'Christmas at the Seiberling' kicks off its holiday season

Kim Dunlap, Kokomo Tribune, Ind.
·3 min read

Nov. 28—Kokomo residents Mary Margaret and Jeremiah Smith paused for a moment Saturday night to snap a picture inside the dining room of the Seiberling Mansion.

Their 11-month-old daughter Elena, nestled in Smith's arms, smiled shyly as she posed for the camera, the twinkling lights of a nearby Christmas tree illuminating the whole scene.

For Margaret and Smith, and many others like them, this is what tradition is all about.

Because every holiday season for several years now, the Seiberling Mansion and its grounds have turned into a winter wonderland for the Howard County Historical Society's "Christmas at the Seiberling."

This year's kickoff and lighting ceremony was Saturday night, accompanied by dignitaries like Howard County Commissioner Paul Wyman, Kokomo Mayor Tyler Moore and even Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus.

Anne Shaw, newly appointed executive driector of the Howard County Historical Society, told the Tribune that the holiday season at the Seiberling Mansion is one of her favorite times of the year.

"It just gets better every year, and I love seeing the surprises in every room," she said. "I could walk around here for hours and see something new each time. ... I love seeing people come in and just sort of being wowed by every decoration in here. It's amazing and beautiful, and I just love their faces."

This year's theme is "A Symbolic Christmas," with each of the approximately 17 decorators choosing themes for their rooms which symbolize what the holiday season means to them.

Dianne Trauring is one of those decorators.

"This is my childhood," she said, referring to the decorations in the Walnut Room of the mansion. "Thinking of what the symbols of Christmas would be, an angel, a star, a Christmas tree. ... Family is everything to me. We never missed a Christmas together in 23 years until someone passed away, so it's about family and the symbols and tradition of Christmas. This was a perfect theme for me."

Peggy Hobson has been decorating rooms for the holiday season at the Seiberling Mansion for about 10 years now.

"This is probably my favorite part of all of it when the public gets to come and see it (the decorations)," Hobson said. "I like seeing the public enjoy it. I think this is about the fourth time that I've been here when the public was here like this, and it's just so enjoyable watching the kids and see what they do and how they smile when they see everything.

"And I would like if they came here maybe next summer or something too and said, 'Oh, I remember that room. It's not decorated now, but I remember it," Hobson added.

Because for many people, the Seiberling Mansion is more than just a house that happens to sit along West Sycamore Street.

Much like this year's theme, the house is also a symbol of Kokomo.

"I've been coming to the Seiberling since I was a kid," Mary Dunkle, who was visiting the mansion with her daughter and daughter-in-law said. "I always said I wanted to live here. But I never came for Christmas, so this is my first time here for that. But this is the house of Kokomo. You can't go through Kokomo or live in Kokomo without seeing or hearing about the Seiberling. I just love the house, and I love its history."

The Seiberling Mansion will be open, with regular admission, from 1-4 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday from now until Dec. 31.

As in past years, there will also be several sponsored free nights for Seiberling Mansion tours, including from 4-8 p.m. on Dec. 1, 2, 8, 9, 15 and 16.

Tickets for those evenings can be reserved on the HCHS website at https://howardcountymuseum.org/programs/christmas-at-the-seiberling.

A special candlelight tour will take place on Saturday, Dec. 17, and those tickets are $10 each.