Some events just go on no matter what the weather, and the 27th Holiday Homes Tour and Tea Room sponsored by the Harrodsburg Historical Society was no exception. The properties on tour gave patrons a picture of those who established and built homes, businesses, and their livelihoods from settlement times to the turn of the 19th century. The Big Spring, which was the first “home” of those early settlers, has been refurbished into a park area. It is worth a visit any time and is located on Factory Street, but on Saturday there was an encampment of reenactors with their tents and warm fire greeting visitors around the natural artesian spring perking up from the ground. The rest of the places were toured inside and we are so grateful for those six other stops that opened up their properties for the tour.

Another such place always open to the public and one might have missed if not on tour is Vickie’s Mayo Country Store. We heard such comments as “we had no idea a place like this existed” and our surrounding communities were very enthusiastic to learn of places they could visit off the beaten path.

Those who ventured out to Warwick featured with some pictures in this publication with a well-written article on the Tour and Tea by a “jewel” of a writer for the Advocate Messenger, Bobbie Curd, had four unique structures to tour at that place alone. We sincerely appreciate what the Advocate-Messenger does to promote the events in the region and thank you to Bobbie Curd for her excellent writing.

The many volunteers who worked in so many ways and in so many areas are too numerous to mention, but we can identify almost 200 who are the ones who prepared food, served food, ran the kitchen, helped with parking, hosted in houses, cashiered, decorated, distributed posters and rack cards, and placed the tour signs. We had all ages from teens to senior citizens.

There is also much appreciation to our advertising patrons who pay to put their line item ads in our souvenir tour ticket booklet and the Harrodsburg Historical Society Patrons and Friends also.

We want to remind readers to put the first Saturday of December on their new 2019 calendars. Plans are already underway for the properties on tour next year.

Marian Bauer

Harrodsburg Historical Society Christmas Committee