Jasper Christmas Tour of Homes samples many decorating styles

Newsboy photo/ Sharon Kerr GRAMOPHONE at the Debney home.

Halls are decked with boughs of holly, homes scented with cinnamon and pine, every nook and cranny filled with seasonal delights. Seven homes and the Woman's Civic Club will be open tomorrow, Dec. 13 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., for the first Christmas Tour of Homes that Jasper has seen in several years.

Admission is $20 and includes refreshments at the civic club building at 156 W. Milam. There are also "goodies to go" at the Woman's Civic Club bake sale.

Each home has unique attractions in addition to the holiday decorations. Estelle Debney's historic home on Main Street is filled with antiques like the gramophone that sits on a marbletopped Victorian table in the parlour.

Bill and Carol Wise's home is wall to wall with his watercolors and her quilts. Mary Ellen Eddy's home is also filled with quilts, antiques, and the original kitchen cabinets with stainless steel countertops.

Martha Morian's more modern home will delight guests with her use of natural elements like dried oranges and rosemary. The Knight's house takes advantage of soaring ceilings and an open floor plan to stack layers of greenery and lights up high and higher, appropriate for the home that salutes the Jasper Air Show.

Tickets are on sale at the civic club building, the Chamber of Commerce, or the library. Maps will be provided, as well as "booties" to be worn in each home.

Participating merchants will have extended hours tomorrow and offer either a discount or gift when you show your tour ticket: Ann's Tackle Shop, Baskin's Dept. Store, E-Beth Designs, Elijah's Café, Golden Corral, Hamburger Depot, Martin's Mexican Restaurant, Liz Street's Mary Kay Cosmetics, Medicine Shoppe, Milam Street Gallery, Party Perfect, Radio Shack, Rhonda Adcock's Avon, The Cottage and Unique Boutique.