Page 15 - December Banner 2018_Neat

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Sweet Candy’s Gingerbread Legacy
Deb Abraham Spalding
Candy (Leahy) Lawyer, of
Thurmont, “was a beautiful lady
with golden hair, bright green eyes
and a sweet smile. She lived in a
cottage called Candy’s Corner. Joy
and laughter filled the cottage.
Every year on the Saturday after
Thanksgiving, after days of
preparation filled with love, she
would host a gingerbread house
decorating celebration. This
became a celebration of love,
family and togetherness that was
disguised by candy-coated fun! It
was a special time for everyone
to laugh and kick off the holiday
season.”
The above is an excerpt
from Heather Lawyer’s “Candy Candy Lawyer (right) is shown with her husband, Dave, and
Corner”online about her mom.
What started out as a small
gathering to make four small
gingerbread houses became known
as “Gingerbread Day”and grew
to become an annual tradition.
Candy became known as “Sweet
Candy,”since this was her very
favorite time of year. Candy passed
away in 2017 after a courageous
four-year battle with cancer.
Her children, Brent, Heather,
and Mitchell, have set out to
carry on the gingerbread tradition
by continuing Gingerbread Day. Heather Lawyer gives her mom, Candy, the Gingerbread Lady,
a squeeze as they bake gingerbread in their kitchen. Candy is
Heather hosted the family’s
gingerbread day this year, and
she worked with Vickie Grinder,
Thurmont’s Main Street Manager,
to provide community gingerbread
classes in the Main Street Center in
Thurmont. Her brothers, their wives,
their cousins and friends come out to
help. Heather said, “We have a little
army of gingerbread helpers.”
In a “History of Gingerbreads”
interview by Barb Lawyer Briggs
with Candy, Candy explained that
when she was pregnant with her and
her husband Dave’s first child, Brent,
in 1982, she made a gingerbread
carousel for her mother-in-law,
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Courtesy Photos when the kids get to age
her first gingerbread: a carousel.
wearing her Gingerbread Lady apron.
Mary Lawyer. Then, in December of
1986, when Brent and their second
child, Heather, were three and four,
Candy’s mother, Lynne Leahy, came
across an article about a gingerbread
lady where the recipe, the patterns,
and directions were outlined. Lynne
had always wanted to start a Leahy
tradition for the kids and felt this
was it.
During Barb’s interview, Candy
recalled that one year, half the
gingerbread houses collapsed. She
explained that gingerbread can be
temperamental. She shared that
The Catoctin Banner Newspaper December 2018 Page 15
house was finally there and she’d
10 to 14, they start using invite the whole congregation to
planned themes. “It’s really come on over and see it.”
interesting to watch.” Heather’s most memorable
One year, Mitchell made a gingerbread creation that she
complete barn and barnyard. made herself was a ski resort with
One nephew, Kevin, used a mountain made of Rice Krispie
gummy bears every year. with a gingerbread lodge at the
One year, the gummy bears bottom. It was about 24”x 24”. She
were in a battle. “I think that said, “I made trees out of pretzels
year all the boys had a war using coconut shavings that I dyed
theme. Santa was on a roof green for leaves. It took me about a
with a machine gun. There week to finish. I remember coming
were injured gummy bears. It home from work and finding
wasn’t very Christmassy.” random gum drops stuck on places
I did not put them. I realized it
was my grandfather (Pat Leahy),
of course, playing tricks on me!
They know how particular I am
and this was a fun game for my
grandparents and mom to play!”
She added, “Grammy (Lawyer)
called during that week wondering
if I would ever finish it. When I
finally delivered it to her, her jaw
dropped and her face lit up when
she finally saw it being carried in
her house!”
Heather’s favorite gingerbread, a Keep an eye open for opportunities to
ski resort. participate in the gingerbread classes
that Heather and her brothers are
This year marks hosting in the coming years. It’s a
the thirty-first year of sweet time of candy-coated fun!
Gingerbread Day. Every
year, every kid keeps
coming back, even when
the kid has now become an
adult. Heather said, “The youngest
cousin is now 20 and everybody
including him still shows up. That
was mom’s favorite part.”
Heather’s love for her mother
and her family is very evident in
her actions and words. It is very
obvious that the opportunity to
carry this tradition is truly an
honor for her. Heather claims that
her all-time favorite gingerbread
will always be the tribute to
her Uncle Jan Lawyer. The year
Jan passed away, Heather, her
brothers and their wives, Renee
and Stephanie, made gingerbread
replicas of Jan’s Winterbrook Farm
and Corn Maze. Brent and Renee
did the barn, Heather did the home
farm, Mitchell did the corn maze.
For about twenty years, Heather
took her gingerbreads to her
Grammy (Mary) Lawyer. Heather
said, “She’d be calling, ‘Heather,
is your house done yet? I thought
Gingerbread Day was two weeks
ago!’ As soon as I took it to her,
she’d stand up in church and
announce that the gingerbread
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