Jonathon Liedtke – ourWindsor.ca – Dec. 19, 2012
The City of Windsor has once again opened the doors to Willistead Manor in Walkerville to allow for residents to take in the marvel that is the Manor during the Holiday season.
Willistead Manor was left to the Town of Walkerville by Edward Walker, and Penny Henderson who works at Willistead Manor explained that the facility was left to Walkerville “as long as it maintained a library and it was to be taken care of by the Town of Walkerville.”
During the Holiday Season, the Friends of Willistead Manor immaculately decorate 12 rooms in various Christmas decorations. “Around the end of November, [The Friends of Willistead] swarm in, they have it all organized, and they decorate this place beyond anything I’ve ever seen before; it’s better than a winter wonderland. There’s Christmas Trees in every corner of every room, but, it’s not…tacky, it’s just something to marvel at.”
The building up for tours on Sundays and Wednesdays so that “everybody within the City of Windsor can come in and enjoy what we’ve created here.”
The Friends of Willistead consist of roughly 40-50 people and according to Henderson they “spend a lot of time planning the day, but it generally only takes them a day to decorate. Trees are put up the day before, that lets them fall and get into proper place.”
While there is still a library in the building, today it primarily serves as a banquet facility to those who want to rent it. “People come here and they have weddings, business meetings, showers, whatever you can think of, this is the place to have it. If you’re looking for a unique and ornate building in Windsor, this is the place.”
Jonathon Liedtke’s Media Flickr Gallery
Photo Gallery: Willistead Manor at Christmas (ourwindsor.ca)
Jonathon Liedtke is the Features & Opinion Editor for the University of Windsor Lance Campus/Community Newspaper and a reporter for ourWindsor.ca. As a founding member and current Co-Chair of the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Committee, he is committed to representing, connecting, engaging with and advocating for local youth. He is also a member of Windsor’s “Punk with Horns” band The Nefidovs, and as such, is committed to enhancing and sustaining the arts community.
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