Trend & Tradition Spring 2025

PRESERVING the HISTORIC TRADES

WASHINGTON as COMMANDER IN CHIEF

The LOST COLONY

PATRICK HENRY Becoming

Expand your idea of what life was like then. And of what a museum can be now.

In the 18th century, global connections shaped daily life in unexpected ways. One artifact that tells this story is a 17th-century copper watering can made in Britain or the Netherlands. X-ray imaging revealed its geometric surface decoration created with punched or raised dots. This piece is the earliest metal archaeological example of the form found in America and one of few intact examples from the early colonial period. Its journey across oceans to reach colonial America mirrors the global exchange of goods and ideas that defined the era.

Visit the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg to explore objects that connect past and present, and discover how global influences shaped everyday life in ways that still resonate today.

Visit the “Worlds Collide: Archaeology and Global Trade in 18th-century Williamsburg” exhibition – Now Open.

OPEN DAILY

2

4 BUILDING ON A FOUNDATION

7 IN REMEMBRANCE: CHARLES R. LONGSWORTH

8 IN REMEMBRANCE: RICHARD PARSONS

About Town

10 BECOMING PATRICK HENRY

The newest Nation Builder portrays the famous orator By

Paul Aron

16 PHILANTHROPY AT WORK Clues from Custis Square By Ben Swenson

22 CHRONICLES OF THE COLLECTION

A marble chess table was a prized souvenir from Europe By Paul Aron

26 PRESERVING THE HISTORIC TRADES

Looking to the past and the future By Corey Stewart

ON THE COVER: Nathaniel Lasley, who portrays Patrick Henry, sits in the chamber of the Capitol where Henry reportedly declared, “If this be treason, make the most of it” page 10. PHOTOGRAPH BY

BRIAN NEWSON

COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG FOUNDATION TRUSTEES

Carly Fiorina, Chair, Mason Neck, Va.

Cliff Fleet, President and CEO, Williamsburg, Va.

Kendrick F. Ashton Jr., Arlington, Va.

Frank Batten Jr., Norfolk, Va.

Geoff Bennett, Fairfax, Va.

Catharine Broderick, Lake Wales, Fla.

William Casperson, Bronxville, N.Y.

Mark A. Coblitz, Wayne, Pa.

Ted Decker, Atlanta, Ga.

Walter B. Edgar, Columbia, S.C.

Neil M. Gorsuch, Washington, D.C.

Conrad Mercer Hall, Norfolk, Va.

Antonia Hernandez, Pasadena, Calif.

John A. Luke Jr., Richmond, Va.

Walfrido J. Martinez, New York, N.Y.

Leslie A. Miller, Philadelphia, Pa.

Steven L. Miller, Houston, Texas

Joseph W. Montgomery, Williamsburg, Va.

Steve Netzley, Carlsbad, Calif.

Walter S. Robertson III, Richmond, Va.

Gerald L. Shaheen, Scottsdale, Ariz.

Larry W. Sonsini, Palo Alto, Calif.

Sheldon M. Stone, Los Angeles, Calif.

Y. Ping Sun, Houston, Texas

Hon. John Charles Thomas, Richmond, Va.

Jeffrey B. Trammell, Washington, D.C.

Alex Wallace, New York, N.Y.

CHAIRS EMERITI

Thurston R. Moore, Richmond, Va.

Richard G. Tilghman, Richmond, Va.

Henry C. Wolf, Williamsburg, Va.

TREND & TRADITION

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Catherine Whittenburg

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Katie Roy

DESIGNERS

PHOTOGRAPHER

EDITORIAL MANAGER Corey Stewart

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Paul Aron, Ronald L. Hurst, Eve Otmar, Rachel West

COPY EDITORS

Patricia Carroll, Amy Watson

MEDIA COLLECTIONS

PRODUCTION

Angela C. Taormina

Grenda Greene

Tracey Gulden, Jenna Simpson, Brendan Sostak

Erin Lopater, Marianne Martin, Douglas Mayo

DONORS Please address all donor correspondence, address changes and requests for our current financial statement to: Signe Foerster, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, P.O. Box 1776, Williamsburg, VA 23187-1776 or email sfoerster@cwf.org, telephone 888-293-1776.

Donations support the programs and preservation efforts of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, a not-for-profit, tax-exempt corporation organized under the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, with principal offices in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Address changes & subscription questions: gifts@cwf.org or 888-293-1776

Editorial inquiries: editor@cwf.org Advertising: magazineadsales@cwf.org or 757-220-7382

Trend & Tradition: The Magazine of Colonial Williamsburg (ISSN 2470-198X) is published quarterly in winter, spring, summer and autumn by the not-for-profit Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 301 First Street, Williamsburg, VA 23185. A one-year subscription is available to Foundation donors of $50 a year or more, of which $14 is reserved for a subscription. Periodical postage paid at Williamsburg, VA, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Trend & Tradition: The Magazine of Colonial Williamsburg, Attn: Signe Foerster, P.O. Box 1776, Williamsburg, VA 23187-1776. © 2025 The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. All rights reserved.

NOTE Advertising in Trend & Tradition does not imply endorsement of products or services by The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

the sheer audacity of its Founders in forging their new nation based on a set of democratic ideals as opposed to religion, race or royal conquest to which their descendants would be likewise compelled to aspire through the centuries.

These founding concepts of liberty, justice and human rights, limited government, and the separation of powers did not originate with Jefferson, George Mason, John Adams or Benjamin Franklin, all of whom would have been quick to disabuse us of such a notion. America’s Revolutionaries often reached for inspiration to John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Baron de Montesquieu and other philosophers of the Enlightenment era whose theories about natural rights, religious tolerance and governing by popular consent bore great influence on the Declaration of Independence and other foundational documents.

At the same time, America’s Founders also reached back to the classical age when Greek and Roman philosophers such as Cicero, Plutarch and Seneca first articulated many of the same principles.

Building on a Foundation

cal influences on America’s Founders, their pervasiveness in learned early American circles is evident.

America’s Founders thus joined a philosophical tradition that extended back not just generations but a millennium or more. In daring to apply these concepts to a workable, thoroughly modern system of government, they ensured it could adapt to ever-changing times. Such an experiment was truly revolutionary, and its success is a testament to the ingenuity of those who dared to undertake it.

“The classical world was far closer to the makers of the American Revolution and the founders of the United States...than it is to us,” Pulitzer Prize-winning author Thomas E. Ricks wrote in First Principles: What America’s Founders Learned From the Greeks and Romans and How That Shaped Our Country. “Colonial classicism was not just about ideas. It was part of the culture, a way of looking at the world and a set of values.”

For George Washington, Roman Senator Marcus Porcius Cato was a role model for republican virtue and self-sacrifice in the name of liberty. John Adams emulated the eloquent Roman statesman Cicero while Jefferson embraced, among other classical influences, the beliefs of the Greek philosopher Epicurus about freedom and happiness. Benjamin Franklin even scanned the writings of Pythagoras, Xenophon and Plutarch for “self-help advice” to publish in his newspaper, as Jeffrey Rosen, president of the National Constitution Center, notes in The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America. While historians have long debated the depth of these and other classi-

This did not mean, of course, that it was perfect. From its earliest moments, the new nation wrestled with the inherent contradictions of its highest aspirations and harshest realities. Who would enjoy the rights and participate in the government envisioned in the Virginia Declaration of Rights, the U.S. Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution? On these fundamental questions our Founders were, like most of their contemporaries, silent at best and, at their worst, painfully wrong. Instead, their brilliance lay in creating a system of sufficient durability and flexibility to allow us to find the answers for ourselves.

As we move through this year, I hope you will join us here at the Foundation whether in person or online as we commemorate the milestones and consider the lasting significance of events of the tumultuous year of 1775. America’s never-ending experiment in democracy calls on all of us to lean into the work of self-government, for which our forebears sacrificed so much to bring into existence. 250 years later, this work remains as hard, messy and imperfect as ever. But with it comes the promise of building a brighter future for us all.

Sincerely,

Cliff Fleet President & CEO

Colin G. and Nancy N. Campbell Distinguished Presidential Chair

Cliff Fleet

The Bob and Marion Wilson Teacher Institute What do gunpowder, espionage, and piracy have in common?

Not all teachers can experience Colonial Williamsburg onsite. In 2024, the Bob and Marion Wilson Teacher Institute reached 757 teachers online and impacted over 75,000 students. Join the Teacher Institute team, historical experts, and partner institutions in our spring online programs. These interactive workshops provoke teachers’ curiosity and exploration of the past.

UPCOMING SPRING ONLINE

WORKSHOPS

THE GUNPOWDER INCIDENT

April 8, 2025 | 7 PM EDT

Did you know an early battle of the Revolution almost happened in Virginia? Mere days after the battles of Lexington and Concord, Virginia’s royal governor, John Murray, 4th Earl Dunmore, ordered Royal Marines to remove the gunpowder from the public powder magazine in the center of town. His decision angered many colonists and almost resulted in a bloody confrontation. On the 250th anniversary of this event, dive into the story of what became known as the Gunpowder Incident and its role in the lead-up to the American Revolution.

