Holly Harnden is a true Marshall gems and we are pleased to announce she will shine bright as the 2022 Grand Marshal in the 58th Annual Marshall Christmas Parade. We are thankful she chose to make Marshall her home, or maybe it was destiny?
As a little girl, she and her mother visited Marshall often from her hometown of Southfield to dine at Schuler’s, and since they both loved architecture, to drive around and look at the many stately homes. She vividly recalls telling her mother as they drove by 401 E. Mansion Street, “I’m going to live there someday.” And now she does, in the house everyone in town affectionately calls the “Holiday House.”
The road to ownership was not straight, but Holly refused to lose sight of her dream to make Marshall her home. Holly is blessed with a lithe and athletic body which led to some unusual pursuits in her youth. While in high school, she practiced Voltige, the sport of jumping onto the bare back of a moving horse and then performing gymnastic moves. At 18, she started modeling and became the first “Miss Boblo Island.” This led to runway modeling and eventually working at the Detroit auto shows.
After graduating college, she met her husband, Scott Harnden, who was from Birmingham, and they soon married. They owned a Triumph TR-6 and entered auto shows, dressing in matching Union Jack costumes but it was Holly who detailed the engine. They won many shows, including taking first place at the International Freedom Festival in Canada.
After they moved to St. Louis, MO for Scotty’s job at GM, they continued to travel to Marshall for Home Tour every year. She remembers touring many homes but telling Scotty that she was going live in the Kinter home someday. In about 1994 it was on Home Tour. She removed that page from the booklet and stuck it on her bedroom wall, where it remained as a “someday” dream.
In St. Louis she and Scotty lived in a condo on a cul-de-sac where she began to practice two of her life’s passions: gardening and outdoor decorating. She co-opted a scruffy piece of land next to her property and coaxed an award-winning garden to bloom. Decorations started small and grew larger, just like the line-up of cars that came to see her house every holiday. They won several prestigious awards and were spotlighted in newspaper and television coverage. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
After their annual Home Tour visit in 2003, Holly returned home broken-hearted. Her dream house was up for sale, and she didn’t think there was any way possible to buy it. She thought her life-long dream was slipping through her fingers. But she underestimated the love Scotty had for her, and the love of good friends, and perhaps even Fate itself, because the couple arrived on Halloween in 2003 to sign the closing paperwork. To kick things off right, they arrived at the signing in full Halloween costume!
After moving their decorations to Marshall, Holly began to garden and decorate her dream home while Scott remained in St. Louis for the first five years, visiting whenever he could. Holly decorates because it brings her much joy and satisfaction, but it always surprises her when she hears the impact it has on others.
The Holiday House has had visitors from all over the Midwest and other countries. She remembers one couple from Italy whom she talked with one evening. That is the key, she talks to everyone! As a true Marshall ambassador, she welcomes visitors in person almost every evening of the year, taking the time to get to know them and hear their stories. Visits to the Holiday House have become a family tradition for many, and now parents who visited the house as kids are bringing their children to experience the magic.
Holly also dresses up in period dress during Home Tour every year and has donated her time to the Marshall Christmas Walk too. Many people don’t realize that Holly not only decorates all by herself, Scott passed away in 2018, but also that all of the decorations and electricity are paid for out of her pocket. She still works full-time and provides this vision to Marshall purely for the joy it brings to herself and others. There is a donation box, mounted on a fence post on the High Street side of her house, if you are moved to help defray the cost.
Look for “Holiday” Holly Harnden on Monday, November 28 at the beginning of the Marshall Christmas Parade, which starts at 7pm. Cheer as she goes by to let her know how much The Holiday House has meant to you over the years.
“Holiday” Holly Harnden is the 2022 Marshall Grand Marshal.
Holly Harnden jumps on the back of a moving horse.
Holly Harnden was the first Miss Boblo Island.
Holly and Scott Harnden dress as Mr. And Mrs. Dickens.
Holly and Scott Harnden in front of their award-winning light display in St. Louis, MO.