The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Earned Media Coverage

April 3, 2014

Commemorate the 400th Anniversary of Pocahontas’ Marriage to Englishman John Rolfe

By Rachel Cooper

3/30/14

Historic Jamestowne, with Colonial Williamsburg, and in collaboration with the Pamunkey Indian Museum and Cultural Center and the Patawomeck Heritage Foundation, commemorate the 400th anniversary of Pocahontas' marriage to Englishman John Rolfe. On April 3 - 6, 2014,Historic Jamestowne will host four days of special programs, including a re-creation of Pocahontas' wedding to John Rolfe and a celebratory feast. The marriage will be re-enacted three times on Saturday, April 5, at 10:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. within the footprint of the 1608 church, discovered by archaeologists in 2010. Pocahontas is being portrayed by a member of the Pamunkey Indian tribe. A celebration supper will be served at the Williamsburg Lodge, 310 S. England St. on the eve of the wedding, Friday, April 4 at 7 p.m. The menu includes both English and Native delicacies prepared with a modern twist. The dinner's host is the Rev. Alexander Whitaker, an Anglican priest who took a special interest in Pocahontas and was a friend to John Rolfe. The price for the evening is $95 per person and includes dinner, dessert, and coffee and tea service. Proceeds from the dinner support the World of Pocahontas Initiative at Historic Jamestowne. Special appreciation is extended to Donald and Elaine Bogus for their generous support of this evening's celebration.

http://dc.about.com/b/2014/03/30/commemorate-the-400th-anniversary-of-pocahontas-marriage-to-englishman-john-rolfe.htm

Spring Garden Ideas From Colonial Williamsburg

Discover old-time resourcefulness — how gardeners worked the land, used local materials and more — to apply to your landscape today

By Charlotte Albers

You can step back in time in Colonial Williamsburg, an interactive living history site that served as the

capital of the Virginia Colony from 1699 to 1780. Named in honor of William III, King of England, and

designed by Royal Governor Francis Nicholson, Williamsburg is one of the country’s oldest planned

communities. Restored by John D. Rockefeller, Jr., over many years beginning in the 1920s, the historic

area is a great place to learn about 18th-century life — including how people gardened.

Grab a cup of coffee from R. Charlton’s Coffeehouse (billed as America’s only 18th-century coffeehouse)

and explore on foot. Wander down lanes or thoroughfares bustling with wagons, marching bands and

tradespeople dressed in authentic garb; peer over fences to look at vegetable or flower gardens that

showcase early-American plants. The homes and plots are small by today’s standards, but you can see

how every part of a property was used, and for homeowners with similarly modest lots, it’s inspiring to

see such thrift and practicality on display.

Here are just a few design ideas I came away with on a recent visit.

http://www.houzz.com/photos/10333372/Classic-Garden-Styles-at-Colonial-Williamsburg-traditional-landscape-

Fences make good neighbors. When you’ve got a small cottage or outbuilding such as this, a fence

that’s scaled in proportion to the building is easy on the eye. It also delineates property lines, keeps

livestock out and keeps some livestock, like chickens, in.

Here’s a different fence that suits a much more formal home — stylized panels evoke an ordered

landscape of geometric beds or French parterres. A detailed fence like this needs little ornamentation,

and its open design allows passersby to look through.

Just one or two of these panels would look fantastic in a townhouse entry garden; you could also create

a similar trellis for a small patio wall.

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This fence runs directly into a structure, which is unusual (perhaps it’s built on the property line), but I

love the composition. The slatted fence is plain, in keeping with the white shed.

Make outbuildings both functional and beautiful. I wasn’t expecting to see so many great sheds in

Colonial Williamsburg, and I came away with a desire to add something to my vegetable garden so I

wouldn’t be hauling tools in and out of the garage every day.

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Wouldn’t it be great to have a proper toolshed in which to stash rakes and shovels, and store clay pots

over the winter?

This is a teahouse at the Rockefellers’ home, Bassett Hall. Presumably used for afternoon entertaining

during the spring months when the family was in residence, it’s the kind of building that could be used

for summer soirees, too.

Flanked with benches and minimalist plantings, it’s a focal point as one wanders around on the grounds.

I want one of these, too.

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You can grow ornamental vines on sheds to create a layered garden, creating a sense of informality and

a touch of romance. Let climbing vines like clematis, honeysuckle, wisteriaor roses soften the look of an

older structure that’s seen better days. (If your shed is wood, you’ll have to remove vines in order to

paint, which is easier said than done.)

