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At Gari Melchers Home and Studio, a unique opportunity to see, smell and even taste history--all in a beautiful setting Date published: 12/18/2008
BY CARDEN HEDELT The holiday classic "A Christmas Story" provides a snapshot of a Christmas for a suburban family in the early 1940s: the all-important selection of the Christmas tree, an elaborate Christmas dinner (foiled by a pack of hungry bloodhounds)--and young Ralphie Parker's relentless quest for an official Red Ryder carbine-action 200-shot range-model air rifle with a compass in the stock. It's intriguing, or funny, to see how Christmas traditions have changed from--or in some cases stayed the same as--those of decades past. At Gari Melchers Home and Studio at Belmont, visitors can get remarkable insight into what Christmas was like in the 1910s and 1920s during the "Sights, Smells, Sounds and Stories: Holidays With the Melchers" tours. It's fascinating to see how the world-renowned artist and his wife, Corinne, celebrated the holiday. For these holiday tours, Michelle Crow-Dolby, education coordinator at Belmont, and the staff have decorated the Georgian-style home as the Melchers would have, to get visitors into the Christmas spirit. During the tour, guides take visitors around the home to show how the couple celebrated Christmas. "They just had their own traditions," said Crow-Dolby. "It was a different time, and their traditions reflect that but the best part about the holiday tours is that visitors get a completely different experience than they would if they had visited any other time of the year." One Christmas tradition that has proved timeless is the exchanging of gifts. Although the Melchers had no children of their own to dote on, gifts were still an important part of the Christmas holiday for Gari and Corinne. Whether it was a $1 bill wrapped in red ribbon for a newspaper delivery boy, a basket of treats for a local family or one of Corinne's hand-drawn Christmas cards, the Melchers made sure that everyone in their lives knew of their appreciation when Christmas rolled around. "The Melchers were very giving, especially during Christmas," Crow-Dolby said. "There were very needy people in the area, and the Melchers would put together holiday baskets for the neighbors who needed food, or they would give them something to help them when they needed it." O CHRISTMAS TREE Even before they made their home on the bank of the Rappahannock, the Melchers' Christ-mas generosity was recognized.
Date published: 12/18/2008
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