Greenback students craft gingerb

Creating beautiful gingerbread houses involves much more than sprinkling a few decorations on cookies, and five Greenback students proved they were up for the challenge with works now on display at a Pigeon Forge resort.

An assignment for The Inn at Christmas Place provided a new way for special education students in Greenback School’s Project ABLE to hone academic, life and job skills. Teacher Jessica Spafford is always looking for opportunities for students to learn not only in class but in community projects.

The school’s reputation for gingerbread houses goes back to her mother-in-law, Merry Spafford, an award-winning gingerbread artist who has competed in the National Gingerbread House Competition at the Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville, North Carolina, and whose students made houses for that event and Knoxville’s Fantasy of Trees.

In fact, when the director of marketing for the resort called the school last year, she was looking for Merry Spafford, who retired in 2016, Jessica Spafford explained.

Jessica said she entered just once, with her sister-in-law, in the national gingerbread competition — a monumental effort that begins in the summer and requires months of work. “It was too stressful,” the teacher said.

Last year Merry Spafford helped the Project ABLE students by baking the gingerbread for their houses, and this year the students did it themselves, their teacher said, as well as improving their decorating skills. “The work this year is by far 100 times better,” she said.

The students were careful from researching their designs to taking precise measurements during the process. “We were hired by this company to produce a project,” the teacher noted.

Last week they did all the baking and decorating, working from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every day so Jessica Spafford could transport their creations on Saturday, Dec. 4.

The teens didn’t have to start from scratch with their designs. They had access to Merry Spafford’s patterns, including a mold she created herself to mimic the texture of tree bark on a barn.

A lot of thought went into the designs, Jessica Spafford said, from research into what the buildings should look like to how to use edible items for every element. The three houses the students created include melted butterscotch candy windows, a silo made of rice cakes and market baskets made from peanut butter cups.

Student Mark Crisp enjoys hands-on activities. “He did a great job with rolling, cutting and baking,” Jessica Spafford said. With three houses to build and five students, her daughter Emily pitched in on his farm house.

Jason Summers worked with Brandon Hicks on a barn and tree farm design. Although this was Brandon’s first year, the teacher said, “He rolled and cut dough like a pro.”

He even suggested an easier way to put the barn together that Merry Spafford hadn’t used before, Jessica said.

Kaci Herron and Maddison Crisp created M&K Market, with baskets of fruit and flowers on display in front of the building. Kaci’s contributions included sorting and putting things together, while Maddison has an eye for detail, the teacher said. “She worked her tail end off on this.”

“They took a lot of pride in what they created and should,” Jessica Spafford said. “They are capable of so much more than people give them credit for.”