Homeplace Celebrates 30 Years of Hospitality
Dianne Catoe
sat in church one Sunday in 1994 and sensed a nudge from the Lord to turn her
barn into a live nativity to tell the story of the gospel. Since then, hundreds
of visitors come to her homeplace every November to experience Bethlehem
Marketplace.
The Homeplace Bed and Breakfast, located along Highway 9 in the Tradesville area between Lancaster and Pageland, contains a rich history. Built in the 1800s, the original rooms are still found in the house’s center, which displays some of the eighteen-inch logs and wooden pegs that constructed the cabin almost 200 years ago. Yancy and Lou Catoe bought the home in 1920, where they raised their twelve children, including Dianne’s husband Roy Charles, who lived in that house all of his life and whom the family called Charlsie. Still living today are Elsie Lowder of Florence and Billy Catoe of Tradesville.
Decades ago,
the family hosted an open house in conjunction with the debut of the
Tradesville Fire Department’s cookbook. They baked items from the cookbook and
hosted people from the community. Charles and Dianne enjoyed practicing
hospitality. They often opened their home to evangelists, missionaries, and
other family members. Charles always found places for the traveling ministers
to speak while they stayed at the home.
Through the
years, the family made additions to the homestead, including a full-size
basement, three more large bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms, an upstairs study,
and a new living room. In 1994, when their three children, Marvin, Peggy, and
Vickie, were adults and married, Charles and Dianne established the Homeplace
Bed and Breakfast. Hospitality came naturally to them, and they found great joy
in opening their home to visitors.
Since then,
countless guests enjoyed the Catoe style of Southern hospitality. Scrapbookers,
crafters, quilters, church groups, family reunions, and visiting pastors have
come through the homeplace. They even once hosted Lulu Roman of the television
show success Hee-Haw.
When Dianne
sensed the Lord’s instruction in 1994 to begin a live nativity, the phrase that
came to mind was, “Jesus came as a baby and is coming again as a king.” That
same year, the family enlarged their ministry of hospitality and put on their
first-ever Bethlehem Marketplace. Inviting people to come and tour the house,
enjoy refreshments, and watch a live nativity in the barn outside, they hosted
more than 1000 people over several weekends. Thirty years later, the tradition
continues.
After
several years, the Catoe family settled on the weekend prior to Thanksgiving
for the event. This year, November 29-30, the Homeplace Bed and Breakfast
celebrated its 30th anniversary of Bethlehem Marketplace. Over 400
people came to savor the smells, sights, and tastes of Christmas. People tell
the family yearly, “This is the start of my Christmas season.”
Entering the
large, 33-room house, guests walk through two floors, each room decorated for
the holidays. The number thirty-three seems to be significant for the family,
as there are thirty-three grandchildren of Yancy and Lou Catoe and thirty-three
decorated Christmas trees in the house. In one room, thirty-three houses in a
Christmas village line the shelf.
Vickie
Brecht, the thirty-third grandchild, shares that returning guests tell them,
“It makes me cry every time I come. I feel at home here.”
Leaving the
warmth of the house, visitors go outside to experience a live nativity show,
including animals, costumed characters, and music. Vickie’s sister-in-law,
Sheranna Catoe, wrote two of the songs: “Shimmering Star” and “Born to Be.” The
play includes a brief overview of the life, death, burial, and resurrection of
Jesus Christ, consummating with a rider dressed as Christ on a white horse,
while the soloists sing “The King is Coming.” Children run across the lawn
wearing white robes, all reminding guests of the Bible’s promised coming of the
Lord Jesus Christ.
Putting on
such an event is no small task. At least thirty family members come together to
make this happen, as well as numerous friends from the community and Dianne’s
church, Spring Hill Baptist. It takes most of the month of November to decorate
the house. Catoe family members participate in the weekend, ranging from Billy
Catoe, who stays in the house’s original rooms, telling guests of his family’s
history, to preschoolers. Brecht says, “We want to put the love of doing it in
the little ones, so we try to incorporate them as much as possible.”
When asked
why she continues hosting the event, Dianne says, “I love people to be happy.
They share how much they enjoy coming and seeing it all. And I want to share
the gospel, and this is one way I can do that.”
All in all,
it’s a Tradesville and Catoe family tradition.