ESPIONAGE IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

May 1, 2025 | 7 PM EDT

Learn about the James Bonds and Jason Bournes of the American Revolution! In the lead-up to and during the American Revolution, intelligence gathering was vital in giving American forces an advantage in the war. Join the education teams at Colonial Williamsburg and the International Spy Museum for this engaging discussion about the role of espionage in early America as we share a range of resources that can bring this history to life for your students.

JEFFERSON, PIRACY, AND WAR IN EARLY AMERICA

May 20, 2025 | 7 PM EDT

Pirates didn’t just sail the Caribbean seas! When Thomas Jefferson became president in March of 1801, he confronted a decades-long challenge of pirate attacks against American ships. Jefferson’s refusal to pay ransoms or tributes to pirates kickstarted a series of wars known as the Barbary Wars. Join the education teams at Colonial Williamsburg and Monticello to dive into the history of piracy in early America.

IN REMEMBRANCE

Charles R. Longsworth

Charles R. “Chuck” Longsworth, former president and board chair emeritus of Colonial Williamsburg died on Jan. 8. He was 95. Longsworth, who led the Foundation as president from 1977 to 1992 and retired as board chair in 1994, oversaw dramatic expansions of its research, educational and civic efforts.

Longsworth was a leader in higher education, helping to found Hampshire College and serving as board chair at his alma mater, Amherst College. Two years into Longsworth’s tenure at The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, the museum introduced its first group of actor interpreters to portray people of the past in the Historic Area. This new approach to public history permanently expanded the breadth, focus and reputation of the Foundation’s educational work. A decade later, Longsworth engaged Bob Wilson in a far-reaching initiative to improve the teaching of America’s founding era through what is now known as the Bob and Marion Wilson Teacher Institute.

The Foundation also expanded its interpretive and museum spaces on Longsworth’s watch, dramatically enlarging its new fundraising program as well as its hospitality offerings. In addition to their support of

the Teacher Institute, Longsworth and his wife, Polly, supported Colonial Williamsburg as Keepers of the Key of the Raleigh Tavern Society and as members of the Goodwin Society and President’s Council.

Longsworth was modest about his accomplishments, so much so that when he learned a book about his years at the Foundation was in the works, he stopped it from being published. When he retired from Colonial Williamsburg in 1994, then-Vice Chair Abby O’Neill commented: “Dr. Samuel Johnson said, ‘A man cannot with propriety speak of himself, except he relate simple facts.’ Chuck and Polly are modest and never brag. But I can brag for them. And in both cases the facts speak loudly for themselves.”

“Chuck Longsworth transformed how we interpret and present public history at the Foundation,” said Cliff Fleet, president and CEO of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. “His vision for how Colonial Williamsburg can educate and inspire visitors continues to guide our work today. I am grateful for Chuck’s leadership and confident that his impact will continue to positively impact the Foundation for years to come.”

IN REMEMBRANCE

Richard Parsons

A trustee emeritus of Colonial Williamsburg and one of America’s most distinguished corporate leaders, Richard “Dick” Parsons died in December in New York. He was 76.

Parsons, who served on the board of trustees from April 1996 to January 2005, was a strong supporter of Colonial Williamsburg’s African American research and programming as well as its educational film initiatives. He was also a member of the Raleigh Tavern Society. His commitment to the museum field was evident not only at the Foundation but also in his board participation at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, the American Museum of Natural History and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. A lover of jazz, he also served as chair of the Jazz Foundation of America and the Apollo Theater.

Parsons had a distinguished career that included working as a lawyer on the staff of former New York

Gov. Nelson Rockefeller. When Rockefeller became vice president, Parsons moved to Washington, D.C., where he served in the White House as a senior aide to President Gerald R. Ford. He later served as board chair of the Rockefeller Foundation.

Parsons was hailed by The New York Times for his “humane approach” to rescuing corporations. Companies that benefited from Parsons’ leadership include Dime Savings Bank of New York, Time Warner, Citigroup and the LA Clippers. Parsons was so skillful at steering large organizations through crisis that Bloomberg dubbed him “Captain Emergency” in 2011.

“Dick Parsons was an innovative leader who brought a creative vision, commitment to inclusive programming and strategic thinking to our board,” said Cliff Fleet, president and CEO of the Foundation. “We are grateful for his contributions to Colonial Williamsburg.”

RICHARD ELLIS / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

BRIAN NEWSON

BECOMING PATRICK HENRY

Colonial Williamsburg’s newest Nation Builder portrays the Revolution’s most famous orator . BY PAUL ARON

“IF THIS BE TREASON,” Patrick Henry famously declared at the Capitol in Williamsburg, “make the most of it.” Nathaniel Lasley, Colonial Williamsburg’s newest Nation Builder, is making the most of his chance to portray Henry.

Being a Nation Builder offers a select group of interpreters the chance to inhabit a historical figure more fully. For Lasley, that meant months of studying the Revolution’s most famous orator before first appearing as Henry. Most people know Henry for his two famous speeches: “If This Be Treason” was delivered in Williamsburg in 1765 in opposition to the Stamp Act and, more broadly, to defend the principle that only the colonists’ elected assemblies could tax them. Ten years later in Richmond, “Give Me Liberty, or Give Me Death” inspired many Virginians to prepare for revolution.

But, as Lasley has learned, there was a lot more to Patrick Henry than fiery oratory.

“I always thought Henry was interesting because he was someone who didn’t bend with the popular will but shaped it,” Lasley said. “He wasn’t afraid to do things that weren’t easy or expedient. He would stick his neck out even if there were potential dire consequences.”

Lasley was surprised to learn that Henry was a skillful diplomat. As the first governor of Virginia after independence, Henry initiated trade relations with Louisiana and the West Indies, and he was constantly negotiating with the Native nations beyond the mountains.

“There was more range in his abilities than I originally thought,” Lasley said. “He has proven to be very interesting, which is fortunate since I’m married to him now.”

Lasley also noted the dark side to Henry: Recognizing that slavery served his financial interest, he never manumitted anyone.

Coming to Williamsburg

Many actor interpreters start as actors and then study history. Lasley first wanted to be a history professor, then realized he could teach a broader audience about America’s past by performing. Besides, he liked being outdoors.

His first experience with historical theater was in 2004 at the Thoroughgood House, a historic home in Virginia Beach. In 2009 he joined Colonial Williamsburg, giving tours of the George Wythe House. In 2011 he auditioned for a part in Colonial Williamsburg’s street theater, then called Revolutionary City. For the audition he played Israel Hands, a member of Blackbeard’s pirate crew.

“The audition was a train wreck,” he recalled. “I went on way too long.”

Nonetheless, Bill Weldon, who was the director of Revolutionary City at the time, gave him another chance. Lasley impro -

vised a scene in which he played James Innes, an officer in the Virginia militia. During the interaction, Innes clashed with none other than Patrick Henry. That audition led to regular work playing Innes, who was a complex character like Henry. Innes was a devoted patriot but also an enslaver who was documented as occasionally bullying those who did not follow his lead. Playing Innes, Lasley said, “got people to think about how complicated the Revolution was.”

Lasley has become most familiar to Colonial Williamsburg visitors as Innes, but he has also played other roles, including Edmund Randolph, who rebelled against his loyalist father to join the patriot cause, and John Jarret Carter, a bartender who was a soldier in Washington’s army who later joined the British.

Studying various figures helped prepare Lasley to become Henry. “Members of the performing arts department are regularly reading primary sources,” he said. “The difference in being a Nation Builder is the time I’ve been allotted to do so four to eight hours a day. Of course, the all-day study sessions are temporary while I am training, but the devotion to a single character is not.”

The Two Henrys

Richard Schumann, who has portrayed Henry in Williamsburg since 1995, has provided Lasley with valuable advice.

“Richard has been loaning me material from his personal library and advising me on what to read,” Lasley said. “I’ve been able to make the most of every second because of his guidance.”

Schumann said that he has been impressed over the past 10 years by Lasley’s ability to dig deep into his various characters and to draw crowds.

“He’s already shown me that he’s got the ‘Henry fire’ in his belly,” Schumann

TOP: TOM GREEN; BOTTOM: BRIAN NEWSON

(Above): Nathaniel Lasley has also portrayed James Innes, who incited townspeople to storm the Governor’s Palace and demand the return of seized gunpowder. (Below): Lasley is fitted to portray Patrick Henry.

said, “so fear nothing, Patrick Henry fans our founding hero is in very capable hands.”

Schumann will continue to portray Henry, and he and Lasley are planning a program in which both appear on stage together, with the older Henry reflecting on his life and Lasley acting out those memories.

Schumann also noted that 2025 marks the 250th anniversary of the “Liberty or Death” speech. “Be on the lookout for a regularly scheduled rendition of that oration with two Henrys for the price of one,” he said.

Writing programs is not new to Lasley. He has written a number of shows for Colonial Williamsburg in partnership with Barbara Swanson, who is one of the Foundation’s bookbinders and also Lasley’s wife. They wrote A Soldier’s Christmas, in which Innes returns from the war and struggles with what today would be called post-traumatic stress disorder, and Soldier’s Journey, in which John Jarret Carter struggles with the same affliction but comes to very different conclusions than Innes about the merits of the Revolution. In addition, Lasley has co-written two shows, Fugitive’s Christmas and Measure of a Man’s Worth, that examine the institution of slavery during the Revolution. His co-authors were actor interpreters Willie Wright, Hope Wright and Horace Smith.

