Each year its floral and décor team brings the holiday spirit to life with their unique wreath and tree designs, while the Stroudsmoor Inn Towne Bakers help make the holidays bright preparing the Inn’s classic confections and signature desserts. Guests are delighted at the sight of a Holiday Gingerbread Village filled with Pirone Family Trivia, and a 70’ living tree filled with thousands of lights. The one enduring tradition has been how the Pirone Family decorates the fireplace mantel and the main inn fresh tree for every Christmas Season.
The tradition began long ago when Louis and Bernadette Pirone gathered their girls – Linda, Susan, and Barbara – to decorate the family Christmas Tree. Louis cut, trimmed, and dragged the tree, sometimes up three flights of stairs, to place it in the living room of their humble home. Each year the girls got bigger, and so did the tree. Mother Bernadette would always find a way to buy new ornaments to ensure the tree was outfitted for a holiday, just like her girls – she lovingly made every holiday outfit they wore by hand. Stockings for each family member were hung, but not always by a fireplace until the family’s first home was purchased in 1963.
We fast forward to 1984, when 3-generations would continue the tradition at the Inn. The Pirone Family Tree, filled with ornaments of yesteryear and some new, stands majestically in front of the lobby fireplace for all to see. The decorations are lovingly placed on every branch each year by now 4-generations of Pirone Family members.
The stockings are hung by the fireplace with care, the tradition started by Louis and Bernadette and continued with each generation.
- Generation 2: Lewy, Susan, Andy, Linda, and Barbara
- Generation 3: Ben, Blake, Nick, and Jessica – Rick and Kelly – Michael, Dan, Sarah, and Savannah
- Generation 4: Leonardo, Eleanor and Penelope – and soon to arrive, Sophia
