The Palmerton Concourse Club's 2015 Christmas House Tour will round out the organization's 100th anniversary. Tours will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. The rain date is Sunday.

There are four homes on the tour this year: the Goidich home at 401 Columbia Ave.; the Beck-Hager home at 469 Columbia Ave.; the Federanich home at 418 Princeton Ave.; and the Steigerwalt-Eberwein home at 1124 Circle Ave."Many of the homes have historical significance to the Palmerton community," said Susan CHOY, tour organizer. "Many people who attend the tour find this to be an interesting part of it, along with the beautiful decorations."The New Jersey Zinc Co. built a neighborhood called Residence Park in the early 1900s, specifically for its superintendents. Of the five homes that were built, two remain. One of them is in the tour on Columbia Avenue. Another house in the tour sits on the Princeton Avenue property were one of the original five sat.The Goidich home is one of the original houses and sits on 1.6 acres. It was designed by W.E. Stone, a New York City architect who died only a few years after it was completed, said current owner Stephen Goidich. The design was featured in the 17th Exhibition of Architectural League of New York in 1902. Goidich researched the history of the house and prepared a PowerPoint presentation for the tour.He purchased the house in 1980 from the widow of Raymond Smith Jr., who had grown up in the house. His father, Raymond Smith Sr. purchased the house in 1929 from Lewis Haupt, assistant chief of service and maintenance at the zinc company, on the same day that Haupt had purchased it from the company. Haupt had lived in the house while it was owned by the zinc company.A Palmerton native, Goidich was familiar with the house and had golfed with the younger Smith, who was much older than him. When the house became available, he was interested."I wanted a fireplace in the worst way," Goidich said.This house has three."I like the individual rooms, too," said Goidich, who isn't much for the "open concept" design of newer homes.His wife, Rita, said she always admired the house's beauty as she walked past it growing up in the town."I love the architecture of this house," she said.When the pair started dating, she said she secretly hoped to see the inside of the house.Although some things have changed, the beveled-glass French doors are original. They slide into pockets in the walls between the dining room and living room.The couple loves their large front porch and said they practically "live out there in the summer.""I'm really into gardening," Rita Goidich said. "I love the fact that I have lots of places to plant. I never run out of places."The other houses on the tour were not part of Residence Park, but they do have some connections. One was built in 1916 also on Columbia Avenue, and the other was built in 1930 by Harley Nelson, who owned the Circle Drive house and was a chairman of the zinc company's research paint lab. The house was eventually sold to the company and was used as a temporary home for company executives and their families while they looked for their own homes.Becky Steigerwalt, owner of the Circle Drive house, said she admired it when she was a teen in Palmerton. She even baby-sat for the owners."I always thought this house was amazing," she said. "I never thought I would own it."Steigerwalt and her husband, Donald Eberwein, purchased the house three years ago. She said there are times that she still looks around and happily thinks, "This is my house."It wasn't the first house the couple looked at in Palmerton. There was another she really liked on Circle Drive, but her 6-foot, 4-inch husband didn't fit. The doorways were just too small, but in this house, he could "tap-dance down" the wide staircase, Steigerwalt said."It's a big house, but it's a very homey house," she said.Steigerwalt said she hopes people will enjoy her Christmas decorations, but mostly she hopes they enjoy the house, complete with its butler's pantry and back staircase for the maid, which she doesn't have."I'm showing off my house, not so much my decorations," she said.But if you go, be sure to check out the figurine of a small man in the manager scene. It's one of her favorites."The little guy has a hump on his back, because he's taking on the troubles of the world," she said.That is how he was designed by the artist.Tickets are $10 per person and can be purchased at the Palmerton Library and the Heritage Center, both on Delaware Avenue. The event is being run in conjunction with Palmerton's Christmas in the Park.