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Bond House celebrates Christmas past and present
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor.Ciera Zeh helped out her mom Laura, the curator of the Bond House, by decorating a circa-1927 Sears artificial tree with garland and icicle ornaments.
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Ginny Shorten, the treasurer of the Canfield Historical Society, said that her favorite tree on display at Bond House was the German pyramid Christmas tree, because "It celebrates the real reason for the season, the birth of Jesus."
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Laura Zeh, the curator of the Bond House, said her favorite tree at the museum this year was the 1960's aluminum tree with a color wheel (bottom left) included. "It's a sentimental choice- my family had a tree like this when I was growing up," Zeh shared.
By SARAH FOOR
This Christmas, Canfield’s historical Bond House wanted to offer Valley residents a different kind of gift.
“I wanted to give visitors the gift of their own history,” said curator Laura Zeh.
To meet such a lofty goal, Zeh planned a program to appeal to children and adults alike. Kids visiting the Bond house were treated to a “Christmas in Candyland,” with the namesake childrens’ game on hand, a cookie-decorating station, and a coloring craft for the children to create creative sweet treats.
For adults, Zeh decorated the Bond House in historical Christmas trees. A German pyramid Christmas tree, 1960’s-era aluminum tree and a circa-1927 artificial tree from Sears Company were on display.
Zeh admitted there was a clear favorite of the trees on display, however. The Settlers Tree was decorated with ornaments of the many ethnicities that have settled in Canfield and the Mahoning Valley in the last 200 years.
“I was so proud when, at the Settlers Tree, a child asked her mom what ethnicity she was. It started a really great conversation about their background and where they came from,” Zeh reflected. “At the end of the day, that’s what my job is all about — keeping our history alive.”