Currently, Lasley is working on a program about Henry’s relationship with his first wife, Sarah Shelton Henry, who suffered from mental illness, and about connections between that relationship and his “Liberty or Death” speech. That script is based on a book titled In Sickness and in Health: The Marriage of Patrick Henry and Sarah Shelton by Mark Couvillon, a former Foundation interpreter.

“Nation Builders and other Colonial

Williamsburg actors have to have more than one skill set,” Lasley said. “We’re always researching, creating and performing. I have wanted this job for 20 years, and now that I’ve had the honor to be chosen, I’m going to apply those skills, Richard’s guidance and a lifelong love of history to become Patrick Henry.”

About Town

BECOMING PATRICK HENRY

(Below): Nathaniel Lasley and longtime Patrick Henry interpreter Richard Schumann chat on the grounds of the Capitol.

“He’s already shown me that he’s got the ‘Henry fire’ in his belly.”

Richard Schumann

About Town

BECOMING PATRICK HENRY

Liberty or Death!

WHEN THE SECOND Virginia Convention convened on March 20, 1775, it did so amid talk among the more radical colonial leaders that the time had come to take up arms. Many of the delegates to the convention feared that the royal governor, Lord Dunmore, might try to break up the proceedings, so they met in Richmond instead of Williamsburg. Richmond had no government building large enough to accommodate the convention, so the delegates assembled at Henrico Parish Church, later renamed St. John’s Church.

On March 23, Patrick Henry put forward a resolution that the colony immediately be put into a “state of defence.” More moderate delegates objected, arguing that military preparations would undercut any hope of reconciling with Great Britain. Henry rose to speak. Most accounts of Henry’s famous words rely on William Wirt’s biography of Henry, first published in 1817:

“Gentlemen may cry, peace, peace but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me,” cried he, with both his arms extended aloft, his brows knit, every feature marked with the resolute purpose of his soul, and his voice swelled to its boldest note of exclamation “give me liberty, or give me death!”

Since there is no contemporary record of Henry’s words, it is impossible to know how many of the words were Henry’s and how many were Wirt’s. Wirt named two sources: St. George Tucker and John Tyler, both of whom were present at the church. Others who were there, including Thomas Jefferson, did not contradict Wirt’s account. It seems likely, therefore, that the general outline of the speech and many of the words including the most memorable of them were Henry’s.

Many of Henry’s listeners would have recognized that the “liberty or death” line was similar to one in Joseph Addison’s 1712 play Cato: A Tragedy In Addison’s play, Cato spoke of resisting the tyranny of Julius Caesar and proclaimed: “It is not now a time to talk of aught / But chains, or conquest; liberty or death.”

Whatever the exact words and whatever their sources, there can be no doubt of their impact. According to

Edmund Randolph, the convention sat in silence for several minutes. Thomas Marshall told his son John, who later became chief justice of the United States, that the speech was “one of the most bold, vehement, and animated pieces of eloquence that had ever been delivered.”

More immediately, Henry’s resolution passed, and Henry was named chairman of the committee assigned to build a militia. Soon after, Dunmore seized the gunpowder in the public magazine at Williamsburg.

Edward Carrington, who was listening outside a window of the church, asked to be buried at that spot. In 1810, he got his wish. “Now, after two and a half centuries,” wrote Jon Kukla in his 2017 biography of Henry, “his grave bears witness to the speech that burned itself into the memories of countless listeners Give me liberty or give me death! and carried Virginia further toward armed resistance and revolution.”

BOTTOM LEFT: WAYNE REYNOLDS

into the community of people whose lives and labor revolved around this prized possession.

Colonial Williamsburg archaeologists have been excavating the site of Custis’ garden called Custis Square since 2019. As The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation stands at the threshold of the 100th anniversary of its founding in 1926, Custis Square presents a remarkable opportunity. With the ambitious initiative to restore the Custis garden and the construction of the Colin G. and Nancy N. Campbell Archaeology Center next door, Colonial Williamsburg is positioned to begin a second century of innovative leadership in historic preservation and interpretation.

Although excavations at Custis Square concluded late last year, laboratory analysis of the artifacts will continue through 2025, according to Jack Gary, Colonial Williamsburg’s executive director of archaeology. With the help of Charlottesville-based landscape architecture firm Rieley & Associates, the plan is to eventually re-create Custis’ elaborate garden and its associated structures. This reconstruction will be no small feat. In its prime, the Custis

garden was enormous. Colonial Williamsburg archaeologists focused on what was the home’s central garden, a space 160 feet by 204 feet connected to the main house. This ornamental garden reflected an early 18th-century baroque style incorporating geometric patterns and spacing influenced by the time Custis spent in England as a young man.

Custis was fond of fruit trees and also introduced species into his garden that he collected in the colonies and from England. His plant selections are known from the correspondence he left behind as well as from pollen analysis conducted by Gary and his team. Evidence also indicates that Custis was a fan of ornamental flourishes such as espaliered trees, wherein branches are trained to grow along a fence or wall, and topiary shrubs trimmed into tidy shapes.

Gary noted that creating and maintaining such an elaborate display was a lot of work, and it was the people Custis enslaved who did virtually all of it. Custis enclosed the central garden with a massive wooden fence with posts a foot in diameter and 10 feet high spaced every 8 feet a feature that took

(Clockwise from top): Public Archaeologist

Crystal Castleberry shows two young guests newly excavated artifacts. Associate Conservator of Archaeological Materials

Christy Altland examines a Custis Square artifact. An aerial view shows the 4-acre Custis Square site. Among the examples of completed conservation are these metal artifacts, which include copper alloy upholstery tacks.

About Town

a staggering amount of physical labor.

What’s more, according to his correspondence, Custis was quite proud of his garden, with its variety of plants and ample embellishments. But that pride was made possible by the craftsmanship of the people he held in servitude. “His enslaved gardeners were incredibly skilled at their work,” Gary said. “Not everyone could do that sort of thing.”

Will Rieley, founding principal of Rieley & Associates, said that the project will add a novel element to the town’s landscape: “This is a unique opportunity because the Custis garden represents an earlier period than any of the other restored gardens in Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Area.”

Another element of the re-creation will be clearing a line of sight to Bruton

How You Can Help

Archaeological investigations are crucial to helping understand the people of 18th-century Williamsburg like John Custis IV and the enslaved people who lived and worked at Custis Square. The Colin G. and Nancy N. Campbell Archaeology Center will provide an incredible opportunity for a behind-the-scenes look

at the work of Foundation archaeologists.

To contribute to Colonial Williamsburg and advance its mission, please visit colonialwilliamsburg.org/ TT. For more information on how to support the Campbell Archaeology Center and archaeology at the Foundation, email campaign@cwf.org .

“All the World...Is Going to Europe”

UPPER-CLASS AMERICANS PRIZED EUROPEAN SOUVENIRS

BY PAUL ARON PHOTOGRAPHY BY JASON COPES

During the first few decades of the 19th century, it took about five weeks to reach Europe from America and about three weeks to return, and the trips could be uncomfortable. That did not stop many wealthy Americans from crossing the Atlantic, however. A grand tour of Europe and items brought back home were considered proof of the traveler’s sophistication and culture.

“All the world...is going to Europe,” Philip Hone wrote in his diary after his tenure as mayor of New York in the 1820s.

Among the travelers was the Virginian John Hipkins Bernard, who toured France and Italy in 1818 –1819. Bernard’s letters home to his wife, Jane Gay Robertson Bernard, described the places he visited and the “antiquities whose form & character have survived the wreck of time, and the striking masterpieces of art.”

While in Rome, Bernard purchased a marble tabletop. In a March 1819 letter to his wife, he described archaeological sites he visited and wrote: “But enough of ruins...I think you will wear with greater pleasure a set of ruins wh[ich] I have just had executed for you in Mosaic.” Tabletops made of a selection of marbles, stones and minerals were fashionable souvenirs.

Bernard’s tour led to more than a single purchase. Among his other acquisitions were French wallpapers and an Etruscan pitcher. He “fell in love with the arts of the continent,” noted Senior Curator of Furniture Tara Chicirda in a 2022 article in the Journal of Early Southern Decorative Arts, “and upon his return was inspired to incorporate architectural, decorative, and landscape changes to his Port Royal home.”

Chicirda noted that Bernard appreciated American craftsmanship as well as European goods, as evidenced by his choice of a local cabinetmaker to produce the base for the tabletop.

John and Jane Bernard left the table to their daughter Helen Straub Bernard in 1852. “To dear Helen,” Jane wrote, “her Father and myself think as she is the only chess Player she will most use the marble chess Table.”

About the Makers

The brothers John Catlett Bowie (1786–1851) and Walter Bowie (1790–1853) advertised the opening of their cabinetmaking shop in Port Royal in a Fredericksburg, Virginia, newspaper in 1812. The brothers said they would “keep on hand a constant supply of ready made fashionable mahogany FURNITURE, of the best material and workmanship” and they would fulfill orders “with promptitude and dispatch.”