Let benches provide a shady place to rest out of the hot sun. In a walled enclosure like this, position benches near shade trees so that you have a place to sit and view the garden in relative comfort. In this formal garden at the Governor’s Palace, brick edging defines the beds and surrounds a decorative bench — a calming composition.

http://www.houzz.com/photos/10333372/Classic-Garden-Styles-at-Colonial-Williamsburg-traditional-landscape-

Leafy bowers can be playful and fun. What’s a bower, you ask? It’s a shelter or covered place in a

garden made with boughs or vines wrapped together — a shady recess. This enchanting green tunnel is

just that — presumably where the ladies of the house might saunter and take the air, hidden from view.

One can imagine secrets being exchanged in such a place.

These days it’s easy to replicate the look with metal arches and climbing vines, like roses or honeysuckle.

Another bower tucked away off a back lane is made with the branches of hornbeam trees, trained to

arch over a pathway. This is a much more involved project, and not to be undertaken if one is looking for

quick results.

Simple tunnels can be fashioned out of living willow, which is very fast growing and will give the same

effect on a smaller scale — perfect for children’s gardens.

http://www.houzz.com/photos/10333372/Classic-Garden-Styles-at-Colonial-Williamsburg-traditional-landscape-

Edge gardens with boxwood for year-round good looks. Clipped boxwood can be simple or stylized.

Used here as a hedge and cut to varying heights, it creates enclosure while framing the structure in a

simple, elegant way.

For those without a lot of time to devote to gardening, using boxwood as a primary landscape plant will

give you a classic foundation that doesn’t require a lot of upkeep (save for the shearing).

Paintbox Garden

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Make garden entrances interesting with border plantings. Who doesn’t love foxgloves in the flush of

early spring? This picket fence and entry gate are softened by the informal planting of lush pink blooms

— impossible to miss as you pass through the gate.

Fenced gardens are so much more interesting when there are unusual or scented plants located near

the entry path.

Repurpose old bricks. I love the patina and character of old bricks and was heartened to see so many used in the pathways around the historic area. Brick is a traditional building material and can be quite formal when used to make a garden walk, but you can experiment with patterns and make the look less formal.

http://www.houzz.com/photos/10333372/Classic-Garden-Styles-at-Colonial-Williamsburg-traditional-landscape-

Add perennials to vegetable beds. The Governor’s House has one of the most beautiful kitchen gardens

I’ve seen, with terraced slopes edged with brick paths and pine mulch, and neatly hoed linear beds

with peony clumps scattered about.

Some great flowering plants used during the colonial period include cornflowers, flax,

calendula, baptisia, love-in-a-mist (Nigella damascena) and hyssop. All of these will help bring in the

bees, too.

Use tall plants in mixed borders for drama and vertical interest. A knockout combination of stately

foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea), purple barberry and cottage pinks make a visually stunning spring

planting. If you like the unusual, foxgloves will put on a show that lasts for a while, and the taller forms

can be very effective in groups.

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Foxgloves are the perfect pick for a cottage garden or a more stylized perennial garden with formal

outlines, as shown here.

Other tall early-American plants grown in the gardens here include castor bean, China aster (Callistephus

chinensis), crested cockscomb (Celosia argentea var. cristata) and larkspur.

Choose local, budget-friendly materials for pathways. Virginia’s tidewater country is home to oysters;

colonials made use of crushed shells for roadways and paths. Today they’re still used in many areas just

as they were centuries ago, and they make an inexpensive material.

http://www.houzz.com/photos/10333372/Classic-Garden-Styles-at-Colonial-Williamsburg-traditional-landscape-

Grow more herbs and vegetables at home. In the olden days, people used plant remedies as cures for

everything from fever to infertility. If you’ve got a sunny garden with well-drained soil, think about

adding rosemary, thyme or lavender in dry areas; grow peppermintin pots (to contain the roots) and

make your own tea infusions. Make this the year to experiment with new herbs and kitchen staples like

onions, garlic, spinach or cabbage.

Visit Colonial Williamsburg: A visit to the garden and nursery will give you a look at the many plants

grown during the 18th century. The 68th Garden Symposium at Colonial Williamsburg, cosponsored

by The American Horticultural Society and Organic Gardeningmagazine, takes place April 5, 2014.

