Christmas House Tour runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5.

Five houses in Ellwood and the surrounding area are featured. The tour, a holiday tradition, gives the community the opportunity to see different styles of homes and decorations. In addition, several local businesses will offer discounts for the tour.

This year, the tour is in conjunction with several other fabulous community Christmas events, including the parade, “Light Up Night” and the opening of Christmas in the Park.

Homes 2015 House Tour

• Ryan and Amanda Venezie- 651 Crabapple Lane
• Bob and Stephanie Marciniec- 207 Third St.
• Noah Robbin and Stacy Stahl- 9 Pittsburgh Circle
• Doug and Louise McKinney- 107 State Ave.
• Raylene Boots- 370 State Route 288

Ryan and Amanda Venezie of 651 Crabapple Lane have only been in their home for one year but have settled in well with their three sons. Tyler, 10-years old, enjoys board games, playing on his computer and reading. Dante, 6, is an avid Pittsburgh Pirate and Steelers fan who enjoys playing both sports. He just completed his first year playing for the Ellwood City Little Wolverines. Giovanni, 4, likes playing with his wrestler toys, playing football with his friends and joining in whatever his two older brothers are doing.

Their house was built by Pascoe Builders nine years ago and is a traditional style home. The house has four bedrooms, three and a half baths, a library where they have their tree set up and a finished game room in the basement.

The decoration featured under their Christmas tree is a train set along with a miniature village with approximately 15 to 20 ceramic houses which have been handed down by Ryan’s great-aunt and his late great-grandmother.

Bob and Stephanie Marciniec– 207 Third St.
Finding our sweet home, to make a long story short, was an answer to a prayer for a number of reasons. It was somewhat by accident, as we had just decided to give up looking for a new home.

We love our home because it has everything we need and want on a smaller scale than our previous home. It has first floor living with the master bedroom suite and laundry on the main floor. Asa newer home, it is easier to maintain and less to worry about.

If we have company or our grandchildren are over, we have a second floor which includes a large family/play room, a bedroom and a full bathroom, allowing us our privacy downstairs. In addition, we have a large, unfinished basement which is great for storage and as a play area for the grandchildren.

It is not only the house which is a blessing, it is also this wonderful town of Ellwood City. We love Ellwood City for its “back in the day” feel. Everyone has been so warm, friendly and welcoming. The cost of living is better than where we came from. We enjoy the sense of importance for continuity and celebration of special times.

Our home has been a gift to us!

Stacy Stahl and Noah Robbin moved to Ellwood City shortly after their marriage in 2012. Since then they have been proud to call 9 Pittsburgh Circle their home. Stacy is an avid gardner and member of the Lawrence County Master Gardeners. Her green thumb shows in the multitude of house plants and greenery that decorate the home. Noah collects vintage typewriters that will be prominently displayed on the Christmas House Tour through the decorative theme “Letters to Santa.”

Doug and Louise McKinney– 107 State Ave.
Back when we decided to build our house in 2000, my mom, Kay Panella, mentioned that I should go with a theme for my Christmas tree. I decided I would go with Winnie the Pooh for my theme. I started collecting Winnie the Pooh beanies and stuffed animals in 2000. We would go to Disney and I would take a half empty suitcase so I could fill it up with Pooh bears. I am no longer able able to find any Winnie the Pooh stuffed animals with the Disney Store closing and Disney no longer making Winnie the Pooh. Not that I need more!

I now have three full sized trees decorated in Winnie the Pooh stuffed animals. I have my oak railing decorated with a collection of horoscope Winnie the Pooh stuffed animals. My kitchen also is decorated in Winnie the Pooh beanies. I have over 400 Winnie the Pooh stuffed animals that I only put out at Christmas. We also have another Christmas tree in our house that we started when my daughter was a baby. Jim Pirolli, a vendor where I used to work,  said when he was born he gained another granddaughter. He would bring her Beanie Babies every week, and we didn’t know what we were going to do with them. Now we figured it out- she has her own tree in the family room.

Darryl and Raylene Boots bought the property for their new home on 370 State Route 288 many years before they contracted Darryl’s first cousin, Drew Boots, to build it. The property is adjacent to Darryl’s parents’ property, and Jiggs and Dolly Boots are one of their closest neighbors. Other neighbors include Darryl’s maternal grandmother, the late Elizabeth LaCava; his paternal aunt, Carol Challis; and his sister and brother-in-law, Ray and Donna Santillo. Darryl’s brother Buster owns Boots Roofing and Heating at the end of Hilltop Drive.

Hence, the location of their new home was rooted in family. The large lilac bush in the front of the house was a Mother’s Day gift for Raylene from Darryl their first year in their new home. The landscaping surrounding the house and the sign at the bottom of the driveway was designed and completed by Denise Bintrim of Ellwood City.