Embracing the past while preparing for the future

by COREY STEWART

As with many of his colleagues, Ted Boscana’s journey to the historic trades was not straightforward. He grew up doing carpentry with his father but never imagined transforming those skills into a career.

When Boscana was 15, however, he took a job in the Raleigh Tavern Bakery, and when a role opened in the carpentry shop, he made the leap.

Today, Boscana serves as director of Historic Trades and Skills, overseeing all of the trades in the Historic Area. His mission is to manage the day-to-day work of preserving trades of the past while also preparing the trades for the future.

The training for tradespeople is intense. In addition to acquiring the skills necessary to do the actual work of the trade, several months of studying histori-

cal documents and observing more experienced colleagues is required.

“By the time our tradespeople are interacting with guests, they are grounded in the context of the 18th century and well on their way to mastering a trade,” Boscana explained. “If you have basic hand skills, we can teach you the trade. But if you can’t relate to guests, you can be the best artisan in the world, but this isn’t the place for you. Finding people who can do both the work and the guest interaction with skill and dedication isn’t easy.”

Matt Sanbury and Ted Boscana position a beam for the Brickyard’s drying shed.

About Town

HISTORIC TRADES

“The trades help guests see what life was like here, why Williamsburg mattered and how the past connects to today. The focus is always guest first, helping them make those connections.”

Mistress Emerita Milliner and Mantua-Maker Janea Whitacre believes that the key to being a good tradesperson is maintaining an appropriate level of curiosity. “To be a good interpreter you need to be a good museum visitor first,” Whitacre said. “We live, eat and breathe our trades, but the guests don’t. We need to respond to what our guests want to know and see. We need to remember the basic curiosity about what we do.”

As with the majority of tradespeople, a love of history underpins Whitacre’s work.

“When you study original items of clothing, you are inside history. You can feel the energy, the maker’s level of artistry and expertise. I’ve discovered a

200-year-old straight pin still in a garment,” she explained. “The world came to Williamsburg through the decorative arts, including fabric. Interpretatively, you can go from clothing to just about anywhere in the 18th century: economics, importation, fashion, politics. Some of the designs are timeless, and you can make the connection to today, which I love sharing with guests.”

One of the things guests are often curious about is the role of enslaved people. For Master Blacksmith Ken Schwarz, helping guests understand the role enslaved and free Black people played in Williamsburg is critical.

“The built landscape of colonial Williamsburg was largely the product of enslaved and free Black hands,” he said. “The people who provided the skilled labor to bring the city’s architectural visions to life have not received the recognition they deserve. We are helping change that.”

At the Brickyard, Graml stresses that brickmaking was often the work of enslaved people. “So while we can go home at night and see our families, that wasn’t the experience of the enslaved brickmakers,” he said. “Getting to tell those stories is what we’re here to do, and in many cases, this is the only place where those folks have a voice.”

“It’s

a Team Effort.”

Collaboration among the trades is common. The shoemakers, milliners and leather breeches makers create clothing for their fellow tradespeople, for instance, and it’s not uncommon for one trade to make materials for another.

“There’s a demand for woodworking across the trades,” Zelesnikar noted. “The tailors, for instance, need hat blocks. We make hide stretchers for the breeches makers.”

(Above and right): Journeyman Silversmith Bobbie Saye marks a punchbowl ladle for the Bray School project.

One of the more recent collaborative efforts was with the brickmakers. “We built the brickmakers a pug mill,” Zelesnikar said, referring to a wooden contraption used to mix clay and water for bricks. “The brickmakers have been pugging with their feet, and now there’s a period-appropriate machine. At the end of the 18th century, we were on the cusp of the Industrial Revolution. People were thinking about efficiency. Now we can show them what efficiency looked like in a historic trade.”

Large-scale efforts in the Historic Area often involve numerous trades. “Projects like restoring the Bray School and Charlton’s Coffeehouse let us work with other trades, as well as architectural historians and archaeologists,” said Graml. “It’s a team effort. All the tradespeople are our neighbors, and everybody borrows a cup of sugar at some point. Collaboration keeps things lively.”

“Why Do We Exist?”

Keeping up with the demands of scholarship, production and guest interaction can be challenging. Seeing guests connect the present to the past is what makes it all worthwhile.

Children particularly enjoy sensory experiences of the trades, like touching the leather used for shoes or breeches, molding the clay for bricks, and experiencing the heat and noise of the blacksmith shop.

“Why do we exist?” asked Zelesnikar. “You can see a mallet at a museum, but what was it used for? By creating and using it, we are adding to historical research and scholarship and creating a better understanding of the sociocultural context of the colonial era.”

To make sure the trades continue to contribute to scholarship, Boscana has initiated programs to recognize

specialized skills and research projects. “Trades like joiners and blacksmiths produce tangible skills. For a trade like apothecary, however, the skills are knowledge-based,” he said. “In both cases, there has to be a way to transfer both skills and knowledge to the next generation of apprentices and recognize acquired expertise.”

Boscana has created a master/mistress emeritus program. “We have to look ahead and ensure that as people retire and move on, the knowledge they’ve gained over the years doesn’t leave with them,” he said. “The master or mistress emeritus is relieved of supervisory duties for his or her final year and can spend that time as an adviser and mentor, ensuring a smooth succession and the capture and transmission of knowledge.”

“There Is a Future in This Past.”

While each trade has its particular wish list for the future, the desire to see the historic trades continue unites them all. “We want to show our guests that there is a future in this past,” Graml said.

Boscana sees the historic trades as vital to fulfilling Colonial Williamsburg’s mission. “The projects and opportunities here are like nowhere else in the world. We are representing trades that have existed for centuries or longer. But no matter how many times you’ve done this, for the visitor standing in front of you, this may be their first exposure to your trade. You only have one chance to make that first experience count.”

For Zelesnikar, the opportunity the trades offer to combine skilled work with guest interaction is unbeatable. “I get to make cool stuff and talk about it,” he said. “Every day I get to express my passion for what I do. This is the best job ever.”

“All the tradespeople are our neighbors, and everybody borrows a cup of sugar at some point.”

JOSH GRAML

ARTHUR SHURCLIFF’S GARDEN DESIGNS INFLUENCED THE NATION

Sauthier, a French landscape designer, were particularly valuable.

Shurcliff also studied plans and surviving features of late 17th- and early 18thcentury English gardens. By the late 18th century, English gardens were becoming more naturalistic, but Virginia gardens were often enclosed and filled with geometric shapes. Shurcliff surmised that Virginians saw nature all around them and felt no need to re-create it in their garden designs.

When Shurcliff decided on a design, he was relentless about having his way, regardless of the cost. He collected so much boxwood that he exhausted the supply in Virginia and had to bring in plants from North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. In an oral history recorded decades later, Kenneth Chorley, who became Colonial Williamsburg’s presi-

dent in 1935, recalled a meeting at which Shurcliff repeatedly ignored John D. Rockefeller Jr.’s requests for cost estimates for part of the Governor’s Palace gardens. Rockefeller finally lost patience and shouted his request. Shurcliff answered it would cost between $200,000 and $500,000. “Everybody around the table just simply burst out laughing,” Chorley reported, “and Mr. Rockefeller said, ‘Oh well, let’s just appropriate a million dollars and go on home.’”

The Colonial Revival Style

Some garden historians have criticized Shurcliff for disregarding evidence that most colonial gardens were simpler and more functional than his elaborate and formal creations. As a result, Shurcliff’s creations have been categorized as part of the colonial revival style popular during

Arthur Shurcliff (above) presented a vision for the Governor’s Palace grounds (top) in a 1932 drawing (opposite).

About Town IN

RETROSPECT

the period, rather than genuinely colonial.

“He turned house lots into horticultural essays in symmetry with parterres filled with box, topiary, and brilliantly colored perennials,” wrote George Humphrey Yetter and Carl R. Lounsbury in their 2019 book, Restoring Williamsburg. “Only a long hard look in the restored town revealed any semblances of work yards where colonials would have performed their everyday domestic chores and craftspeople worked their trades.”

In fairness to Shurcliff, most others involved in the early years of Colonial Williamsburg’s restoration, including Rockefeller, favored a more formal and elaborate garden design and a more pristine appearance to the town than 18th-century reality. Shurcliff himself acknowledged that other types of gardens existed in Williamsburg, and his efforts to re-create them had been shot down.

emphasized ‘high-style’ design whether it be in decorative arts or garden design,” wrote M. Kent Brinkley and Gordon W. Chappell in their 1996 book, The Gardens of Colonial Williamsburg.

The Evolution of Gardens

Whether an admirer or critic of Shurcliff’s “interpretive license,” as garden historian Elizabeth Hope Cushing called it, no one could doubt his influence.

“The landscapes and gardens of Williamsburg,” wrote Ethan Carr, were “a monument of both landscape architecture and historic preservation, and an emphatic indicator of how thoroughly the two endeavors are, in fact, often a single creative project. The Williamsburg Restoration, though not a public park, became a prototype for ‘national historical parks’ and other historical landscape parks designed by the National Park Service and state parks departments all over the country.”

Colonial Williamsburg gardens have evolved since Shurcliff’s days, with more of them now accurately reflecting the vegetables and herbs that were more commonly grown than ornamental plants. New archaeological techniques, such as those used in recent excavations of the John Custis IV gardens, have changed today’s understanding of ornamental gardens as well.

