On Saturday, the lawn of the historic Taft House in Greenville was set up with tables with delicate teapots and trays of cucumber sandwiches, fairy bread and cupcakes while about 30 boys and girls, dressed in their best, enjoyed a cup of tea or juice.
One of several events this summer celebrating the town’s 150th anniversary, the children’s tea party was a reprise of an event that was held during the town’s centennial anniversary and the 125th anniversary, said Heather Schoff, the town’s recreation director and one of the organizers of Saturday’s tea. Those events, 25 and 50 years ago, were also held on the Taft House lawn. Schoff reached out to the current property owner about resurrecting the tradition, and they agreed to host the party on the lawn.
“This is a tradition, and we wanted to keep that tradition going,” Schoff said.
One participant, she said, had signed up his toddler, and remembered attended the tea party for the 125th anniversary.
“This is like a legacy for them,” Schoff said.
While the party has traditionally only been held to celebrate major town milestones, Schoff said the event was a big success, and she’d like to see it come back and be part of the town’s annual summer celebrations, without waiting another 25 years.
“It’s fun, and it’s making me very happy,” Schoff said. “I love it. We’ve got some hats, a lot of kids really dressed up, it’s wonderful to see. I think we’ll revive this before the next 25 years. It’s been very successful, and it’s so cute to have something like this for the littles. I’m so excited how this came together.”