If you can’t make this year’s symposium, follow the blog by head gardener Wesley Greene, who posts

about the colonial garden. You can learn a lot from Wesley’s posts, which include historical snippets

from old gardening calendars and journals. You can also get the recently published book Vegetable

Gardening the Colonial Williamsburg Way to learn more about growing heirlooms.

http://www.houzz.com/photos/10333372/Classic-Garden-Styles-at-Colonial-Williamsburg-traditional-landscape-

SHUT UP ABOUT BARCLAY PERKINS

Book tour day eight – Williamsburg

By Ron Pattinson

3/30/14

Breakfast is included this time. But there's no bacon, just sausage. I sob quietly as that horrible revelation sinks in. We arrive in the historic bit of Williamsburg before opening time. Frank is there to let us in. We'll be brewing in the scullery of the Governor's Palace. It's pretty bare, just a fireplace, whitewashed walls, brick floor and a few wooden tubs.

We've time for a quick tour of the kitchen next door before we start. They're a cheeful and welcoming

http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2014/03/book-tour-day-eight-williamsburg.html

bunch who work in the kitchens. They get to make all sorts of fun food, only some of which gets eaten, sadly. The smoke house is wonderfully, er, smoky and the meat smells delicious. I feel like slicing off a slice. The brewing equipment is pretty basic. Very basic. A copper pan dangling over a wood fire and a couple of half-barrel tubs. But first Frank makes some hot chocolate. They had great trouble getting hold of raw cocoa beans. Eventually they sourced them via Mars. It was worth the effort. The chocolate is delicious. The water is heating in the copper pan. We're cheating a little because we're using a thermometer. It does make sense. No point messing up the mash for nit-picking historical detail.

We're brewing a Porter. From a mix of grains, including some home toasted malt. I get to ladle some of the water into the tub. Then we tip in the malt and start stirring. A lot. This is when I discover exactly how to use a brewing oar. And realise the purpose behind its form. It's rather good at breaking up the clumps of malt that have formed. This so much fun . . . . as long as you don't have to do it all day, every day.

http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2014/03/book-tour-day-eight-williamsburg.html

Once we've finished stirring, Frank has a go at capping off the mash with some malt. It's never worked before and the malt has just sunk. This time it miraculously floats on the top. It's blindingly obvious what effect it has. There's no longer steam rising from the mash. Heat is clearly being retained.

We fetch sandwiches for lunch. And try some of the beers made commercially for Williamsburg, Stitch and Mumme. I really like the Stitch. After lunch we make essentia bina - burnt sugar. It's quite a scary process. Brown sugar and molasses are heated in a small pot over the fire. Fank tells us that the trick is not to stir it. If you do, it won't ignite. The sugar plops and bubbles like lava then flames appear on its surface. Frank lets it burn a while then takes it off the fire and adds water to cool it.

http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2014/03/book-tour-day-eight-williamsburg.html

We're only doing two mashes today. There isn't enough time for a third. The wort is run off and more hot water poured over the grains. The first wort is boiled with the hops. After a while we add what's left of the essentia bina - I kicked half of it over the floor. The effect is magical. The wort turns pitch black after a couple of minutes boiling. Very impressive. There's also some liquorice root in the boil. Should make for an interesting beer. It's a shame I won't get to drink it. I've a little time to kill before my talk in the early evening. I buy a pack of old-fashioned cards and wooden dice for the kids. Some lavender soap for Dolores. Then a beer and a couple of whiskies in the Dog Street Pub. Just to strighten my head out. My talk is in a little theatre. It's the most professional venue I've ever spoken in. I even wear a radio mike. I'm scheduled to talk for an hour. I manage to get through in just 80 minutes. Not bad going fo me. It's a bit too technical for most of the audience, but the home brewers love it. Jamie didn't sleep well and I feel sorry for her having to drive us back to Washington. We struggle to find

http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2014/03/book-tour-day-eight-williamsburg.html

somewhere to eat on the journey and end up in Golden Corral. All you can eat for $13. It turns out not to have been such a bargain. At least for me.

Governor's Palace Palace Green St, Williamsburg, VA 23185. Tel: +1 800-447-8679 http://www.colonialwilliamsburg.com/do/revolutionary-city/tour-the-city/governors-palace/ http://www.colonialwilliamsburg.com/ DoG Street Pub 401 W Duke of Gloucester St Williamsburg, VA 23185. Tel: +1 757-293-6478 http://www.dogstreetpub.com/ Golden Corral http://www.goldencorral.com/

http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2014/03/book-tour-day-eight-williamsburg.html

Thomas Jefferson portrayal 'unlike any we have had before'

3/27/14

The final installment of the 2013-14 Profiles and Perspectives season promises to be one of the pre-eminent events during the history of the series.