But Shurcliff’s influence is still felt, in Williamsburg and beyond.

Arthur Shurcliff arranged for boxwood to be brought to Williamsburg from not only Virginia but also other Southern states.

“In the beginning, Colonial Williamsburg was primarily an architectural restoration, and curatorial work at that time

“Everyone wanted to emulate Colonial Williamsburg, even on personal properties,” wrote the landscape architect and historian Rudy J. Favretti. “People created vegetable, flower, and herb gardens just like the ones they saw there. The Colonial Williamsburg restoration started a trend in this country that has never stopped.”

About Town

project is to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the site’s usage during the 18th century. “The location of the site in the Historic Area will give guests the opportunity to see the archaeological team at work,” said Jack Gary, the Foundation’s executive director of archaeology. “What we find will ultimately inform the reconstruction of the tenement house and its outbuildings as well as contribute to our understanding of Peter Scott’s life and its impact on the city of Williamsburg.”

Archaeological Field Technician

Rachel Fisher (left) and Archaeologist Ashley McCuistion examine the foundations of the Peter Scott shop.

New Garden Site Opened

The Historic Garden has moved from Duke of Gloucester Street to Francis Street. A brick sidewalk now connects the garden to the Historic Farming site and the Windmill. The move will allow visitors to learn about 18th-century agriculture and horticulture in the same location.

“We look forward to settling into the new garden, but much work is still to be completed,” said Eve Otmar, master of historic gardening. “While buildings, fences and planting beds are already in place, there is still the task of planting trees, shrubs and perennials.”

The site will continue to examine the approaches of three types of gardeners: gentry, American Indian and enslaved people. “Through these three gardens, we discover the beginnings of Southern cuisine, global plant exploration and the adoption of Indigenous foods that today circle the globe,” said Otmar.

The move not only brings together the garden and the farm, it also allows for new archaeology at the Peter Scott site at the garden’s previous location.

A New Look for the Magazine

Restoring an iconic building

Almost exactly 250 years ago, on April 21, 1775, British marines, under orders from the royal governor, Lord Dunmore, broke into the magazine and took 15 barrels of gunpowder. Leaders such as Peyton Randolph calmed an angry crowd, but less than two months later Dunmore fled Williamsburg.

Work on the building has continued to restore it to its 1775 appearance.

Recent changes have included replacing the large arched window on the front of the building with a smaller lunette window. The evidence for the smaller crescentshaped window includes an 1855 drawing of the building by Benson Lossing, a historian of the Revolution, and prerestoration photographs. Architectural historians also looked at other powder magazines

in America and in Europe and found that small windows above doors were common. Smaller windows make sense since larger ones would have posed a greater risk of a stray bullet igniting the gunpowder stored inside.

“Since early images show no signs of damage patterns and large win-

dows are not common, we can infer that the lunette was the original window,” explained Architectural Preservation and Research Associate Tessa Honeycutt, who has been researching the building along with Shirley and Richard Roberts Associate Director of Architectural Research Jennifer Wilkoski.

Larger windows were added sometime during the 19th century, possibly when the structure was used as a Baptist church. The building has been repurposed many times, including as a market house, a Confederate arsenal, a dancing school and a stable.

Other recent restorations include lowering the perimeter wall.

“The building has been so heavily altered that information was erased or compromised, but we have been working through that to see what evidence we can tease out of it,” said Matt Webster, executive director of the Grainger Department of Architectural Preservation and Research.

Show Us Your Art!

Share a high-resolution image of your artwork inspired by Colonial Williamsburg and we may include it in a future issue.

You can send images to editor@cwf.org

Florida: Registration #CH10673. A COPY OF THE FOUNDATION’S OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE 1-800-HELP-FLA WITHIN THE STATE. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE. Maryland: THE FOUNDATION’S CURRENT FINANCIAL STATEMENT IS AVAILABLE ON REQUEST AT THE ADDRESS LISTED ABOVE. FOR THE COST OF COPIES AND POSTAGE. DOCUMENTS AND INFORMATION SUBMITTED ARE AVAILABLE FROM THE SECRETARY OF STATE, STATE HOUSE, ANNAPOLIS, MD 21401 New Jersey: INFORMATION FILED WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL CONCERNING THIS CHARITABLE SOLICITATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY BY CALLING (973) 504-6215. REGISTRATION WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT. Pennsylvania: THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION OF THE COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG FOUNDATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF STATE BY CALLING TOLL FREE WITHIN PENNSYLVANIA 1-800-732-0999. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT. Virginia: A FINANCIAL STATEMENT IS AVAILABLE FROM THE STATE DIVISION OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND CONSUMER SERVICES UPON REQUEST. Washington: ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE CHARITIES DIVISION, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE, OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON, BY CALLING 1-800-332-4483. West Virginia: WEST VIRGINIA RESIDENTS MAY OBTAIN A SUMMARY OF THE REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS FROM THE SECRETARY OF STATE, SOLICITATION LICENSING BRANCH, AT 1-800-830-4989, STATE CAPITOL, CHARLESTON, WEST VIRGINIA 25305. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT.

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of

Williamsburg residents, led by Patrick Henry, clashed with the royal governor’s soldiers in April 1775. The incident lit the fuse for war in Virginia.

Historic Inventions

Two pieces illuminate early technology

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JASON COPES

Printing Press

DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum

Richard Newsham’s Fire Engine

DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum

With Colonial Williamsburg’s 100th anniversary approaching, the museum staff has been researching and reflecting on the Foundation’s institutional history. For a century, staff have sought objects that help interpret the past. In 1950, a printing press with an illustrious history came to Williamsburg, allowing the Historic Area’s Printing Office to demonstrate 18th-century printing techniques.

The press, made in the mid-18th century, was used by the Abrahams family for generations. In 1898, it was hailed as the oldest press in the Netherlands and exhibited in a procession honoring the queen’s coronation. In the early 20th century, the press found its way to the Typographic Library and Museum of the American Type Founders Company in New Jersey. It was used to demonstrate early printing at the 1939 New York World’s Fair, and in 1940 it was part of an exhibition in Baltimore celebrating the 500th anniversary of the printing trade.

American Type Founders donated the press to Colonial Williamsburg in 1950. After years of use in the Historic Area, it was replaced with a working reproduction in 1990. The now retired 18th- centur y press has a permanent home in the Art Museums and can be seen in the Ruth P. and Joseph R. Lasser Gallery.

Another equally impressive and important interpretive piece that entered the collection over 60 years ago is a fire engine designed by the inventor Richard Newsham. Built in London in the mid-18th century, Sir Thomas Crawley-Boevey purchased it in 1830 for his Gloucestershire estate, Flaxley Abbey. The engine was used on the estate well into the 20th century.

Colonial Williamsburg purchased the fire engine in 1960. During the early 1980s, 70 highly skilled craftsmen and experts at the Foundation made a full-scale, fully functioning replica of it. The original engine, now over 250 years old, is on display in the Helen Zadarlik and Bruce Sogoloff Gallery.

Richard Newsham’s Fire Engine exhibition is made possible by the Ambrose and Ida Fredrickson Foundation.

About Town

Just Arrived

This monumental coffeepot, likely made about 1800 at the Leeds Pottery in Yorkshire, England, stands more than a foot tall. It bears the Great Seal of the United States, clearly proclaiming the vessel’s intended market. Despite ongoing economic and political strains between Britain and her former colonies, British manufacturers were happy to take advantage of America’s ever-growing appetite for ceramics, glass, textiles and other consumer goods.

The Great Seal as depicted on the coffeepot draws its design from contemporary numismatic specimens. It closely copies the heraldic eagle that appeared on $1 coins struck in Philadelphia beginning in 1798. The medallion on the opposite side of the pot

depicts the allegorical figures of Plenty and Commerce, popular classical imagery on British prints and American paper currency. Molds for similar Plenty and Commerce medallions have Leeds Pottery histories and help attribute this pot to that Yorkshire facility.

The pot is made of feldspathic stoneware. The feldspar content makes the ware nearly translucent like porcelain, but the stoneware properties allowed for crisply molded decorative details.

The purchase of the coffeepot was generously underwritten by Friends of Colonial Williamsburg Collections. The coin is a gift of the Joseph R. Lasser Family.

The Reintroduction of GEORGE WASHINGTON

A PIVOTAL MOMENT ALLAYED COLONIAL FEARS ABOUT THE FIRST COMMANDER IN CHIEF

by CRAIG BRUCE SMITH

Live & Learn

REINTRODUCTION

State House, later known as Independence Hall. Standing before the delegates dressed in the bluff and blue uniform of the Virginia militia, Washington was charged with one overarching mission: “the defence of American Liberty.”

After Gen. Washington humbly accepted the “high Honour” and promised to serve Congress in “Support of the glorious Cause,” delegates like John Adams and John Hancock, president of the Second Continental Congress, praised his character and countless attributes. He was a “fine man,” a man “you will all like,” described in terms like brave, virtuous, modest, amiable, clever, and sober, steady, and calm

However, these words were expressed only in private correspondence. Congress was sworn to secrecy about Washington’s selection, and Hancock was adamant that not a word should “be put in the newspaper” out of fear that “some prejudices might arise.” No matter how Washington’s character might be praised, there was doubt and fear about the role of commander in chief. The new army needed a leader, but colonists had plenty of historical reasons to wonder how its new commander in chief might use or abuse his power.

