The West Unity Omnibus Club is presenting their 33rd Annual Christmas House Walk and Craft Show, “A Joyous Christmas!” on Saturday, December 3rd.
The Omnibus club is featuring three beautiful homes that are festively decorated for the Christmas season. For your viewing this year: Noelle Chester, Brock & Nickie McNeal and Bill & Deb Smith. We invite you to visit their homes and enjoy their Christmas decorations and hospitality!
The cost to view all these homes is $6 and you can purchase your House Walk ticket at the West Unity Kissell Building, located in the park, at 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. on day of event.
Pre-sale tickets are available at the Holly Jolly Christmas Shoppe in West Unity. Home viewings begin at 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.
The Kissell Building is filled with many crafter booths. We’re sure you will find that special item for your Christmas giving or something just for you!
Shopping hours are 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. at the Kissell Building. Lunch is served 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.
The West Unity Omnibus Club promotes many worthwhile community services to their community.
The proceeds from the House Walk and Craft Show are given back to the community into various projects.
The Club members would like to extend a “Welcome” and “Thank You” to the homeowners, craft booth exhibitors and You, the participants.
Without your interest and support, this venture would not be possible. 
The house at 609 East North St. was built around 1920. The home was bought by Leroy and Daisy Flory in January 1990.
Members of the Flory family resided there until December 2019, when the house was sold to D&B Colon Leasing LLC.
Over the course of the next year, D&B Colon Leasing LLC renovated the interior of the home, including new drywall, kitchen cabinetry, and the upstairs master bedroom and bathroom.
In May 2020, Noelle Chester met with D&B Colon Leasing LLC and verbally committed to buying the home upon completion of the renovation.
Noelle was able to add her own personal touches to the renovation, including picking out the flooring, cabinetry, and painting accent walls in eccentric colors.
On December 1, 2020, D&B Colon Leasing LLC officially signed the property over to Noelle Chester. Noelle has lived there since with her bulldog, Gertrude Louise, and two cats, Edith Roosevelt and Rutherford “Bubba” Hayes.
Noelle was inspired to be in the Christmas House Walk when her parents’ home was featured in 2016.
Although their styles of décor differ greatly, the same level of thought and creativity is prominent throughout the tour.
Upon entering the house, you will notice that the decorations are unique and eclectic, drawing from both traditional and modern styles.
The living room features garlands of felt holly berries and leaves handmade by Noelle and her mother, Michelle.
Also in the living room are two full size trees of contrasting color schemes.
The white tree features candy colors, while the green tree has traditional red, green, and gold tones.
The festive kitchen is full of many freshly made holiday baked goods along with the third full size tree in the house.
Upstairs you will see the newly renovated master bedroom and bathroom completely decorated for the season.
The bedroom has a small Harry Potter themed tree representing the owner’s love of reading. The bathroom has a small fiber optic Barbie tree that Noelle has had since childhood.
Across the hall is a spare bedroom-turned-craft room. This room is the only untouched room from the renovation.
The natural hardwood paneled walls are original to the home. The decorations feature many handmade ornaments, garlands, and more.
Noelle looks forward to sharing her home with you this holiday season!
The McNeal house has an interesting and rich history. Some of the historical highlights start with John Rings in 1843.
The original plot of land was part of the John Rings First Addition when he platted the town and it was then sold multiple times until 1856 when George Pifer bought it and built a blacksmith shop on the property.
Fifteen years passed until David Beach purchased it and added to the previous enterprise with a wagon and carriage shop.
He called it Buggy Works and eventually added a paint shop to the property. Mr. Beach died in 1900 and we have yet to determine when the Buggy Works was torn down and the house was built, or if the house was built using the previous foundation.
History picks up again in 1902 when Leland Kent, a prominent business owner in West Unity, bought and lived on the property.
He owned it for about 9 years. The Kents sold the house to Dr. and Mrs. Critchfield in 1911. Dr. Critchfield’s original practice was above the town bank and after purchasing the house, they added on a doctor office to the west side of the house.
Keeping it in the family, someone in the Critchfield family had then occupied the house for about the next 50 years.
In 1968 the Dean family took over and it stayed in that family for about 40 years ending with David and Lisa Winzeler. The Winzeler’s added on the back deck.
Lastly, Brock and Nickie McNeal purchased the house in 2020.The house and barn has had many updates throughout the years but it still has much of the original woodwork.
The front porch and flooring have been greatly preserved. There are original ornamental vents and windows throughout as well.
You may also notice some original wood doors and door handles upstairs and down.
The McNeals enjoy keeping the integrity of the 1900 time frame so during your visit you will see many pieces of furniture or items that are true to the era of the house.
The overall decoration of the house is a mix of modern comfort and a feel of early 1900s.
The Christmas decorations you will see just add a special sparkle to this beautiful house during the most wonderful time of the year.
The McNeals are extremely proud owners of this historical home and are very excited to share it with the town for the Christmas Walk.
The Smith home was built in 1920. Bill & Deb purchased the home at the Harry Beals estate auction in December 1995.
Their daughter Michelle and family lived in the home for 4 years, before Bill & Deb made it their home in October 1999.
Bill sided the house and replaced all the windows, built a new garage, and did some much needed landscaping.
He redesigned the kitchen to be more efficient and together they laid hardwood flooring throughout the house. Over the years, rooms have been updated to their liking.
Deb is a collector of Austrian Crystal figurines and has over 60 pieces in a lighted curio cabinet in the dining room.
This room will display a Victorian tree with a lot of ornaments made by Deb.
The living room will be decorated with a purple and green tree along with a 3 foot upside down tree hanging from the ceiling.
The couple’s bedroom will be decorated with a lighted bedspread. Their bathroom will greet you with a snowman theme.
In the kitchen there is a candy cane Christmas and the utility room will house the Teddy Bears.
Also featured in your walk you will come upon a Pepsi Cola Christmas tree. This pop can tree has 150 Pepsi Cola cans stacked on top of each other with red and green lights.
Bill and Deb put this tree together about 10 years ago. The Bryan Times photographer knocked at their door and asked for permission to take a picture of the tree.
They published it in their paper, which they did the following week!
The couple’s front porch was not forgotten for Santa and his sleigh full of presents is displayed!
Bill and Deb wish you all a “Merry Christmas” and hope you enjoy visiting their home as much as they and their family members enjoyed decorating it!!
