12-18-2024 4:52am

Zuber Sponsored Decorating Contest Lights Up the Local Winter Sky

Lesley Misko Editor

House #4

by Julie Cordingley

I was a little bummed…; okay, a lot bummed that the annual Boyertown Historical Society Open House Tour was canceled due to the low number of houses being offered up by their owners. Believe me, I perfectly understand why someone did not want a bunch of strangers traipsing through their clean house even though weeks were spent in preparation for just that purpose. But in my defense, I LOVE YOUR HOUSE…its history, your pride, the architecture, the décor, your refreshments! Sigh!

My son Andrew was equally upset because it had been a tradition for him to hurry home from work just to grab the last few hours of the tour. He and his wife, Jillian, are true townies who love everything Boyertown! So, when they suggested the light tour as an alternative, I half-listened. My kids only needed to remind me of Halloween… how the Boyertown area takes its outside lights and decorations seriously … I was convinced. AND they offered to chauffer!

But where to go? Turns out that Jody Dolansky of Richard A. Zuber Realty and its community outreach committee made that task easy by putting together a nice little roadmap to get to the 27 brightest holiday house displays in the most expedient manner possible.

Because she is the go-to person since the tour’s inception six years ago, Dolansky realizes what is needed to make the experience most enjoyable for homeowners and gawkers alike. Their link -- https://www.zuberrealty.com/lighttour/ -- includes everything: the map, addresses, and (drum roll please) a way to vote for that favorite display. Such prizes include the Clark Griswold Award for most lights, Best Use of Technology, True Meaning of Christmas, Kids Choice, Favorite outdoor Decoration at a Local business, and the Grand Prize.

Keeping all this in mind, off we went.

On our way to house #1, we saw a bright light…lights, rather…and it turns out that it was Zuber house #14. We were also lucky enough to see the family adding more stuff to any already crowded front lawn…so, we stopped to tell them it was beautiful. Hattie Terkowski, the home owner along with her daughter, exclaimed, “That’s why we do it, to make people happy.” They have been doing it for about 11 years.

Terkowski said that it started with a single plastic snowman that somehow morphed into “…needing more real estate for their sizeable minion collection.” When they asked their neighbor if they could borrow his side yard for the overflow, he was happy to oblige ... and so was the next, nextdoor neighbor who “wants in” for next year. She cheerfully explained that there is no rhyme or reason to the placement for all their stuff: “It drives my sister nuts!”

We continued our ride out to Barto to House #1 where it sits high on a hill. I am sure that it can be seen for miles around. We wished there were someone outside that we could thank and ask how they made their trees look like candy canes. Beautiful!

It was hard to miss House # 4, surrounded by all the vintage plastic lawn ornaments. “We like them better than the blow-ups,” explained Vicky Fronheiser. And by “we,” she means her grandson, Steven Kline, who lives in Exton but asked if he could decorate her Boyertown place.

One of their most prized decorations is Santa being pulled by reindeer. It was the first thing that Steven’s grandfather would put out, or rather up on the roof. And although his pop pop is no longer with us, it is a sweet way to remember the good times the two spent together. She is grateful that her neighbors haven’t seemed to mind the excess light pollution and says “As long as I have room in my garage to park my car, Steven can store all his decorations [there] for next year.” After all, the proud grandma pointed out that “Steven has won a Zuber award two years in a row!”

We had to admit that the display at house#19 on Steinmetz Road was very impressive but it was the Christmas Story leg lamp in their second story window that caught our attention. Classic!

It took us three days to make it through most of Zuber’s map. From Bechtelsville (house #2, aka the Anthony Mill Road display, that is always a favorite) all the way through to Pottstown (yes, THAT one on Gilbertsville Road is house #22), each of the displays in between were unique and dazzling and over all pretty spectacular. We still need to ride out to Fleetwood but figure we have time until the official close of the tour on Jan. 2, 2025. Even if we had only seen a portion of the houses, we realized that it was a wonderful way to enhance the season.

I am glad my son and daughter- in- law “convinced” me to go. They even suggested that maybe I could join the tour next year. After seeing the competition, I would seriously need to “up my game.” Sigh.

It has been over 40 years since a chemist job in Malvern lured Julie Cordingley away from her upstate, New York home. She is a proud resident of Gilbertsville! Besides working in industry, she has been a stay-at-home mom, and has just recently retired from Phoenixville Area School District as a (wait for it!) chemistry teacher. It has been a life-long dream to be a writer. She figures she can work at that craft while also traveling with her husband in their drivable RV… a retirement present to herself!