It did not take long to get the answer.

In a speech before the New York Provincial Congress on June 26, 1775, Gen. George Washington denounced military dictatorship. He would give up power as a general in 1783 and once more as president in 1797, but this moment at the outset of the Revolutionary War was critical. It signaled Washington’s commitment to civilian rule and the peaceful transition of power and dispelled deep-seated fears of domestic tyranny. It also established Washington’s most important precedent right from the start.

The stakes might not seem high to modern Americans who know how the story ends, but in the spring of 1775, colonial Americans’ fears about a standing army were deep-seated. They dated back to the classical era when Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon, waged war against the Roman Republic and declared himself dictator for life in 49 B.C.E. Over 1,700 years later, during the English Civil War, Oliver Cromwell defeated royalist forces, dismissed Parliament and proclaimed himself Lord Protector for life in 1653. Based on historical evidence, American colonists had been holding their breath since the first royal force disembarked to restore order after Bacon’s Rebellion in Virginia in 1677, all the way to the arrival of Gen. Edward Braddock’s force to fight the French in 1755.

Heightening the colonists’ fears, Boston had been under military occupation since 1768, and the famed tossing of tea into the harbor had triggered martial law in 1774.

Craig Bruce Smith is a historian and the author of American Honor: The Creation of the Nation’s Ideals During the Revolutionary Era. He is working on his next book “‘The Greatest Man in the World’: A Global History of George Washington.”

One political cartoon of the time, printed in The Royal American Magazine, even depicted the British military actively assisting the ravaging of America. The battles of Lexington and Concord the following spring were, as Virginian Thomas Jefferson proclaimed, unprovoked murder. With the outbreak of war, it was understood that appointing a commander in chief was essential, but the colonists believed a military savior could quickly become a tyrant.

It would have allayed the colonists’ fears to know that unlike the British-born, title-chasing Charles Lee or the immensely wealthy Hancock Washington had never campaigned to be commander in chief. Sure, he wore his uniform to Congress, but the delegates many of whom had served with him on both congresses knew him as a modest man who ran out of the room when his name was discussed for general. And in private, Washington wrote of his appointment, “It is an honour I by no means aspired to.” This was the type of person Congress could trust to be “vested with full power and authority to act as you shall think for the good and welfare of the service,” as was stated in his commission. Congress never explicitly mentioned any fear over the role of commander in chief, perhaps because such concerns were so well-known that they did not need to be written down. Still, the wording of Congress’ charge to Washington and his commission was deliberate. They did not ask the general to win glory or to destroy the British army. Rather, the commander in chief’s duty was to be the defender of American liberty and follow the orders of Congress.

But while Hancock hoped to keep the news of Washington’s commission out of the papers, the general’s review of 2,000 Pennsylvanian soldiers performing the manual of arms on the Philadelphia common made that impossible. The first notice of

(Left): Virginia Gazette s reported Washington’s appointment and praised the general. (Right): Peter Livingston of the New York Provincial Congress congratulated Washington days after his appointment.

REINTRODUCTION OF GEORGE WASHINGTON

of modesty and self-doubt regarding his appointment that he had displayed before the Continental Congress. Yet his answer was clear. Washington assured them that when he and the army “assumed the Soldier, we did not lay aside the Citizen, & we shall most sincerely rejoice with you...when the establishment of American Liberty...shall enable us to return to our private Stations in the bosom of a free, peaceful, & happy Country.” Washington left no doubt he would protect America and then return home to Mount Vernon. He had pledged to be an American Cincinnatus.

Livingston was so struck by this message that he immediately requested a written copy of Washington’s speech, saying he wanted to “prevent mistakes” from distorting this declaration when he made it public. Perhaps he also wanted to ensure Washington kept his word. So, despite Hancock’s unrealistic instruction to keep Washington’s appointment out of the papers, Livingston and the New York Provincial Congress ordered their address and Washington’s words printed that evening.

Three days later, on June 29, 1775, Washington was presented more widely to the American public via The New-York Gazette and The New-York Journal, soothing American fears. His words spread quickly on both sides of the Atlantic, and by early August 1775, news of Washington’s appointment could be found in British newspapers such as The Derby Mercury and The Bath Chronicle of England and The Caledonian Mercury of Scotland. But while much of the British press simply reprinted American articles without editorializing, the New York speech prompted a Washington-Cromwell comparison from The Scots Magazine, based in Edinburgh. “When Oliver Cromwell was made Generalissimo of the parliament-army in K[ing] Charles I.’s time,” it read, “he soon made himself master of the government.” The press recognized that Washington’s intent was “to obviate” such fears and “any apprehension of a similar event” in America.

Considering that Washington was committing treason and commanding a “rebelarmy,” his British reception was shockingly positive. British audiences knew of Cincinnatus too, of course, and in the months around Washington’s appointment, the London papers were filled with references to the heroic Roman, sometimes in connection to the American cause. The St. James’s Chronicle, for example, remarked that colonists had read their Cincinnatus and the British were therefore “warmed with the noble Flame of Liberty” and “charmed with Sentiments worthy of the first Citizens of Rome.”

Although British officers often refused to address “Mr. Washington” by his rank, his character was still praised. The American commander was “a gentleman of affluent fortune,” as the reference yearbook The Annual Register said, and one “who had acquired considerable military experience.” Not only had he “positively refused any pay” serving his cause as a volunteer, The Scots Magazine gushed, but “he is a man of sense and great integrity.” The press even indulged in a bit of tabloid journalism by remarking on Washington’s “exceeding fine figure” and “very good countenance.” Most surprisingly, Lloyd’s Evening Post described him as “a most noble example” who was “worthy of imitation in Great Britain” for being a “disinterested Patriot.” Washington’s pledge to give up power seemed to be equally effective in Britain as it was in America. Washington took up command of the Continental army on July 3 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Provincial Congress “applauded[ed]” his “attention to the public good” and “admire[d]” his “disinterested Virtue.” Barely a week removed

from the New York speech, the delegates praised his “personal Character” for risking his life and fortune “in the Defence of the Rights of Mankind, and for the good of your Country.” This devotion to civilian supremacy became Washington’s trademark throughout the long war.

Even after eight years of fighting, some in England still assumed that Washington would end up as a king or “the Dictator, Protector, Stadtholder, or by whatever Name the Chief Magistrate.” Americans like Philadelphia socialite Elizabeth Willing Powel knew better: “Some say there is no Cincinnatus in existence; I think there is.” She would be proven correct.

On Dec. 23, 1783, Gen. George Washington once again stood before the members of Congress in his buff and blue uniform. His hair was grayer, and his sight had worsened. Still, he possessed confidence that he had successfully “accomplish[ed] so arduous a task” and defended American liberty. In 1775, Washington had accepted the “extensive & important Trust” Congress afforded him with his commission. Now, he surrendered his commission back to the congressmen assembled inside the Maryland State House in Annapolis and took his “leave of all the employments of public life.”

When King George III learned that his enemy intended to give up power, he was genuinely amazed and reportedly said, “If he did, he would be the greatest man in the world.” Washington fulfilled his pledge and did exactly that.

George Washington was now the American Cincinnatus, just like he promised on June 26, 1775.

George Washington’s resignation of his military commission is depicted in an 1824 painting by John Trumbull.

JOHN WHITE’S SEARCH

White was a superb artist; his drawings of American Indian life have been a valuable resource for anthropologists and historians. White was not, however, an ideal expedition leader.

For one thing, the ships carrying White and his fellow colonists were supposed to take them to the Chesapeake Bay, not far from where Jamestown would eventually take root. That area seemed a more promising place to settle than Roanoke because the soil was better and because previous Englishmen who had landed at Roanoke Island had antagonized the local Indigenous population. But the ship’s pilot landed at Roanoke and decided not to continue north, possibly because he was a privateer who was more interested in attacking Spanish ships than transporting colonists. White agreed that the colonists could stay in Roanoke, at least temporarily.

After a month there, White then decided to leave with the ships rather than stay with the fledgling colony. This was a surprising move since the colonists included his daughter, Eleanor, and his granddaughter, Virginia Dare, the first English child born in America. According to White, the colonists insisted he return to England to secure additional supplies. It is also possible the colonists had lost faith in him as their leader. In any case, White did not return for three years, by which time the colonists had disappeared.

The delayed return was not really White’s fault. The force behind the Roanoke venture was Sir Walter Raleigh, who was so favored by Queen Elizabeth that she granted him an exclusive patent to colonize America. By the time White returned to England, however, Raleigh had fallen out of the queen’s favor and was reluctant to put more money into the venture. Furthermore, the Spanish Armada was on its way to attack England. Elizabeth ordered all ships capable of fighting the Spanish, including the ships White was putting together to return to Roanoke, to stay put. Even after the Armada was defeated, Elizabeth was reluctant to let ships go. So it was not until 1590 that White finally returned to Roanoke Island to find or rather, not find his colony.