The entry way to the home features a hardwood open staircase with a stone floor surface. Just inside the front door is the “Pittsburgh Wall.” The centerpiece of this wall is a photo of the wall mural at Trader Joe’s in East Liberty, which is an original painted by Jenica Jones, the couple’s daughter. Jenica currently resides in California with her husband Chris where she is employed as an artist for the Concord, Ca. Trader Joe. Surrounding the photo of her wall mural are photos of family and friends in Steeler/Pirate/Penguin garb.

A small curio cabinet holds Raylene’s snowman collection as well as other pieces dear to her, including the top of Darryl and Raylene’s wedding cake. On the staircase wall is a large photo from Darryl and Raylene’s masquerade wedding at Brush Creek Park in Beaver County. The print is from Buquo Studio in North Sewickely Township. The staircase banister is decorated with a holiday lighted garland.

To the left inside the front door is the room used for clients. The family calls this “the bride room.” Raylene educates couples what to look for in a wedding video and samples of Dinosaur Studios’ work will be played in this room. The couple’s wedding album will also be displayed here.

Darryl designed the living room around the large television and surround sound system. The custom-designed entertainment cabinet contains not only the couple’s extensive home movie DVDs, but also Darryl’s Star Trek and movie collection. Of note on the living room wall is the print of “New Borg City” which the couple bought on a convention trip to Las Vegas. They visited the Star Trek Experience at the downtown Hilton numerous times. It was there that they spied this print of what the USA might look like if overtaken by the classic Star Trek villain, the Borg- resistance is futile.

Another piece of art is a pencil drawing of Bruce Springsteen, one of Darryl’s favorites, which he purchased from a college classmate. The largest piece of art in the living room is the wall-mounted “Risk!:” board. Raylene hand painted the replica of the world-domination board game as a wedding gift for Darryl in 1990. Also in the living room is a massive 210-gallon freshwater fish tank, which is for sale.

The Christmas tree in the living room is adorned with a collection of Hallmark Star Trek ornaments. Darryl received the newest ornaments every year as an anniversary gift from Raylene. She continued the tradition this year even in his absence, and the three 2015 ornaments are under the tree unopened- old habits die hard.

The powder room off of the living room is known in the family as the “golf bathroom.” It features golf carpeting and in the sink is a golfer sinking a putt. An original water color by Ben Ramsey features Darryl and a friend golfing with Spock,the Leonard Nimoy character from Star Trek. A photo from one of their trips to the WEVA (Wedding and Event Videographers Association) convention in Las Vegas shows Darryl, Roxy and Xander as the Three Stooges. Finally, there is a bobble-head of Darryl in golf attire which was a gift from Kevin and Shawna.

Darryl’s Star Trek plate and memorabilia collection is featured in the kitchen by a lighted display above the kitchen cabinets. The cabinets are hickory with oak leaf knobs. The drawers in the butcher block island have clear glass compartments which hold goodies for their grandchildren. Raylene loves to cook, and the kitchen features a double oven.

The large hutch contains Raylene’s extensive collection of Russian nesting dolls. Her first dolls were a gift from her mother and father, John and Sherry Weigel, which they brought back from Germany. The dolls with the most pieces are from the Soviet Union and were purchased by Darryl and Raylene when they filmed a documentary there in 1989. Also in the hutch is a collection of “Sheery’s ducks” and Darryl’s dice. The occasional moose and outhouse are memories of Raylene’s father. Finally, there are tea sets which are also from Germany.

Just off the kitchen is a small computer nook and the laundry room. The cabinets in the laundry room feature fun lizard knobs.

The grape arbor on the back deck is reminiscent of the ones found in Ukrainiandachas (country homes). Darryl and Raylene remembered such arbors from their time in the Soviet Union in 1989 when they filmed the documentary Perestroika from Below. Darryl surprised Raylene with the building of the large grape arbor, which was not included in the original plans for the house.

Off the deck are blueberry bushes, planted by the couple the year they moved into the house. The woods surrounding the home have a variety of wild berry bushes, including blackberries and black raspberries. Raylene cans jam from the berries she harvests every summer.

The mud room and bathroom at the garage entrance were also an addition to the original plan for the home. The large closet in the mudroom is essential for equipment storage for their video production company, Dinosaur Studios.

Open House Businesses and Specials

• Blocher Jewelers- 10 percent off
• Chris’ Wolverine Restaurant- free hot and cold drinks with meal
• Glamorous Tanning and Specialty Boutique- punch and cookies; 10 percent off
• Hearts Desire Floral and Gifts; 25 perecent off
• Into Antiques and Mezzanine Cafe Antique Shak and gardens- free drink and cookies
• Kimpel’s Jewlers, Inc.- store specials
• Martketplace on Main- 20 percent off
• National Grind Coffee Shop- 20 percent off all drinks
• Posies by Patti- raffle drawing
• Shop at the Underpass- drawing, $25 gift certificate
• Dambach’s Nursery Lake Forest Gardens