It's Sunday, December 14, 1909, and you're invited! Dr. Addison Simpson and his wife Clara are having an open house for friends and neighbors. The celebration will be held in the east living room and adjoining dining room of Cherry Laurel, their gabled Victorian style home.

The home was built in 1908 from heart pine that the doctor earned working as the physician at a logging camp for two years. As camp physician, he was allotted a tent, two meals a day and the pine. He told Clara that he would come home to Washington and marry her when he had enough pine to build the home he wanted for his family. The house was designed by well-known architect Charles Choate. Clara and Addison lived in a small house on Water Street during the construction and watched the family home being built.

Dr. Simpson traveled by horse and buggy or on horseback to treat his patients in Wilkes County. When the automotive age arrived he was the second person in the county to have a car. Clara also drove the car. Some of the older ladies in the community thought that this was very immoral. According to her husband, Clara drove like a "demoness on wheels."

In front of the sofa in the family room is a table that has a wonderful story behind it. When Clara Barnett married Addison she brought with her a small door decorated with blue and pink paint. She may have intended it to be used as a closet door in a child's room. It was never used. Many years later it was found in a garage and given to Sniggy Eskew. Sniggy had it made into the table where her family now enjoys snacks on football weekends. After 100 years Clara's table has found a home at Cherry Laurel.

Today, Cherry Laurel is owned by Mike and Sniggy Eskew. Sniggy is the granddaughter of Dr. Simpson and the home has been lived in and loved by several generations of their family. The Simpson and Eskew families have traveled to many foreign countries in a proud tradition of military service to their country.

Over the years, Cherry Laurel has been the welcoming, comforting, "permanent" home of the families. For generations, through World War II, Vietnam and now Iraq, the family has gathered on the wrap-around veranda to await the return of their loved ones.

During the 2008 Christmas Tour of Homes, Mike and Sniggy welcome you to Cherry Laurel. Don't miss the chance to visit this wonderful home, steeped in the history of the Washington area.

The 2008 Christmas Tour of Homes is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, December 12-13. Three ticket packages are available for the Christmas Tour of Homes.

l Candlelight Tour: Friday Evening, 5-9 p.m. ($30.00)

l Town & Country Day Tour: Saturday Only 10 a.m.-5 p.m. ($30.00)

l Saturday Combination Ticket: Town & Country Day Tour, Twilight Champagne Reception, and Colonial Dinner ($65.00)

l Premier Ticket: All of the tour activities are included with this ticket ($85.00).

l Single House Tickets: ($5.00) Additional information may be obtained by calling The Washington Wilkes Historical Foundation (toll free 877-221-7689), 706-678- 5001, 706-678-2105, or by going to the Foundation's website http:// www.historyofwilkes.org.