Herald and Rose Cooper stood proudly next to the doll house that took them two years to build and furnish during the first of three holiday open houses at the Girard Barnhisel house.
The Coopers' hobby has become building and detailing doll houses replicating homes from historic times. The couple put one of their miniature houses, a scale model of an 18th-century Connecticut farm house, on display for the holiday open houses at the Barnhisel house at 1011 State St.
The Coopers' dollhouse was in a featured location, at the entrance of the Barnhisel. The dollhouse is about three feet wide, two feet tall and a foot and a half deep. It has 12 rooms total and a beautifully crafted blue stair case that winds from the downstairs parlor to the upstairs bedrooms.
Article Photos
ABOVE:?Girard Historical Society President Roberta Lawrentz stands by a replica 1770 Connecticut doll house built by Herald Cooper for his wife Rose in 1983. The dollhouse is one of six on display at the historical Barnhisel House over the next two weekends. RIGHT:?A Christmas tree decorated by the Girard Herb Society is on display at Girard’s Barnhisel House at 1011 State St. The tree and the garden room, also decorated by the Herb Society, is part of the holiday display at the historic house. The house will be open for visitors from 1 to 5 p.m. Dec. 5, 6, 11 and 12. Donation is $5 for adults, $4 for senior citizens and $2 for children. Pictured from left are: Roberta Lawrentz, Girard Historical Society president; Shirley Hunter, GHS trustee; and Colette Chuey, GHS vice president.
There is a music room, dining room, kitchen, pantry, several bedrooms and an attic, which includes a smoke room and chimney, all impeccably detailed.
Herald Cooper said he has built about six dollhouses including the replicated 18th century farmhouse that took about two years to build.
''While he was working on it, I was picking out the furnishings,'' said Rose Cooper.
Five other dollhouses also are on display in exhibits sponsored by the Girard Historical Society. Among them is a 1934 dollhouse and an original Barbie Dream House from 1962.
The houses will be on display for the holiday season from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 5 and 6 and Dec. 11 and 12 at the Barnhisel House.
The 1932 dollhouse, the oldest on display, was built by Derrick Coleman for his then-9-year-old daughter, Pauline Bream. Bream helped redecorate the house for the Barnhisel display.
Another dollhouse on display was a Playmobil toy bought by Joan Twaddle in 1991. The house is packed full of the manufacturer's toys that fill the inside and outside of the house.
"They no longer manufacture the dollhouse," Twaddle said. "But they do make the characters that go inside them."
The house is filled with the characters. Beside the tiny home's first story is an outside garden that includes a Christmas tree, and outside the home is old horse and buggy coach.
The Barnhisel house is decorated for the holidays with several Christmas displays including trees decorated with antique ornaments and antique doll collections. The holiday decorating was provided by the Girard Moccasin Garden Club, Girard Herb Society and Creative Design and Landscaping. Refreshments will be served during the open house and musical entertainment will be provided on Sundays. Parking is available at Frankford Bicycle Inc.