Historic projects open for annual inspection, much to visitor's delight.
[view:node_ad=5]Every door at Heritage Junction was wide open and welcoming Saturday afternoon for the SCV Historical Society’s annual Christmas Open House.
Most of the relocated homes, schoolhouses, train station and chapel are off limits the rest of the year, with visitors restricted to peeking into windows to see the progress made by volunteer restoration artists. But for this special occasion, cookies are baked, cider is mulled and front porches swept. It’s time to show off and share stories, which docents did at every house.
At the Pardee House, the one house that wasn’t hosting room tours, a very special visitor was receiving guests – Santa Claus! Children whispered their wishes into his ear and, just to make sure he got it right, Santa repeated them loud enough for nearby parents to hear. As children nodded eagerly, he winked at appreciative moms and dads.
In the cab of the 100-year-old Mogul steam engine, Society President Alan Pollack helped children pull a rope to ring the engine’s bell. The clanging continued through the afternoon, drawing the curious from the adjacent Literacy and Arts Festival going on in Hart Park.
The front porch of the Kingsburry House, the first residence moved into the Junction, was a gathering place for several members of the Questers, a national women’s group dedicated to historic preservation and education. Questers Nancy Cordova and Sue Yurosek chatted between visitors to the circa 1910 home, sitting on the comfortable railing and greeting newcomers.
The Questers recently completed the renovation of the the Edison House, a structure initially built for Edison crews working on the St. Francis Dam project and moved from Magic Mountain Parkway (near the Valencia Country Club) in the early ‘90s.
Entertainment was plentiful, with Showdown Theater providing holiday vignettes in the Saugus Train Station’s freight room and singer John Bergstrom crooning from the porch of the Newhall Ranch House.