GREENSBORO — Jim Higdon, native son of Greensboro and renowned craftsman of dollhouses, has created “Santa’s Workshop” for a special fundraising raffle to benefit the Pete Nance Boys & Girls Club.

This exquisite dollhouse will be on display downtown at the Greensboro Antique Mall from Oct. 17 to Dec. 5. The drawing will be held during the Lighting of the Christmas Tree Event in downtown Greensboro on the evening of Dec. 5. Raffle tickets will be sold at the Greensboro Antique Mall throughout this pre-holiday period. Raffle prices are $5 for one ticket or seven tickets for $20. Visitors to Greensboro will discover the house in a display case at the front of the Antique Mall at the corner of Broad and Main Streets, and may purchase tickets there, as well as other locations in the area (to be announced.)

Higdon’s roots run deep in Greene County. Home was the stately Victorian, “Higdon House,” located a stone’s throw from downtown Greensboro. It was a perfect spot to raise five rambunctious sons. Higdon remembers that at times the expansive lawn and shade trees served as a playground for sixty to seventy local boys. Formerly owned by the Superintendent of the Mary Lelia Cotton Mill just across the railroad tracks, the senior Mr. Higdon purchased the house in 1945 for around $8,500.

According to Higdon’s mother, “Jim began whittling as soon as he was big enough to hold a knife.” He admits that, “I’ve always loved fiddling around with wood.” Lucky for the Pete Nance Club, he’s never stopped carving. Admirers of Higdon’s work cite the furniture that he creates for each house. “Santa’s Workshop” boasts an amazing miniature table with carved legs and a mahogany top and a functioning drawer. Crafting the houses is both a challenge and a joy. Higdon works with lightweight bass wood, sawing and re-sawing 1 x 6 planks into pieces one-sixteenth inch thick, or has he labels them, “little bitty pieces of wood.” Tiny roof shingles are individually applied. His large houses typically require up to 200 hours of work.

Higdon’s newest creation, “Santa’s Workshop,” features a bright red shingled roof, wood slat siding, shutters, chimney and a walkway beautifully painted by his artist wife, Phyllis Higdon, a partner in the doll house hobby. The workshop dollhouse was her idea, and she has decorated it with a smiling Santa, colorful toys, rag rug and a festive Christmas tree. Evergreens, plants in window boxes, wreaths and a snow shovel add finishing touches to the exterior of the house.

Before his second retirement, Higdon enjoyed an illustrious career in state government, serving five Georgia governors. He graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in journalism. After a stint with a newspaper in Cairo, he moved to Atlanta and, at age 29, was appointed by Governor Jimmy Carter as Director of the Georgia State Crime Commission. Ten years later Governor Busby appointed Higdon Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs, a position he held for 22 years. After his first retirement, which lasted one day, he was appointed Executive Director of Georgia’s Municipal Association, a position he held for over ten years.

Today, the workshop outside his Atlanta area home hums with activity as he crafts one doll house after another, wife Phyllis at his side completing his artisan masterpieces with the touch of a watercolorist’s brushstrokes.

The Pete Nance Boys & Girls Club is honored and grateful for the significant donation of the Higdon’s “Santa’s Workshop” and invite Greene County citizens and visitors alike to stop by the Greensboro Antique Mall to see and appreciate this special work of art. Don’t forget to purchase raffle tickets while you’re there! The doll house will surely become an heirloom for one lucky family.