Rain Fails to Deter Holiday House Tour-Goers

In spite of the afternoon rain, Denise Bertini, Brenda Denton and Joan Denton upheld a five-year-old tradition this holiday season.

Friends Bertini, from Wakefield, and Brenda Denton, of Billerica, originally from Woburn, and Brenda's mother-in-law, Joan Denton, of North Andover, also originally from Woburn, all returned to the city for several hours Sunday to see 10 local properties decked out for the holidays, outside and in.

Joan in particular loves older homes, she said as the trio admired decorations in the large room of the at the corner of Main Street and Mishawum Road. Joan's daughter-in-law, Brenda, moved from Woburn two years ago.

"We come back for this," she said. "It's tradition."

Across the street from the Burdett Mansion, Ann Quinn of North Woburn stood in the dining room of the Linscott Mansion, formerly a tavern, now the home of , and admired the ornate window. This was Quinn's first house tour here.

"[I'm] interested in Woburn history," said Quinn, adding she has seen presentations on the city's history, including its older homes, but never taken the holiday house tour.

Several doors down the street from the Linscott Mansion, homeowner John Devine explained like a professional tour guide, to several groups of visitors, the history of the Baldwin fireplace in his Main Street home.

Despite the weather, turnout for the tour was "phenomenal," said Karen Rice, development associate at ., which has organized the tour for the past several years. Last year the weather was perfect, Rice said; a dusting of snow fell the night before the tour.

This year's tour included 10 properties, up from eight last year, Rice said, and an extra hour of touring time. The tour benefits SCI.

Tour-goers moved in clusters between the properties.

"Droves of people" visited the Burdett Mansion, the new home of the , according to society President Rosa DiTucci. At one point, they actually backed out the door, she said. Between 3 and 4 p.m., the flood lightened to a trickle.

Six of the properties were on the tour for the first time, according to Rice:  , the Burdett Mansion, the Linscott Mansion and the homes of John and Kathy Flaherty on West Street, Pam Crowley MacBride  and Doug MacBride on Skyview Lane and John Devine on Main Street. SCI tried to get "new blood" on the tour, Rice said.

Some people, like Paula and Michael Walsh on Stevin Drive, like to decorate and have opened their home more than once for the tour, Rice said. But not everyone likes to shoulder that task, she noted.

Besides decorations, some of the properties offered special perks for tour goers. Two groups of musicians – three women in 18^th century garb and Jim Rastellini – joined together with some holiday fare at Spence Farm.

In the 18^th century, it would have been permissible to celebrate Christmas in British Boston, commented musician Darlene Wigton of Woburn, a member of the Woburn Militia Living History Guild and Interpreters Guild. But not outside the city, she said, where Puritans held sway. Spence Farm had planned to offer hayrides in conjunction with the tour. The rain nixed that plan.

The farm started to operate as a farm in 1934, according to a handout from that tour stop. Farming ceased there in recent years, but this past August, the city bought the property that abuts Lowell and Wyman Streets "to prevent further development and flooding in the area," the handout states.

Santa stopped by Prudential Preferred Realty.

The Bertini-Denton-Denton trio of tour-goers pointed to some unique decorations in properties on the tour this year, like a pile of lighted gifts under one Christmas tree.

Being on the tour offered one homeowner an interesting benefit. Devine said that SCI approached him to participate, to show off his home's fireplace. He agreed, he said, and then he took the next step.

"It made me clean the house," he quipped.