816-Uncasttr Farming, Saturday, December 14,1985
Donato's Christmas Shoppe
offers guests a visual banquet
BY MARGIE FUSCO
Staff Correspondent
DANVILLE - Most folks who
drive Route 642 west of Danville,
know the Donato farm on sight. It
has a picture-postcard barnyard
where strutting roosters and
pecking hens stand out against the
red buildings. My own personal
introduction came the day a goose
decided to slow down traffic and
roosted on my car hood.
But like many passers-by, I
noticed only the signs on the
property: Brown Eggs and in
season Ducklings for Sale and
Sweet Com, and farther down the
road at the bam, Gunsmith and
Christmas Shoppe. I stopped oc
casionally on my way home from
work to pick up a needed dozen
eggs or sweet com, but until
recently my only interaction with
the Donatos was limited to their
impertinent goose and an im
personal change basket by the
roadside.
This December, at last, I
discovered the Christmas Shoppe
and the Donato family. Both
discoveries were delightful.
The Donatos came to central
Pennsylvania a decade ago. Their
arrival was somewhat accidental.
They lived in Somerville, N.J.,
where Pete was a gunsmith and
Pat a nurse who also enjoyed
dealing in antiques.
They originally came to central
Pennsylvania to visit a friend who
had moved to the Danville area.
During the visit, Pat and Pete said
they were interested in finding a
retirement home for their future,
and they liked the area. The friend
connected them with a real estate
agent who showed them several
selections.
“He must have hated us. We
didn’t like anything he showed us,”
Pat recalls. Finally the agent
mentioned offhandedly an old farm
property that was somewhat
rundown but had seven fireplaces.
“We asked to see it,” Pat says.
“And we fell in love immediately.”
They bought the 35-acre farm that
day and found themselves moving
in, although they were more than
The "farm" tree features pig, cow, duck, chicken and horse
ornaments.
20 years away from retirement.
In the beginning, Pete set up his
gunsmith business in the smaller
of the property’s two barns. An
avid outdoorsman, he looked
forward to making use of the
tillable acreage and trying his
hand at crop farming. The rest of
the family’s farming came along
almost by accident. “A friend gave
us a hen ahd two chicks as a gift,”
Pat explains, “and it just sort of
grew.”
Today there is a busy barnyard
of poultry and fowl. Pat notes that
the poultry business helped to pay
off her daughter’s art school
education. A self-confessed “city
girl,” Pat is especially proud of
having recently received a Grade
A rating from a state poultry in
spector who visited the farm.
Pete has turned most of the
operation of the gun shop over to
their 23-year-old son Craig, while
he concentrates on growing com
and vegetables. More recently, the
Donatos have added horses and
sheep to their property. They are
pleased to be able to grow most of
their own feed for the livestock.
Today there are four generations
on the Donato farm. Pat’s mother,
Rose Calabrese, lives with them.
And Craig, his wife, Chris, and
their three-year-old daughter,
Candace, live over the gun shop,
which Craig and his father con
verted into an apartment.
With Craig and his older sister
Lori established in their own lives,
Pat wanted more to do. She had
little desire to return to nursing
and was looking for something she
could establish on the farm. Pete
suggested converting the ancient
pigpen into a shop, and since Pat is
especially fond of Christmas, the
idea for the Christmas Shoppe was
born.
It wasn’t long before news of the
shop had spread. Ahd as its
popularity grew, so did the need
for more space. “Last year cars
were waiting in line to get in the
yard,” Pat admits. She knew it
was time to move.
Pete, who enjoys renovating,
suggested the top level of the 18th-
Rose Calabrese (left) and her daughter, Pat Donato, relax by the fireplace.
Century bank barn. Pat confesses
that she was reluctant at first to
make the move, but now she is
pleased because there is ample
space outside for parking and
inside for a holiday world of
merchandise.
Visiting the Christmas Shoppe is
like being a guest at a feast. The
treats begin in the parking lot,
where you are greeted by a curious
rooster and a calico cat. Everyone
pauses at the front window, where
a holiday village has been set up.
Opening the door, you enter a cozy,
homey place as comfortable as a
good friend’s kitchen.
“Mmm, it smells so good in here,”
the woman after me remarked.
Before you is a visual banquet.
There are ornaments everywhere,
hanging around the counter and
arranged neatly by category on
display shelves. What would you
like? There are pigs, cows, sheep,
horses, ducks, geese, tractors,
. Santas, cats, mice, angels,
baskets, blocks, clowns, trains,
unicorns, bears, and musical in
struments, to name just a few.