The colonists had vanished, but they had left clues to their whereabouts: They had carved “CROATOAN” on a post and “CRO” on a nearby tree. The carvings have led some, including White, to suspect the colonists had gone to nearby Croatoan Island, now called Hatteras Island, though the entire colony could not have stayed long on the small island. White remained hopeful because he had instructed the colonists to carve a cross if they were in trouble, and there was no cross with the carved letters. Bad

John White’s ca. 1585 map offered clues to the fate of the lost colonists.

“ THE SETTLERS...WERE VICTIMS OF FIGHTING ALONG AN UNSTABLE BORDER ZONE.”

— James Horn

weather and the desire of the captain of one of the ships to do some privateering prevented White from searching further and forced him to return to England.

Back in England, Raleigh’s status with the queen continued to deteriorate, and he turned his sights to the South American coast. In 1602, Raleigh finally sent a party to search for the Roanoke colonists, but the search turned up nothing new.

THE SEARCH CONTINUES

The search resumed after Jamestown was settled in 1607. John Smith, Jamestown’s early leader, heard from the Powhatan chiefs Wahunsonacock and Opechancanough about people who wore clothing and built houses like those of the English. Smith led expeditions in search of the lost colonists but never found them.

Back in England, the writer William Strachey also heard about English-style houses that predated Jamestown. A visiting Powhatan named Machumps reported to Strachey that the lost colonists had lived peacefully with Native Americans until they were attacked by Wahunsonacock’s warriors around the time settlers arrived at Jamestown in 1607. Only a few colonists, Strachey was told, had survived the attack. The English in Jamestown and their backers in England largely believed these reports.

Numerous historians have since attempted to solve the mystery of Roanoke, including David Beers Quinn, who in the 1970s argued that the colonists had headed toward the Chesapeake, their original destination, and lived with friendly American Indians until the Powhatan attack. Decades later, James Horn, who was Colonial Williamsburg’s chief historian and then a vice president before becoming president and chief officer of the Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation, argued that the colonists had moved west rather than north Horn suggested most of the colonists left Roanoke Island soon after White sailed to England, perhaps fearing a Spanish attack. They lived with various Native Americans, including the Tuscaroras and Chowanocs, thus accounting for the various reports of them in different areas. The colonists did not forget their English ways but adapted to the ways of

A 19th-century illustration shows John White at the site of the abandoned colony.

Live & Learn

John White’s depictions of Native American life, engraved by Theodore de Bry, showed him to be a talented artist.

To learn more... see a reading list at colonialwilliamsburg.org/ lostcolonymyths/

the people with whom they lived. The 1607 Powhatan attack, Horn posited, may have been prompted by fears that a new English settlement would reverse Powhatan territorial gains in the region.

“The settlers and their Indian kin were victims of fighting along an unstable border zone,” wrote Horn in his 2010 book, A Kingdom Strange. “In the broad scheme of regional rivalries, Opechancanough’s raid reflected deep-seated antagonisms among three major peoples vying for dominance, the Powhatans, Tuscaroras, and Chowanocs.”

Wahunsonacock, Horn concluded, was “unwilling to take any chances of the Jamestown colonists joining forces with the Roanoke English,” so he “ordered his warriors to track down as many of White’s colonists as they could find and kill them.”

Subsequent discoveries have buttressed Horn’s argument that the settlers moved inland. The work has been spearheaded by the First Colony Foundation, a nonprofit founded in 2004 and whose directors include Horn and other acclaimed historians and archaeologists with a range of expertise. In 2012, a curator at the British Museum, which holds a collection of John White’s drawings, placed one of White’s maps on a light box and discovered a hidden symbol of a fort. Perhaps White marked the map to indicate to the settlers where they might move and then hid the symbol in case the map fell into the hands of the Spanish. Archaeologists explored the area of the fort symbol near where Salmon Creek opens into Albemarle Sound and at two sites found artifacts from the Elizabethan period that confirmed English people had been there around the right time. Other artifacts were found elsewhere to the west of Roanoke Island.

Archaeologists and historians will undoubtedly continue to investigate what happened to the lost colonists, but after the latest discoveries, the colonists can no longer be considered entirely lost.

If integrity were a place, it would be Williamsburg.

Your legacy speaks to your steadfast integrity.

Martha Washington, our nation’s first First Lady, is cemented in history as a devoted and loyal wife, a practical businesswoman, a principled leader and a woman of integrity. Your legacy — through a gi in your will or estate plan — supports our founding ideals by helping to preserve the very place where America’s story began and sharing our nation’s history with generations to come. To learn more about including a gi in your will to Colonial Williamsburg, contact the Gi Planning O ice today at 1.888.293.1776 or legacy@cwf.org.

Together we make a tremendous di erence

Nation Builder Katharine Pittman portrays Martha Washington

The Road to Revolution

The key events leading up to the American Revolution beginning with January through May 1775

AS 1775 BEGAN, tension with Great Britain was growing. On Jan. 14, The Virginia Gazette published Lord Dartmouth’s circular letter advising colonial governors to prohibit and secure the importation of weapons, ammunition and gunpowder. The colonists had formed committees to share information about British activities and coordinate protests. Prominent figures such as Patrick Henry and Samuel Adams were calling for greater resistance to British policies. And British troops were stationed in Boston, escalating the tension arising from 1774’s Coercive Acts, also known as the Intolerable Acts. The Coercive Acts called for a blockade of Boston Harbor, replacement of elected Massachusetts Council members with Crown appointees, permission for the governor of Massachusetts to move any trial to another colony or Britain, and permission for the governor or his authorized representatives to order troops quartered in unoccupied buildings.

March 23, 1775

Liberty or Death

Patrick Henry delivers his fiery speech to the Second Virginia Convention in Richmond. Henry argues that Britain’s unwillingness to reason and installation of troops in the colonies have made war inevitable.

April 21, 1775

The Gunpowder Incident

Fearing an uprising by colonists, Lord Dunmore, the royal governor of the Virginia colony, orders sailors from HMS Magdalen to seize the gunpowder stored in Williamsburg’s magazine.

April 18–19, 1775

First Shots Fired British Gen. Thomas Gage orders the seizure of munitions in Concord, Massachusetts. At Lexington, Massachusetts, colonial militia minutemen respond, and armed skirmishes ensue.

GUNPOWDER INCIDENT

In the wake of the Coercive Acts, the Virginia House of Burgesses alarmed Lord Dunmore by declaring support for Boston and a ban on English imports. Patrick Henry’s speech further fanned the flames of discontent, and the Second Virginia Convention outright defied Dunmore by selecting delegates to send to Philadelphia. When Dunmore learned that militias were mustering to defend Virginia from royal authority, he thought it prudent to order the gunpowder seized from Williamsburg’s magazine.

May 10, 1775

Second Continental Congress

Colonial leaders meet in what is now Philadelphia’s Independence Hall as a de facto provisional government to discuss their response to British legislation and the recent armed clashes with royal troops.

May 3, 1775

Armed Response

A militia led by Patrick Henry marches on Williamsburg to demand the return of the seized gunpowder. A payment is negotiated in recompense for the powder, and Henry’s troops de-escalate.

Even though the sailors acted under the cover of darkness, colonists discovered the removal and gathered in front of the Governor’s Palace. Earlier in April, there had been insurrections reported among the enslaved in Prince Edward County, Chesterfield County and Norfolk. Without the gunpowder, colonists feared they would be unable to defend themselves against an uprising.

An agreement was reached, and 300 pounds was paid in lieu of returning the gunpowder, restoring a tentative and temporary peace.

Title Page

Uncommon Women: New books on poetry and witchcraft explore two unusual 18th-century lives

Phillis Wheatley Peters: Biography of a Genius in Bondage VINCENT CARRETTA

The University of Georgia Press

The girl who became known as Phillis Wheatley arrived in Boston in 1761 at about the age of 7, having been kidnapped from her native Africa. She was bought by Susannah and John Wheatley, who encouraged her to read and write and helped her to publish a collection of her poems. Wheatley became a celebrity because of her work. She met Benjamin Franklin in England, and in America, George Washington praised her talent and thanked her for a poem she wrote in his honor. Thomas Jefferson, however, dismissed her work, arguing that no one of her race was capable of writing poetry. In the 20th century, some criticized Wheatley for adopting traditional poetic structures and styles and for incorporating patriotic themes. More recent scholars, however, including Vincent Carretta, have recognized her as a founding voice in African American literature. Carretta has now revised his 2011 biography of Wheatley to incorporate new discoveries about her education, activities, publications and marriage and especially about her postemancipation life in Boston and London. In many instances, Carretta refers to Wheatley by her married name, Peters, rather than the name of her enslavers. “Her decision to re-identify by renaming herself through marriage,” writes Carretta, “is consistent with my overall representation of the agency she demonstrated during her life before she met John [Peters].” Wheatley published 42 poems and intended to publish another 33 under the name Peters, but those were not published in book form until two years after she died.

