Events and Activities : LPC Women's Club Home for the Holidays Tour of Homes

The annual La Porte City Womens Club Tour of Homes will be held on Sunday, December 7, 2025, from 4:00-7:00. There are six homes on the Tour and include the following homes: Bridget Fuller, 102 Westridge Ct, Jeremy & Danielle Wolff, 607 Chestnut St, Phil & Kathy Norris, 507 Gates St, Mike & Kathy Strubel, 302 Bowers St, Terry & Julie Strutz, 7070 Gilbertville Rd and Eric & Paul Pecenka, 7320 Gilbertville Rd, all of La Porte City, You may pre-purchase your tickets at the Old Stone Bistro or Cedar Valley Bank in La Porte City or you purchase them at the first house you visit. The cost of the tour is $10 and entitles you to tour all six homes. For those that do not want to take the 15-minute drive out to the Sturtz and Pecenka Homes, the Club has arranged for a bus to take you. Chad Hansen’s Funbus will pick up riders at 3:45 and 5:15 and take them out to the two homes on Gilbertville Rd and return them. If you wish to ride the bus, make your reservation at Old Stone Bistro before the event so we know how many people will be riding the bus. Be at the City Parking Lot (across from the Fire Station) by your reserved time. The bus ride is free, but you may tip Chad if you’d like, for his service.

Bridget Fullers’ home at 102 Westridge Ct is a townhouse but feels much larger due to the open kitchen, dining room, living room concept. When Bridget bought the home, she did extensive remodeling and even added an additional room. Her decorated home for Christmas features her North Pole Christmas Village that she has had forever and ever. The home is decorated throughout with a multitude of lights which makes you feel warm and cozy. In addition, she has a simple tinsel tree that reminds us that the beauty of Christmas is for a simple reason, time to spend with our family and friends while remembering the reason for the season.

Jeremy and Dannielle Wolff’s bought their home at 607 Chestnut St in 2022 and have been working on it steadily. Dannielle’s knack for decorating is shown throughout the house with her love of red. They have added the fireplace in the dining room which appears as if it hosts a collection of antiques mirrors, but are they really antique? The woodwork of the old Victorian style home has remained intact, and the Wolff’s spend time continuing to maintain it while adding much greenery, red ribbon and lights around the house at Christmas time.

Phil & Kathy Norris’s home at 507 Gates St has an open concept dining/kitchen/living room which comes in handy when they are hosting their entire family of 27. The Norris’s love to host their family and others with Kathy especially excited when she can set a perfect Christmas table set with Christmas dishware and gold silverware to match. One of their prized possessions is their “Night Before Christmas” book that they started reading to their first grandchild, Nick, when he was a baby. The reading continued while more grandchildren arrived and soon, Nick took over the reading of the book to the younger grandchildren. They grands have even written special notes in the book throughout the years.

Mike & Kathy Strubel’s home at 302 Bowers St boosts of Mike’s construction skills and Kathy’s decorating sense. They have been the original owners of the home since 2018. Kathy has a very large

Nutcracker collection, and she tries to add to it each year, getting one that reminds her of Mike. In addition, she has two Nutcrackers she received in memory of her brothers with one being a pirate and another a cowboy. Check out the ladder which frames the seven grandchildren in the hallway of the Strubel home Family pictures are featured on the upper ladder. This ladder is the very first ladder that Mike had when he started his construction business. Notice the white scarf wrapped around the ladder which was Kathy’s late mothers, and the scarf reminds them that she is still with them. Check out Strubel’s master bedroom with the cozy Christmas bedspread. It’s as soft and cozy as it looks.

A short drive out to Terry & Julie Sturtz’s home is well worth the drive at 7070 Gilbertville Rd. The Sturtz home boasts a reading nook on the second floor and a private guest bedroom which Julie states is more like an apartment. Terry bought the home and the first look Julie had of it was on moving day when they decided to move back to Iowa from Arizona in 2021. The entire house has a multitude of windows which allows them to see the surrounding woods no matter what time of the year. Julie’s daughter and granddaughter claim that Julie has over 50 trees, small and large in the house which her daughter Teresa makes. The Sturtz’s have also planted 21 trees on the property since purchasing it. Notice the little red truck and camper under the Strutz’s tree in the living room.

One half mile down the road is Eric & Paula Pencenka’s home at 7320 Gilbertville Rd. In March 2023, the Pecenka home was a total loss in a house fire. They rebuilt the home on the original foundation and Paula states; they got to rebuild the house the way they wanted the layout to be. It is an open concept home with kitchen/dining/living room and boast of many windows to view the surrounding trees. Paula decorates year-round but especially enjoys Christmas. An original Pecenka sign with a large “P” is in the hallway, one of the very few items that survived the fire. Ask the Pecenka’s to point out the small tree which one of the neighbors gave them when they moved in on December 12th, as a welcome back gift. The fireplace with the television above and the stockings hung with care make you want to curl up and enjoy the warmth of the season. The Pecenka’s have 4 rescue dogs. Friends, family and dogs are always welcome in their home.

Lastly, just so you don’t have to worry about supper, before, during or after the Tour of Homes, you can enjoy soup at the free will donation Soup Supper sponsored by the Little Knights Learning Center. The Soup Supper is being held at the LPC Community Center on 300 1st St, La Porte City. Soups, baked goods, bread and hot cocoa will be on the menu, and the time will be 4:00-8:00.

This Tour of Homes will be well worth your time this year with more homes than ever before, many with an abundance of lights and warmth of the season. Come and enjoy the 2025 LPC Womens Club Home for the Holidays Tour of Homes. All fundraising that the Women’s Club does goes back to the community in the form of donations and scholarships.

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