The Mentone Home Tour and Silent Auction will take place on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 25 and 26. Sponsored by the Mentone Area Arts Council, the home tour will feature nine homes mostly from the early to mid-1900s plus several other landmarks that will be open during the event. Cost for the tour is $10 each. The Silent Auction will feature more than 70 items from art to Bed & Breakfast stays. Ticket sales and silent auction will be located at Mentone Town Hall. For more details, visit www.mentonearts.org.
The last weekend in October, seven early to mid-20th century homes and two newer homes will open their doors to visitors in the Mentone and Cloudland, Ga., areas of Lookout Mountain. Set for Oct. 25-26, 2014, the Mentone Area Arts Council (MAAC) will host its seventh annual Tour of Historic Homes and Silent Auction.
The self-guided tour of homes begins at the Mentone Town Hall with sites located in Mentone and in Cloudland. The historic homes are not normally open for public viewing except when a select number open their doors during the annual Tour of Historic Homes. Charming authentic, rustic and renovated homes will be on the tour this year and visitors will be greeted by homeowners or guides who will elaborate on the history of each home.
Step into the summer home of Martha Berry, where she entertained worldly visitors including Henry Ford. Built in the 1920s, this large home features a dogtrot design to cool the many bedrooms and living areas. Berry, a southern and progressive woman of her time, is the founder of Berry College, a small liberal arts institution near Rome, Georgia. The home was recently purchased by Kathy and John McFarland who hope to return it to its former glory.
Four of the tour homes sit along the former bridle path on the east brow. Tree Top Cottage, built in the 1920s and owned by Jan Hewhoff and Mike Keracher since 2010, is one of Mentone’s oldest and most charming homes.
Grandview, owned by Cindy and Wayne Beard, is rumored to be a dentist’s office and has been used as an auxiliary camp house for Camp Skyline senior girls, who called it Ups & Downs. The Greg Frith home sits on the property also occupied by The Hanging Cottage, which was formerly the local doctor’s office.
Also included on the tour are the homes of Poppy and Richard Buchanan, Nancy and Andy Krenkel, and Kamama Log Cabin owned by Ray and Sandra Padgett.
Drive a little further east to Cloudland and take in the wonderful old homes belonging to Lynn Johnson and Sally Cook Williams. While in that area, make a stop at Camp Juliette Low during their Fall Open House. Juliette Low, founder of the Girl Scouts, personally established this camp, handpicking the location, for girls seven to 17 years old.
In addition to the historic homes, there are several landmarks along or near the tour that are of interest. The Mentone Inn will be giving tours and serving refreshments and the Sallie Howard Chapel, a working church built in 1937 around a huge boulder of mountain rock that serves as its pulpit, will also be open for touring. While in that area, visit the Civilian Conservation Corps Museum at DeSoto State Park where visitors step back in time and learn about the Depression-era program that developed DeSoto State Park and other parks all over the United States.
A silent auction, open to the public, will be held in conjunction with the Tour of Historic Homes at Mentone Town Hall where visitors can bid on original works of art including paintings, ceramics, jewelry, photography, native plants, antiques, camp sessions, weekend getaways, and gift certificates to Mentone restaurants and shops. Online bidding will also be available at www.mentonearts.com. The auction ends at 3 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 26.
Tickets good for both days may be purchased at Mentone Town Hall, at 5972 Highway 117 in downtown Mentone, during tour hours on Saturday, Oct. 25, from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. CST, and Sunday, Oct. 26, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. CST. Cost is $10 per person. Maps are also available at the Mentone Town Hall.
The Tour of Historic Homes is a major source of funding for MAAC projects such as the rock entries, flower plantings in downtown Mentone and the series of classes, tours and lectures. This year, MAAC hopes to expand on the welcome sign area on Highway 117 by creating an overlook, complete with rock posts and locust wood railings, and landscaping.
For more information, send inquiries to bjbates@bellsouth.net or mentoneinn@gmail.com or visit www.mentonearts.org.