FREMONT, Ohio — A Holiday tradition dating back to 1994 in Fremont kicks off Thursday at the Hayes Presidential Library and Museum.
It may have been a cloudy, soggy day outdoors in Fremont Wednesday, but inside the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library and Museum, it's already Christmas. The annual Hayes Train Special is now up and running, offering free sights and sounds of holiday nostalgia.
On Thursday, the Lights of Spiegel Grove event will kick off the holiday season with tree lightings, sleigh rides, and tours of the Hayes home.
"This year we're partnering with Pottery Perfection in Fremont in doing a hydro-dipping Christmas ornament craft," said Kristina Smith, marketing and communications manager. "So that's going to be a lot of fun. It's $6 a person."
Some who visit the Hayes home during the holidays may feel a little underwhelmed with the decorations, but there's a reason. Smith says they decorated the home accurately to how Rutherford and Lucy Hayes would have decorated in the late 1800s.
But there is one exception in the form of a 10-foot Christmas tree in the parlor to celebrate the later generations of the Hayes family who lived here until 1965.
"The Hayes family loved Christmas," Smith said. "We have their diary entries and their letters, and it was a very special time for them. So it's fun to kind of throw it back to their day and see how they celebrated, but also add in some modern twists.
"The later generations of Hayes(es) who lived here until 1965 always had a large tree, and it has White House era appeal, from when Rutherford and Lucy were there, decorations from that era."
The free Lights of Spiegel Grove event runs this Thursday from 6-8 p.m.
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