2008 Woodie Awards
Joyces open house for community viewing
Kari Joas, Features Editor
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While walking to Ceresco Prairie, a detour down One Merriman Lane leads to a seldom seen or visited spot on campus. The President's House turns out to be a wonderfully decorated home.
Last week, as a part of the Dickens of a Christmas celebration, President David Joyce and his family volunteered to have their home as part of the annual Tour of Homes, which allows people from the community to take a look into historic homes in Ripon.
"I was excited about it," says Lynne Joyce. "It is important for college and community relations."
The president's home has been on the tour in previous years and it was nice to have it back again says Sam Stever, chairperson of the Tour of Homes. Stever says that past president Paul Ranslow participated in the event, and she was glad to have the Joyces volunteer to have it put back on the tour.
The Tour of Homes has been around for 10 years, with a goal to "try to get six homes and have people purchase tickets," explains Stever. "They go to the homes and tour guides point out things of interest."
This year there was a tour bus so people did not have to walk or drive to all the houses on their own. This was started as a "major fundraiser for the Dickens of a Chrismas to help fund the living windows."
The homes on the tour are interesting, says Stever, and they each have something unique about them. "The look of the age and the style, uniqueness or any collectables [are exciting to look at]." That's also true of the Joyce's home, she continues.
While the Joyces have been living in the President's home since taking over as the head of the college last year, the building itself has been around for some time. According to the Tour of Homes brochure it was built for President Bernard Adams and his wife Natalie in 1966. Since then it has been remodeled numerous times with each president adding their own touch to it. The home is 4,100 square-feet that was constructed at a cost of $110,000 when it was built in a Georgian design. Much of the art in the home is from the college's permanent collection.
Inside there are prairie inspired decorations and birds that appear throughout the house along with plants that come from the prairie. But the Joyces have added their own touches including the decor of the formal living room. The furniture for the room came with the Joyces from North Carolina. Complete with a warm fireplace, it's one of the most welcoming rooms in the house.
When asked about his favorite parts of the house, David says the garage; workshop and fishing room remain his most frequented.
"I like the garage and workshop, it's my favorite place to tinker," David says of the expansive space large enough to fit three cars. This is where he has been spending time fiddling with a 1973 black Saab Sonnet and using the parts from a 1970 yellow Saab Sonnet to fix it up. "The cars run, but they don't have [working] brakes," David says.
But the fishing room (a.k.a the library) also has a distinctive Joyce feel to it. "It is the only room that I was allowed to fix up," kidding that Lynne was out of town that week. There is a large assortment of fishing equipment, including poles that David has built himself. The walls are filled with books, but the coffee table grabs your attention most. The unique piece of furniture has its own history. It is a lobster trap with glass over the top, David explains.
"[We are] outdoors nuts, we collect stuff," David says. When the Joyces were on vacation and they came across a man making homemade lobster traps they asked if they could buy one. It was about ten in the morning, David recalls, and the man who they wanted to purchase it from was drunk. Not wanting to tell the man that they wanted the trap for furniture the Joyces explained to the man that they wanted to trap lobsters. Thus it was sold with some advice. "You gotta have a buoy in it," David says. And inside the table a buoy sits.
Another interesting tidbit to the room is a large, approximately five foot (by a reporter's best estimate) stocking, which David proudly claimed as his own. "The older you are the bigger your stocking," he jokes. And when asked if he expects it to be full David says, "It better be."
Going up the stairs to the second floor, there is a different atmosphere. Each bedroom has its own design. For starters the guest room is warm and inviting and uses the theme of outdoors and animals.
The French themed room belongs to the Joyce's daughter Anna, who studied in France. It is like stepping into France that is decorated for Christmas. But there is something distinctly American in the room which catches the eye. Standing in the corner there is a working gumball machine. According to Lynne that gumball machine has traveled throughout many rooms over the years. And after testing the machine with a nickel, a green ball is spit out and is completely chewable.
The master bedroom is beautifully decorated with art from artists the Joyces know. One of the better paintings is entitled "Falling Snow" and pictures a tree covered with gently falling snow in a classic winter scene.