The annual open house at Leader’s Sunoco at Route 1 and Creek Road has a long tradition, starting well before Jim Leader owned the gas station.
It started with previous owner Pete Ochmanowicz in 1961, according to Janet Smith who’s been working there since 1978.
Smith, now 71, has lived in the area most of her life and worked full time at the station until a few years ago when she went part time. Now, she’s looking ahead to retiring next September.
She remembers when Ochmanowicz put a little table in the corner of the station and served food to the regular customers for the holidays. “We used to play music and sing Christmas carols,” Smith said.
She also recalled that Ochmanowicz would dress up as Santa and listen to children’s requests at the station, at the elementary school and in the meadow.
“He made a great Santa Claus. Oh, he was great,” Smith said.
Over time, the event grew, and continued to grow after Leader took over in 1986.
Nowadays, the service bays are cleaned out a few days before Christmas Eve and turned into a smorgasbord area with everything from cold cuts to ribs and beans to desserts. There’s no smell of gasoline or oil, just the aroma of what seems to be a never-ending supply of food, enticing everyone to belly up for a good time.
“It’s always has been a great community event. It’s nice to see everybody,” she said.
“The sad part is that we’ve lost a lot of customers along the way,” she added.
Some of those people who have left in recent years include Andy Wyeth, who Smith said, “was just great.”
“He was one of the friendliest, most caring people. If somebody was having problems or something, he’d say to me, ‘If they need help, let me know.’ He was just amazing,” Smith recalled.
Smith noted others who have died over the years said she still misses them.
“I have a habit of getting attached, and it’s hard when somebody leaves us. No matter who it is, it touches us. It really does,” she said.
She got to know “everybody” when she worked at the station full time.
“That was the best part. You got to know everybody,” Smith said, adding that knowing and helping people was very much indicative of the village of Chadds Ford.
She also likes the fact that people who have moved out of the township still return for the open house every year.
Smith herself has become fixture at the station and still opens up in the early morning. That will come to an end next September, though. She admits that a large part of her life has been spent at the corner gas station.
“It’s been a home away from home. I have enjoyed it and I will miss it,” she said. “You meet so many different people, and they depend on you being here. I’ll still help out of they need me,” she added.
And while the plan is to retire, she, like so many others, will still be back for the open house.
“It’s a big event for the community,” she said.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
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