Gatehouse Historic Site celebrates ‘The Callahan Christmas' this Sunday

Central Valley - The Gatehouse Historic Site and Learning Center in Central Valley has a long and storied past, beginning in the early 1900s when it guarded the entrance to the fabled Proctor Estate. The estate is long gone, but the Gatehouse lives on and this Sunday, Dec. 9, it will be the site of a Holiday Open House from 2 to 4 p.m. It’s become an annual tradition to remember Christmases of the past when the Callahan family lived there with two parents, nine children - and one bathroom. One of those children, Sheila Callahan McGoldrick of Central Valley, remembers that on the day after Thanksgiving, her mother would close the dining room doors and begin her baking for the holiday season. She decorated the table with her favorite lace cloth and placed the glass candelabra in the table’s center. Each serving piece was surrounded by a ring of greens from the trees in the back of the house. In the evening she placed a variety of desserts, cookies and cakes on the serving dishes. After dinner, the children were allowed to enter the room and select as many goodies as they wanted. Then after bedtime, Mrs. Callahan replenished each of the dishes, ready for the next evening. As a little girl, Mrs. McGoldrick never knew where the “extras” were stored but there seemed to be an unending supply. Now, with some of the original family heirlooms still gracing the table, the Gatehouse Committee repeats the tradition and invites the community to enjoy the warm glow of the annual “Callahan Christmas.” The holiday open house is free and refreshments will be served. Everyone is cordially invited to share in this time of friendship and remembrance. In addition, the current exhibit of “Woodbury in the 1960s” is on display. Anyone who has recollections of that time is welcome to come and share their memories to be recorded for the ongoing exhibit. The Gatehouse is located on Smith Clove Road at Pine Hill Road in Central Valley. For information, call 845-928-6378.