B2o—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 17,1983
BY KIMBERLY HERR
EPHRATA There are wreaths wreaths, an ice cream cone for a
at the windows, poinsettias by Christmas tree, clear toy candy for
door and a fire burning in the the window panes and gum candy
fireplace. It’s a cozy scene, and, for the tiny candles on the
best of all, it’s edible. gingerbread tables. Tiny Chicklets
That’s right. Everything is made were used for the panels on doors
with gingerbread, icing, candy, and shutters. Most everything else
cereal or ice cream cones. It is the is made from gingerbread or icing,
work of Tina Strepko, Ephrata. Tina estimated that she used some
Last year, Tina won best of show 70 odd pieces of gingerbread,
honors at the gingerbread house “I go very slowly and take my
contest at the Historic Strasburg time with everything,” Tina ex-
Inn, Strasburg. She is hoping to do plained.
the same this year. Tina has been planning to make
The actual contest is Tuesday
evening, but her entry must be
there by Monday. When Tina
arrives, she’ll be able to see just
how well she did in reconstructing
her model. In fact, she will be able
to compare it to the real thing,
since what Tina made is a model of
the Historic Strasburg Inn,
complete with curtains, dormers
and bricks.
“If I know that somebody is
really going to like something, I’ll
go to great lengths,” Tina ex
plained. And she thinks the people
of Historic Strasbuvg will like her
gingerbread entry. When she
mentioned the possibility of doing
the reconstruction to one of the
employees of the Inn last year, he
replied, according to Tina, “T
would have done backflips.’”
But before the finished product
can cause that kind of excitement,
there is a lot of work involved.
“Everything had to be edible,”
Tina said.
4
Tina Strepko puts some of the delicate detail on her
gingerbread model of the Historic Strasburg Inn, which will
be entered in the gingerbread house contest at the Inn.
This is one of the inside walls of Tina Strepko's gingerbread Historic Strasburg Inn.
The detail on the inside walls is as exact as that on the outside walls. Tina's husband,
Barry, took pictures of the Inn so Tina would be able to make ao.exact replica
h'saiT
She used Cheerios cereal for the
the Historic Strasburg Inn model
since last year, but the actual work
did not begin until after
Thanksgiving. How did she figure
out what to use to create the dif
ferent parts?
“You just start thinking about
things,” Tina said. “You keep your
eyes open.”
Tina explained that she makes
cardboard patterns for many of the
larger pieces. Then, while the
gingerbread is still warm, she
presses it onto the pattern and
trims the excess gingerbread
away.
“The worst part of the whole
thing is having it (the ginger
bread) all over the house,” Tina
laughed, explaining that she has a
17-month-old son who is interested
in everything, especially her
fragile gingerbread.
Tina explained that when she is
busy with her gingerbread con
struction, her son, Daniel, often
spends the day with her mother.
Inn' and It's Edible
Coming down the final stretch - the contest is Tuesday - Tina finishes making the
poinsettias that will be placed outside the gingerbread model. The flowers are made
from icing and gingerbread.
When he is away, Tina spends
about 12 hours every day on the
house. When Daniel is not visiting
Grandmother, Tina gets up at 5:30
a.m. so she can work before he
wakes up. She often stays up until
about 1 a.m., working after her son
is in bed.
“I almost run on nervous
energy,” Tina laughed. “I don’t
even feel like eating. I just want to
work on this thing.”
Since this js the second year of
competition for Tina, she knows
what to expect.
“There’s good competition over
there,” she said.
For last year’s Lancaster County
contest, Tina made a Victorian
mansion, complete with a balcony
and an "S” on the chimney for
Strepko. “That house was really
big,” Tina said, explaining that
last year the gingerbread houses
were to be built on boards
measuring 30x30. This year, the
size has been reduced to 24x24.
Although she seems like a pro
now, Tina has pictures - taken by
husband, Barry, - of her first
gingerbread house.
“When I look back on it, I think
ooh,” she chuckled.
Tina’s cake decorating interests
were sparked when she took a
class at the Brownstown Vo-Tech
School. “My sister and I took the
class sort of as a lark,” Tina
remembered.
But judging from the pictures
Tina displayed of the cakes she has
made, that lark has turned into
talent.
“It’s a hobby,” Tina said. “If I
-jy .. - pi
candles will all be used in the gingerbread house. They are all
made with gingerbread, candy or icing.
This Christmas tree and fireplace will be placed inside
Tina's rendition of Historic Strasburg Inn. The tree is made
with an ice cream cone and icing. The fireplace, complete with
logs, is made from gingerbread. The wreaths were con
structed from Lifesavers, while M&M's finish the tops of the
doors.
didn’t enjoy it, I couldn’t do it. It’s approximately four batches of
a challenge.” gingerbread, and as of last Mon
day, the model was almost ready
And, according to Tina, the to be put together.
Historic Strasburg Inn con- “ All 1 know is it>s 8 5in g to be
struction has been the most done, if I have to stay up all night,”
challenging so far. She has used Tina said.
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