Priscilla Richardson

Recent columns

• Column archive: Priscilla Richardson
• Clean technology latest move for Botetourt man
• 'Tree City' Buchanan celebrates Arbor Day

Fincastle's Santillane used to be like the weather. Everybody talked about it, but nobody actually did anything.

Nobody, that is, until Daniel "Dan" and Phyllis "Lissy" Merenda decided to buy it about 10 years ago. They took on the job of restoring the house to its former glory.

Glory it did have at one time: This Greek Revival house with white columns was the family home of Judith Hancock, who married William Clark of Lewis and Clark fame.

When the Merendas bought it, however, the house was "a shambles," Dan Merenda said. But he had restored two houses in the Washington, D.C., area, and one in Roanoke's Old Southwest. So they moved in.

Their first night there, he said, "the ceiling in our bedroom fell on us as we were in bed. I said, 'What is this wet stuff on my face?' I wasn't sure if it was a ghost or not. So there I was at 1 a.m. on a 10-foot ladder with a 2-by-4 to try to hold up the 12-foot [high] ceiling." The wet ceiling came from a roof badly in need of replacement.

After replacing the roof, they had to redo the electrical wiring. "The walls are solid brick, as are the outside walls. So a lot of the lights were on pull chains; there were no wall switches. The electrician had to dig out some walls. The chandelier we found in a box in the basement. We had to reassemble it.

"The kitchen was a major part of the restoration; it had to be gutted. We had a contractor for that. In the rest of the house, the floors were in terrible shape -- they had not been finished in 40 to 50 years. In at least one room, the floors had water damage.

"Every room in the house was wallpapered, and the ceilings, too. So we started to strip the wallpaper."

Underneath, they found the signatures of the original craftsmen who did the plaster work. The oldest is dated 1826.

The grounds offered another challenge. They had to tear out junk trees and weeds. In their place went shrubs, flowers and a vegetable garden.

Then, what do you do with such a house as Santillane? Their original idea was just to enjoy it, along with Lissy's three and Dan's two grown children. After all, the Merendas found this area very friendly and welcoming.

"But groups kept approaching us," Dan Merenda said, "so at one point we thought we really ought to consider using it for special events."

So they lease out the house for weddings, parties and business events, with the renters bringing in their own caterers. For example, Jim Schaal has catered events there.

The Merendas also offer their own events. This fall, Kim Arney, of Kim's Katering, is creating two buffets of German food for Oct. 20 and 21.

Newly retired, in contrast to her husband, who still works full time, Lissy Merenda is presenting a series called "Soup, Salad and a Seminar at Santillane."

These are luncheons catered by Arney, using produce from the Santillane gardens. Each one has a different menu, followed by a demonstration of a craft done in such a way that participants can take home a finished product.

Starting Oct.1, Billy Sheppard, a designer with Florabella, will demonstrate decorating using natural fall items. The lunch that day includes cream of broccoli soup, Waldorf salad, sour cream cinnamon loaf, bread pudding and hot mulled cider.

The menus for the rest of the sessions sound just as tempting. Oct. 10 features Botetourt's own Rita Wilson of Floral Expressions in Daleville. She'll demonstrate basic floral design using a pumpkin container. Jennifer Aylor of the White Oak Tea Tavern will present the seminar Oct. 15 on tea, its background and health benefits.

These fall seminars are followed by two holiday-themed ones. Lissy Merenda will demonstrate Victorian paper ornaments and a holiday topiary on Nov. 17 and Dec. 1.

Now you know who lives in that famous house. And you know how you can enjoy it along with the Merendas.

For all events, the times and costs vary. Prepayment as well as advance reservations are required. Check the Web site Santillane.com, call 473-3898 or e-mail rmorningglory@msn.com.