For owner Lori Wilkerson, taking the Chez Noel vacation home tour gave her a chance to focus on the joy of the season. It was a necessary respite during a difficult time.
“It has been a very difficult year. My mother-in-law died in January. My husband has had five surgeries. My mother died in June and my brother-in-law died in September. So we had a lot of loss – and on top of that, I lost my dear bird.
Wilkerson said that between caring for her husband, David, at home while continuing to run the family painting business, it’s been a busy cycle with little time to think about vacation planning.
“I thought it was the perfect time to take charge of my life. My sister-in-law did this walk with us and many friends from church and other family members. But it took a village.”
Attending the annual event hosted by the Assistance League of Bakersfield helped Wilkerson dedicate time to an inspiring project. It also allowed him to go a little bigger with his decorations, which vary slightly each year.
“I don’t know if I would have done all this if I hadn’t been involved. I would have done parts of it but I probably would have only had three trees instead of five or something.”
One of these trees is small but mighty. Wilkerson’s “little choo choo train tree” is also the oldest, coming from a collection spanning three decades.
“I started collecting – and my son is 35, my daughter is 30 – so I started collecting them, you know, 30 years ago, 32 years ago. I don’t know how old the eldest is.
Although it is a miniature tree, it takes the longest to put up, according to Wilkerson who had help from her sister-in-law this year.
“This takes the longest because everyone has to be taken apart and packaged individually.”
“I want to be able to give it to either one of my children or my niece and nephew, whoever cries the loudest.”
Besides the other trees and wreaths, Wilkerson is also proud of the three paintings she owns by her father, Harlan Ream, who was primarily known for depicting Western scenes. One of them, entitled “For My Lulu” (the nickname he gives to his daughter), is one of his most precious possessions.
“My instructions are: If my house ever catches fire, you take my Bible and start with this chart. It’s the first thing that comes out. Everything else can burn to the ground.”
Along with fancy festive decor and pieces collected from the couple’s travels, Wilkerson also points out a well-worn coffee table that has long been a place to rest one’s feet or for drinks without coasters. The room reflects the Wilkersons’ desire to make people feel comfortable in their home.
“I want people to know that even though everything is decorated for the holidays, it’s a lived-in house. It’s a welcome home. We have chairs here. We feed people and normally set up a few tables. You know, “You put your feet on the furniture in this house. Our dogs are everywhere. It’s cleaned up for you guys, but for the most part you take down all the decorations and we live here. “
Besides the Wilkerson home, the two other homes featured by Chez Noel include one owned by a Bakersfield College professor that will have an “Around the World” theme with seven trees each representing a different country and another with bold holiday decor to the “Kardashians.”
Proceeds from Chez Noel benefit the Operation School Bell Assistance League of Bakersfield, a philanthropic program that provides school clothing to area children.
By the end of the year, the league will have helped 2,800 children through the program, according to Teddi Fanucchi, president of the Bakersfield Assistance League.
“We’re helping two different areas when it comes to clothing,” Fanucchi said. “One of them is through retail. Each family that passes through… can collect $100 worth of clothing. And then the other one goes through our uniform section. So for schools that offer uniforms, we put together some nice tote bags, and in the tote bags they get three polo shirts, either two pairs of pants or shorts or whatever they want. They will receive underwear, socks, a nice warm hoodie and shoes.
The nonprofit also offers Operation Hugs, providing the California Highway Patrol, Bakersfield Fire Department, Dignity Health Mercy and Memorial and San Joaquin hospitals with teddy bears for children experiencing trauma .
“We had our general meeting on Wednesday, and the girl who chairs that (program) had a card that had been written to us that had come to the Assistance League from a mother whose son was killed by a drunk driver and her son received one of our Kiss the Bears. And he hasn’t (let go of it), I guess he just carries it and it’s a comfort.
These bears bring comfort to all who need it. Wilkerson said her husband had one that helped him recover from surgery.
“It was a lifesaver for David because he had to have this. I mean, he doesn’t have a sternum, everything (when he) coughs hurts.”
