The year 1997 marked quite a difference in the Christmas holiday season for this area.

For 38 consecutive years prior to 1997, what was then the North Penn Hospital Auxiliary presented the Christmas Caravan, when area residences and churches were selected to brightly deck the halls and open their doors to the community.

It was a fundraiser for the hospital auxiliary and, at one time, attendance was as high as 1,500 people.


In 1996, it was reported that fewer than 400 people toured the homes, and so the Caravan ended that year.

In the photos we feature today, the year was 1976 and it was reported that more than 1,300 area residents had visited the two historical houses, one historical church and three private homes on the tour.

That year the featured stops were the Peter Wentz Farmstead in Worcester; Kre-Belle Farms owned by Mr. and Mrs. Robert Rothenberger in Worcester; St. Luke’s United Church of Christ in North Wales; the home of Mr. and Mrs. Louis Baldino in North Wales; the home of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Guzewicz in North Wales; and the Jenkins Homestead in Lansdale.


The Caravan netted the auxiliary more than $5,000 that year, according to Reporter accounts.


In these photos, we see a scene from St. Luke’s UCC, with Jon Leight, Mrs. Louis Baldino at left and Mrs. William Lemmon, who was the Caravan chairwoman.

The other photo features Thelma Lee Rothenberger, as she relaxed in her home’s decorated library.