Apalachicola to showcase historic homes

Apalachicola’s waterfront homes will take center stage Saturday as the city rolls out its welcome for the 18th annual Historic Apalachicola Home & Garden Tour.

Sponsored by Trinity Episcopal Church to raise funds for maintenance of the 1839 structure, the tour, with the theme “Down by the River, Down by the Bay,” is expected to attract more than 1,000 visitors on Friday and Saturday, April 30 and May 1.

The weekend begins Friday evening with Evensong at 5:30 p.m. at the church at 79 Sixth Street. Visitors will then have a chance to look over the many fine items that are part of the silent auction (see sidebar).

A lecture by Faith Eidse, award-winning author of “Voices of the Apalachicola,” will follow at 6:30 p.m. As in her compilation of oral histories, Eidse will bring the people of the Forgotten Coast and Big Bend to life.

Homes will be open to visitors on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Pre-sale tickets will be available for $15 until the day of the tour, when ticket sales will begin at 9:30 a.m. at the purchase price of $20.

Lunch will be served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Trinity’s parish hall at a cost of $10. A silent auction, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., will also be a part of the tour day’s events.

The featured home of the tour is a Second Empire style mansion owned by Susan and Jim Bachrach, an architectural gem that sits atop a gentle rise overlooking Apalachicola Bay. The original house with high ceilings and tall dormer windows on the ground floor was built in 1885. The gabled tower, added in 1999, emphasizes the Second Empire style.

Examples of Corky Richard’s fine wood craftsmanship are showcased in this home and others on the tour. The late Richards, a woodworker of national renown, worked in deadhead cypress, an indigenous and highly-prized wood raised from the river floor.

Grand homes to charming cottages, and even a beached houseboat, round out the 2010 tour. Guests to Apalachicola can also enhance the weekend experience by allowing time for the many historical buildings and churches, museums, inns, and parks that herald this river town as a truly unique place.

For more information or ticket sales please contact Trinity Episcopal Church at 653-9550 or the Apalachicola Bay Chamber of Commerce at 653-9419.

Silent auction expands for 2010 tour

The annual silent auction that accompanies the Tour of Homes has its largest array of offerings ever, ranging from a Jamaica getaway to collectible art and antiques.

Organizer Geri Anderson said that more than 60 items have been assembled for the sealed bid, silent auction, which now offers the ability to bid online or via telephone.

Since the bids are “secret” in the auctions, individuals may bid online at trinitychurch@mchsi.com or by phone to Evelyn at Trinity’s office 653-9550 until noon Friday, April 30.

Updated auction items are located at http://mytrinitychurch.org/toh.htm or www.apalachicolahistorichometour.org

To bid early, call or go on line, and provide your name and address, cell phone and/or home number, item number and description of the item, and bid amount.

On-line and telephone bids will be accepted until noon Friday. That evening, between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m., there will be a wine and cheese preview of some of the items within a tent set up at Trinity Church. Bid will be accepted at the tent up until the Friday lecture begins, and on Saturday from 9:30 a.m. up until 3 p.m. when the winners will be announced. Cash, checks and credit cards, with the exception of American Express, will be accepted this year.

All bidding is confidential and kept secret until opening of bids to announce winners at 3 p.m. All winning bidders are responsible for picking up their items or arranging for the shipping. All rentals are based on the availability of the property.

Here is a list of some of the many items being auctioned:

In addition to five St. George Island rentals, ranging in value from $500 to $2,365, there are rooms and vacation rentals available from Apalachicola, Indian Pass and Cape San Blas and even a waterfront cottage in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, available from May to November.

Artwork includes silver jewelry by Kristin Anderson; paintings by Lynn Wilson, Alice Jean Gibbs, Shirley Adams, Ed Springer, Donna Tweedle and award-winning Stuart painter Margaret Gray; and prints by Leroy Neiman, Susan Richardson, Tom Tiffin and Lane Autrey.

Pottery includes a seafoam green fish platter by Daphne Lloyd, large artichoke by Anne Eason, grape pattern platter by Geri Anderson, Chinese pattern plate by Gloria Austin, white ceramic shell bowl by Dorothy Greene Porter, and seashell platter carnival glass.

Other items include a coastal sightseeing trip by air with pilot Lee Sewell in her Cirrus SR22 plane, a four-hour river cruise, an animal shaped children’s table and chairs set made by Dick Pickering,  German nickel silver punch bowl and 12 cups, Western .22 long rifle ammo box, handmade boat-shaped wall shelf. Weil Ware dinnerware, 1950’s Burroughs P600 bookkeeping system, four Dixie Theater tickets, Susan B. Anthony gold plated silver dollar, 1921 Pilcher wooden organ pipe from Trinity church organ, antique chamber chair, wine bar, matching heavy gilt framed mirrors, and much more.