By Brandi Makuski

“I’ve never seen anything quite like this; this is amazing,” said Bernie Patterson, as he studied the confection before him.

“I see my office,” said Patterson, laughing with bakers inside Kochies Cookies on Dec. 21. (City Times photo)

Patterson, Chancellor at UWSP was at Kochies Cookies on Dec. 21 to view the finished product created by pastry chef Megan Herman — a four-foot gingerbread version of Old Man, one of the most recognizable and oldest buildings on the UW-Stevens Point campus.

Herman said the building took about three weeks to complete.

“I asked her, ‘Have you ever done a gingerbread house before?’ She said no, and I said, ‘Well, you’re going to this year’,” said Paul Koch, owner of Kochies Cookies.

“You’d never know it was her first time,” Patterson said. “Congratulations; I’m really impressed.”

UWSP Chancellor Bernie Patterson with Megan Herman, a pastry chef at Kochies Cookies. (City Times photo)

Koch said drew the gingerbread house pattern “as close to scale as possible.” Once complete, the gingerbread house went on display at the store and took in bids via a silent auction.

Koch said he matched the winning $250 bid, which came from John and Patty Noel, a couple well-known for their local philanthropy and support of youth program. The $500 was donated — along with the gingerbread house — to the Portage Co. Boys and Girls Club during a special ceremony on Wednesday night.

Koch said he’s planning another gingerbread house for next Christmas, another fundraiser for the Boys and Girls Club, but won’t decide what building to model until sometime next fall.

Kochies Cookies is located at 75 Sunset Ave. in Park Ridge.