There are unusual and unique
items, such as the delicate white
ornaments that look as if they’ve
been cut from doilies but are ac
tually fine metal work, and the
shimmering, swirling blues and
lavenders of art glass ornaments.
The shop seems as much a
celebration as a selling place.
There are handsomely decorated
trees in every corner with themes
that reflect farm life and the
Victorian era. Toys and dolls are
not simply shelved. They sit on
miniature wicker furniture, ride
doll-size wagons or even rock on a
handmade horse, as if about to
come to life. At one window
overlooking the farm is a table set
for New Year’s Eve m bold
splashes of red, black, and white.
One favorite part of the shop is
the hearth. The room is warmed by
a fireplace Pete built from stones
found on the property. The Donatos
have placed a Queen Anne chair
beside the fireplace and often
leave the day’s newspaper nearby.
Men who come to the shop with
their wives can sit down and relax
with the paper while the women
shop. Pat notes that more than one
fellow has been comfortable
enough to fall asleep there.
Children who visit can find a
place on the hearth, too. There is a
deacon’s bench and a supply of
toys underneath. Pat’s mother,
Rose, often helps out by playing
with the children while mothers
shop. When the weather is nice,
Pat encourages the children to
visit the horses and sheep in the
lower level of the barn, and the
farm is becoming a popular
stopover for school groups and
scout troops.
It’s easy to forget that you’re in a
barn, and Pat reports that shop
pers are sometimes startled when
a horse downstairs kicks a stable
wall. More than one visitor looking
Candace Donato, 3, shows off one of her favorite toys, a
lamb.
over manger scenes has been
puzzled to hear the bleat of live
sheep.
On any day of the year there are
dozens of shoppers in and out of the
store. In cold weather Pete comes
and goes, adding wood to the fire
and reporting that he’s on his way
to bring in the last of the corn. Rose
helps restock some shelves and
comforts a restless baby. Chris
drops in to see if Pat needs any
help, and Candace gives her three
year-old opinion on what the
customers should buy.
What draws people to the
Christmas Shoppe? It is, in part,
the variety of goods. There are
stocking stuffers, books, toys, and
holiday goods from around the
world. There are art pieces and
antiques as well as unusual
merchandise that ranges in price
from 15 cents to $450 and more. But
listening to their comments in the
store, shoppers have come for the
atmosphere as well.
Spend quality time with (amity
NEWARK, Del. - Holidays are
a time for families to share special
moments so they create memories
and traditions for tomorrow. But
families need to plan for this
quality tune, says Debbie Amsden,
University of Delaware extension
home economist.
“Quality time involves people
giving each other their full at
tention while interacting in a
positive manner,” she explains.
“The goal is enjoyment. It may
include an activity that brings
people together for a common
experience.”
The key to quality time is the
conversation that links people as
they hear what’s going on in each
other’s lives, she says. In the midst
of the holiday season, families may
have difficulty finding quality
time. But they need to stay in touch
as each person prepares for the
celebration.
“It’s unrealistic to expect to
One man who was on his way to a
nearby college and stopped for the
first time says to Pat, “This is such
a nice store.” Customers seem to
linger over the displays. In truth,
after I’d circled the store for the
tenth time, I was still finding new
wonders to catch my eye. One
large, burly man who admitted
he’d come shopping reluctantly
with his wife kept telling Pat,
“Your shop is so beautiful.”
Although Pat likes to credit Pete
with the coziness of the room and
her daughter Lori with the artistic
display work, she admits the shop
is a work of love for her, too. She is
pleased to make the shop a
reflection of the warmth she feels
for her adopted home.
“We fell in love with this place,
this country. People tend to un
derrate it, but central Penn
sylvania has it all, the hills, the
farms, the seasons. I’m delighted
to be part of it.”
engage in holiday activities on top
of a regular schedule,” Amsden
cautions. “Something has to give.”
She suggests that families study
a calendar and decide what can be
dropped or postponed. Engaging in
too many activities is coun
terproductive to quality in
teraction.
“Family members may want to
eliminate some regularly
scheduled leisure activities to
make time for special holiday
events,” says the home economist.
“Or they may decide to cut corners
on chores and clean less often.
They may also plan to miss
monthly meetings in December to
create more shared family time.”
“Parents can’t always explain
the significance of certain ac
tivities to their children,” says
Amsden. “But with time,
children’s tastes will change and
they’ll be grateful for the
traditions created today.