‘The House of Wonders’
Christmas is the time when Lorene Haag lets her rich imagination run free
By Bobbi Mlynar
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Walking into Lorene Haag’s home north of Olpe is like walking into the El Dorado of Christmases.
Like the fabled city of gold, Haag’s house is bursting with its own version of riches: snowmen, Santa Clauses, angels, Nativities, wreaths, garlands, candy canes, holly and berries, a Christmas clock, nutcrackers, and all the other signs of the holiday right down to the snowmen and miniature trees sitting atop the toilet tank cover.
Even the doors are wrapped in wide ribbons and decorated with bows to resemble Christmas packages, while icicles and pine-branch garlands ring the chandeliers. The enclosed entry porch at the back of the house holds an antique bird cage with a snowman trapped inside, and two hand-made Christmas trees sit on a tall table. Every surface or wall of the house that can be decorated for the season has been.
“I like it,” Haag said, “and the grandkids love it.”
One of the grandchildren was inspired to put her feelings on paper as part of a school assignment.
“She called it, ‘The House of Wonders’ and she wrote about my house,” Haag said.
Every year, Haag devotes about six weeks to putting up Christmas decorations, and the number of decorations that need to be hung or draped or placed increases every year through gifts.
“It’s getting a little harder because I’m not that young any more,” said Haag, who retired several years ago from her job as nurse to Dr. H. Russel Bradley.
Placing a collection of snowmen around the top of the kitchen cabinets requires a considerable amount of ladder-climbing, and packing away the contents of bookshelves to make room for Christmas decorations can be heavy work. As she applies spray-on “snow” to the house’s window panes, she realizes that removing it later and washing the windows will be time-consuming.
Still, Haag said, “I love every minute of it.”
Several pieces hold special meaning for her, including one favorite tree decoration hand-made by her daughter, Pat. The dark green tree-shaped decoration has tiny Santa-like faces, each marked with the name of a grandchild.
“I’m so proud of it,” Haag said.
A sugar-plum fairy is a reminder of a happy marriage to Herb Haag that ended when he died in 2002.
“When Herb and I were dating, he always called me his sugar plum,” Haag explained. “So, my granddaughter gave me the sugar plum fairy.”
The richly decorated house is a haven for Haag, who enjoys sitting among her treasures during the holiday season and beyond.
“Usually, I leave them up ’til about February,” she said.
Then, she picks up each piece, from the large brocade-robed Kris Kringle by the doorway to the small snowman toothpick holder on the kitchen table, and stores them away in a total of 12 large Rubbermaid containers, each marked with the contents and where they should be placed in the house when the decorating begins again the following year.
Only one piece of Christmas — a small porcelain angel with dark gold hair — is never put away. The Knights of Columbus in Olpe gave the angel to Haag in memory of Herb shortly after his death.
“That stays up all year ’round,” she said.