Though her everyday life is beyond hectic, she loves the holidays, and so does her husband of 52 years. They have memories of Christmases in other times and places, including one as newlyweds in a rented apartment full of the owner's rich furnishings near Muhlenberg College during Mike's student days.
Seems they had no star for the top of their tiny tree, so Mike made one out of aluminum foil. Unfortunately, that artistic effort was executed on a coffee table, leaving indelible marks.
"We were young and poor, but we still had to replace that table," said Mike, now 75 and retired from a career in office and computer supplies. "We learned that fine coffee tables are not the best place for craft projects."
There have been Christmases since in various houses as the family grew and moved. The houses got bigger, then too big.
"Our last home in Cherry Hill, just a few miles away from this one, was our biggest, and when we started getting serious about downsizing, we knew we wanted to be in Haddonfield," Mary said. "We loved the idea of a town with a main street that we could walk to."
After looking for awhile, they got a call one morning from their agent, who said, in essence, "I've just found your home."
They rushed over and fell in love instantly. The 1960s Cape Cod, constructed by Scarborough Homes (builder of two of their previous homes), was perfect in size and style. They bought it immediately.
Today, cozy charm abounds in that house. The Woolleys aren't much for ostentation, and they have decorated it with the kind of taste that puts comfort and warmth above "notice me" design.
Mary's fondness for antiques - she once dragged home a full-size sleigh for the lawn of their largest house, to her husband's initial consternation - is apparent. An old icebox has been reused for storage and as a conversation piece in the dining room, and a church pew in the same room provides overflow seating.