The Witch of Pungo:

Grace Sherwood in Virginia History and Legend

SCOTT O. MOORE

Rivanna Books/University of Virginia Press

Cry Witch , one of Colonial Williamsburg’s most popular evening programs, has been performed more than 7,000 times since it debuted in 1988. In it, audiences attend the trial of Grace Sherwood, a widow who lived about 60 miles southeast of Williamsburg and was accused of being a witch. The show is based largely on the historical record but does take some poetic license. For instance, court records involving Sherwood are from Princess Anne County, not Williamsburg, and at the end of the performance the audience determines Sherwood’s fate. Scott O. Moore’s book chronicles both what’s verifiable about Sherwood and the legends that surround her. Among the facts: Sherwood was accused of being a witch in 1706. She was bound and cast into the Lynnhaven River, where she floated, which was considered evidence that she was a witch. She was taken into custody in preparation for a trial, presumably to be held in Williamsburg, but that trial probably never took place, and Sherwood lived until at least 1740. Legend has it that she had sailed across the Atlantic Ocean from England in an eggshell. “For organizations like Colonial Williamsburg,” Moore writes, “the challenge is to use ghost stories and legends in a way that enhances their educational mission. Grace Sherwood’s story threads that needle perfectly. The possibility of learning about a ‘real’ colonial witch entices visitors to attend Cry Witch , giving Colonial Williamsburg the opportunity to teach them about the colonial justice system.”

Asparagus has been around for thousands of years The Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder wrote of asparagus in the first century noting that “of all cultivated vegetables asparagus needs the most delicate attention.” Pliny also referenced another Roman, Cato, who had written about asparagus around 160 B.C.E. Asparagus may well have been gathered from the wild in the British Isles since prehistoric times. There have been words for the vegetable in many languages, suggesting it was indeed known in several areas of the world. Asparagus was likely introduced to North America in the middle of the 17th century. William Byrd wrote enthusiastically of it in his diary in April 1790 at his Westover plantation.

“We know that asparagus was grown at the Governor’s Palace because the palace inventory lists a pair of asparagus shears,” said Frank Clark, master of Historic Foodways. “Because of the short fruiting season and the number of years required to establish asparagus in the garden, it was definitely considered a crop for the gentry.”

In the following recipe, it is likely that the comical appearance of asparagus spears “growing” out of a dinner roll would have sparked conversation at a Palace meal, where entertainment was as important as the food.

(Above): Master of Historic Foodways Frank Clark hollows out rolls to make bread bowls. (Right): To harvest asparagus, use a sharp knife to cut the spears at ground level.

Asparagus Forced in French Rolls

Historic Foodways

Adapted from The Art of Cookery, Made Plain and Easy by Hannah Glasse (London, 1747)

SERVES 3

3 French or kaiser rolls, about 4 inches in diameter and 3 inches high

2–4 tablespoons butter, melted

15 asparagus spears

3 egg yolks

½ teaspoon salt

⅛ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 cup heavy cream or half-and-half

1. Make a bread bowl out of each roll by slicing off the top and removing much of the crumb, the soft part of the bread. Leave about ¾-inch thickness of crumb

along the inside of each “bowl.”

2. With a paring knife, carve five little holes into the “lid” of each roll. Lightly brush butter over the surface of the bowls and lids. In a skillet at low to medium heat, gently fry the bread pieces to dry and crisp them. Set aside.

3. Break off and discard the bottoms of the asparagus spears. Cut off the top 3 inches of each spear, blanch the tops in boiling water for 1 minute or less, and then drain and plunge them into cold water. Set aside.

4. Boil the remainders of the spears for 3–4 minutes. Remove from the water

and, when cool to the touch, chop into small pieces. Set aside.

5. In a small saucepan, whisk the egg yolks with the salt and nutmeg. Add the cream and whisk well. Stirring constantly, cook the mixture over low to medium heat until it thickens. Add the chopped asparagus not including the tops and cook another 30 seconds.

6. Fill the bread bowls with the sauce. Stick the asparagus tops into the holes in the lids, and place the lids on the bowls to make them look like asparagus growing from mounds of earth in the garden.

BOOKSTORE

From historic feats to historic trades, from art to archaeology, from scholarly books to kids’ titles, you can take the stories of America’s beginnings — and a bit of Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Area — home with you.

DIY: COASTERS

No Loose Ends

Set down your drink here

A PROJECT FROM THE WEAVERS PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRIAN NEWSON

What You Need

Colonial Williamsburg’s weavers were inspired by this blanket, which dates to 1780 –1820, to create striped coasters. The blanket was itself made from another textile article, probably a woman’s everyday petticoat or skirt.

The main portion of the blanket consists of two large panels of plain-woven blue and white stripes, woven with natural linen warps and striped in the weft direction with light and dark blue wool and white cotton. One of the narrow stripes gives a twirling effect, made by twisting together blue and white wefts prior to weaving. The blanket is edged on two sides with small pieces of textiles woven in subtle blue and brown stripes; the edging measures about 3¾ inches wide.

The blanket’s origin is uncertain. It may have been made in America or Europe, possibly the Netherlands or Great Britain.

Large Plastic Sewing Needle

String (Thinner yarn will also work)

Yarn

(A thick acrylic yarn was used here, but any type of yarn can work)

Scissors

Cardboard

Process 1 4 2 3

The

STEP 1

Start by making a tiny loom: From the cardboard, cut a rectangle 3½ inches by 6 inches. On each of the 3½-inch sides, cut ½-inch notches about a ¼ inch apart. Be sure to have the same number of notches on each side.

NOTE Change the size of the coaster by cutting the cardboard bigger or smaller than specified.

STEP 2

Wrap the string once around one of the corner ¼-inch notches of the loom. Then run the string across the loom and slot it into the notch directly across. Continue the string up the back of the loom, slotting it into the next empty notch. Repeat until all of the notches have string in them. Keep a reasonable amount of tension in the string. Loop the string around the final notch to secure it. The string will be the warp.

STEP 3

Thread the needle with yarn. Feed the needle over one thread and under the next of the warp, alternating all the way across the loom. Use the needle to comb the yarn down tight. Repeat this process in the opposite direction, but this time start by going under the string first and then over. Repeat along the entire warp.

NOTE Cut the yarn only to change colors. To change colors, overlapping is key.

Make sure the new and old yarns overlap by at least an inch. Trim the tails if necessary.

STEP 4

When finished weaving, cut the string on the back of the loom and remove the weaving from the cardboard. Tie together the loose threads, neighbor to neighbor, locking the weaving in place. Trim the loose ends as desired.

Shopping. Dining. Patriot watching.

Discover Merchants Square,

Steps

Aromas Café

Baskin-Robbins

Berret’s Seafood

Restaurant & Taphouse Grill

Blink

Blue Talon Bistro

Brick & Vine

Campus Shop

The Carousel

Children’s Boutique

The Cheese Shop

Chico’s

The Christmas Shop

Colonial Williamsburg Bookstore

Colorful Stitches

Danforth Pewter

DoG Street Pub

Eleva Coffee Lounge

Everything Williamsburg

Fat Canary and Downstairs at Fat Canary

FatFace

illy Caffé

J. Fenton

J. McLaughlin

Kimball Theatre

lululemon athletica

Mellow Mushroom Pizza Bakers

Monkee of Williamsburg

The Peanut Shop of Williamsburg

Penny and a Sixpence

Precarious Beer Project

The Precious Gem

R. Bryant Ltd.

R. P. Wallace & Sons

General Store

SaladWorks

Scotland House Ltd.

Secret Garden

Sole Provisions

The Shoe Attic

The Spice & Tea Exchange of Williamsburg

Talbots

Three Cabanas: A Lilly

Pulitzer Signature Store

The Williamsburg Winery

Tasting Room & Wine Bar

Walkabout Outfitter

Wythe Candy & Gourmet Shop

WINTER 2025

PUZZLE ANSWERS

FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH

PRIZE ENIGMA

Wheelwright

Congratulations to Robert Creagan of Kalamazoo, Michigan, whose entry was chosen from a pool of correct answers to the puzzle in the Winter issue. He received a Terra Cotta Thumb Watering Jug.

Want to play, too? Here are the rules:

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. Sweepstakes ends 05/25/25 For entry and official rules with complete eligibility, prize description, odds disclosure and other details, visit www.colonialwilliamsburg.org/trend-and-tradition-prizerules. Sponsored by The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Void where prohibited.

Apprentice Wheelwright Joseph Conley (left) and Master Wheelwright Paul Zelesnikar fit a heated tire to a wheel.

Parting Shot

A Felicitous Moment

Amy Ash took this photo of her 13-year-old daughter, Alyson Ash, when they visited the Historic Area last year. Alyson said that she has loved horses and Williamsburg since she was very young and that it was a dream come true to pet a horse just like Felicity did in the American Girl stories.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO SUBMITTED PHOTOS. PLEASE KEEP THEM COMING! Send your favorite Colonial Williamsburg photo a .jpg or .tif that is at least 300 dpi at 5"×7", please to partingshot@cwf.org. Tell us why you love the image, and we may choose it for “Parting Shot” in an upcoming issue. Don’t forget to include your hometown.

CONNECTIONS RIGHT AT YOUR DOORSTEP

Think senior living is boring? You have not experienced WindsorMeade. Here, opportunities to connect, learn, and thrive are just steps away. Join community events, sign up for programs, attend social gatherings, or delve into a new hobby. At WindsorMeade, every day brings a chance to embrace an engaged and vibrant lifestyle. Opportunity is knocking—are you ready to answer?

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