Local Irving Oil owner opens doors for Christmas morning
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SOUTH GLASTONBURY, CT (WFSB) — Holiday traditions often include family and friends, and for some people in South Glastonbury, tradition means spending Christmas morning with both.
Donna Walstedt is the third-generation owner of the Richards Irving gas station in South Glastonbury.
She’s been opening up her home for decades on Christmas morning.
“My dad wanted to open up, we close up the business on Christmas, he was afraid that his customers wouldn’t have coffee. So I opened my house up for his 10 friends and customers, and it just grew and grew,” Walstedt said.
Now, a crowd of about 50 fill the kitchen, dining room, hallway, and living room in her home, coffee in hand.
Christmas is the only day of the year the gas station is closed. Every other day, the regulars make sure to stop in to see Donna.
“Well you always know somebody. you know, you always know people in there plus you gotta go see Donna in the morning, she livens everybody up. We’ve known the family our whole life,” said cousins John and Mike Draghi.
Donna’s son, Brandon, sets up a whole room with a Christmas village.
“They expect it, well they don’t expect it, but it’s part of their day too. it’s part of my day, they’re part of my life, it’s just what we do now,” Donna said.
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