Homeowner Tracy Humphrey (left) talks to home tour participants Erich and Mary Ragna Yetter about a plant in the backyard.
Scott Slade | The Times-Post
Homeowner Tracy Humphrey (right) talks to home tour participants Erich and Mary Ragna Yetter (center) and home tour helper Shelly Chamberlin (left).
Scott Slade | The Times-Post
Homeowner Tracy Humphrey (left) talks to a Pendleton Home Tour participant on Saturday, Oct. 21.
Scott Slade | The Times-Post
Pendleton Home Tour participants (standing, from left) Gina Long, her daughter Kirsten Miller and George Gasparovic, all from Pendleton, talk to homeowner Dennis Humphrey on the back porch.
Scott Slade | The Times-Post
PENDLETON — Erich and Mary Ragna Yetter of Anderson said they never had time for things like home tours when they had a family at home, but as empty-nesters, that has changed.
On Saturday they toured the six houses on the Pendleton Home Tour, the first of what is planned to be annual event organized through Pendleton Business Association.
“We were blown away. We had a great time. So glad we did this today,” Mary said while standing in the backyard at 346 S. Broadway St., home of Tracy and Dennis Humphrey.
This was their last stop, having seen all the homes.
The tour took place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. One of the houses on the tour is being renovated for use by a local non-profit and PBA member, Acton Academy. The others are residences.
Pendleton residents Donna Wood, Alicia Lowe and Josie Lowe — representing three generations of their family — were among the other more than 130 people who paid the $12 ticket price to participate in the tour.
The tour started with check-in at Citizens State Bank, which was a main tour sponsor with REMAX Legacy.
“I love home tours — used to go on them with my mom all the time,” said Donna, who was there with her daughter, Alicia, and granddaughter, Josie. “It’s been a long time since we’ve had a home tour (in Pendleton).”
“I like to look at other people’s homes and get ideas.”
Alicia said she just likes “to check things out.
“I like all the old homes, the nooks and crannies.”
Gina Long and her adult daughter Kirsten Miller were also on the tour together.
Gina said she likes to see how other people spruce up their homes.
“We’re just curious,” Kirsten said.
“It’s been fun, a lot of fun, in fact,” Gina said.
In addition to the future Acton Academy site and Humphrey home, other homes on the tour were:
301 E. State St. — Metz home
122 W. Water St. — Williams home
118 S. Main St. — Ring home
322 W. Taylor St. — Fullen home
Erich Yetter — who noted he was a little suspect of the tour at the start, with the first stop being the work-in-progress Acton Academy property — said the tour ended up being spectacular.
He said the Ring home was like an “old Southern mansion,” with everything finished to perfection.
“It was like stepping back in time,” he said.
Reflecting on the tour overall, he said “Oh, Pendleton’s great. This is amazing.”
Alexa Chamberlin, co-chairwoman of the event, PBA vice president and Citizens State Bank branch manager, said she heard similar glowing feedback from everyone she spoke to on the tour.
“We’re actually pretty excited, before too long, to begin planning again for next year,” she said.
She said the plan is to have a new slate of homes, ideally increasing the number on tour to six or seven.
“We want everyone to get something different each year, and for different people to have the opportunity to show off their houses.
“We definitely want to make it bigger and better”
There were 131 tickets sold for this year’s event, with proceeds benefitting Acton Academy.
Chamberlin said she anticipates more people will come out for future tours.
“I think attendance will be higher … because word travels,” she said.