Historic interpreter Bill Barker will provide a special presentation portraying President Thomas Jefferson in “The Idea of America.” The event, sponsored by the Noble Foundation, will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Ardmore Convention Center. The event is free of charge and open to the public. Barker will talk about events in the Revolutionary War-era America that demonstrate the relevance of our nation’s early history and how they relate to contemporary issues.

Barker has portrayed Jefferson in a variety of settings for almost 30 years. Bill White, Ph.D., will join Barker and discuss the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s role as a center for history and citizenship, highlighting the foundation’s efforts to improve historical literacy.

“This will be a Profiles and Perspectives event unlike any we have had before,” said Mary Kate Wilson, Noble Foundation director of philanthropy, engagement and project management, and chair of the Profiles and Perspectives Committee. “Bill Barker’s ability to bring history literally to life is certain to provide an entertaining and educational evening for an audience of all ages.”

The Profiles and Perspectives Community Enrichment Series began in 1998 as a way to benefit the area community through presentations by interesting and unique speakers. The series began in an Ardmore school cafeteria and has grown by leaps and bounds in attendance.

This season has included renowned speakers such as Oklahoma meteorology icon Gary England, professional photographer Joel Sartore and author Jayson Lusk.

“It has been a tremendous season already, and I’m certain Bill Barker will be nothing less than spectacular,” Wilson said.

http://www.ardmoreite.com/article/20140327/NEWS/140329683

A wedding gift for Pocahontas

Mark St. John Erickson

4/1/14

When the bride makes her appearance at Historic Jamestowne for the April 5 recreation of the wedding of John Rolfe and Pocahontas, she won't have to worry about facing the altar alone.

Shielding Pamunkey Indian Wendy Taylor from the crowd as she walks to the spot where the famous couple married 400 years ago will be an elaborate jacket embroidered by more than 70 women — all of whom traveled to Williamsburg from across the country over the past 10 weeks for a show of sisterly support totaling more than 1,200 hours.

Part carefully researched reproduction and part educated guess, the striking black-on-white garment is designed to reflect the kind of attire that might have been made by the small community of female colonists at James Fort for the marriage of someone important, Historic Jamestowne senior curator Bly Straube says.

Decorated with more than 130 figures of fish, fowl, flowers and beasts from Virginia, it's also been personalized in a way that celebrates the natural world in which Pocahontas lived, adds Brenda Rosseau, manager of the Colonial WilliamsburgCostume Design Center.

Then there's the unseen but heartfelt embrace of all the women who spent so much time adding stitches to a garment inspired by one of early America's most revered figures.

http://www.vagazette.com/news/dp-nws-pocahontas-wedding-jacket-20140331,0,5440712.story

"So many people wanted to work on it — and so many simply wanted to touch it," says Sheryl Mays, director of public programs and operations at Jamestown for Preservation Virginia, who recruited the volunteers.

"That tells you a lot about Pocahontas and the importance of her story."

Two years in the making, the recreated wedding is the product of a new programming initiative between Preservation Virginia, which owns the site of historic James Fort, and Colonial Williamsburg, which became a partner in interpreting and administering the internationally known landmark in 2010.

Billed as "The World of Pocahontas," it started March 1 with a series of interpretive re-enactments as well as lectures exploring Pocahontas' indispensable role in shaping the relations between early Jamestown and the Powhatan Indian people.

But this week's Thursday lecture, Friday dinner and Saturday wedding re-enactment are expected to draw the largest crowds in a commemorative effort that continues through April 17.

"We want our visitors to understand that — when they walk on the grounds at Jamestown — they're walking where John Smith, Pocahontas and John Rolfe walked," Mays said.

"And when they come to see the wedding, it will be on the exact spot where Pocahontas and John Rolfe married 400 years ago."

With only a scant surviving description, Rosseau had to turn to other sources as she put the wedding party's attire together.

But her previous research in the costume collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London provided a model that was both historically appropriate and well within the expertise of the women living at Jamestown in 1614.

Known as the Falkland jacket, the faded silk and linen garment dates between 1605 and 1625, Rosseau says, and it would have been considered fashionable wear among the English gentry.

The menagerie of real and mythical creatures that fills its swirling foliar design was executed with careful but simple embroidery stitches, making any reproduction a complex yet not insurmountable task for anyone with basic needlework skills.

"We have no earthly idea exactly what Pocahontas wore at her wedding. But this is very plausible," Rosseau says.

"It's something that every English women of a certain class at the time would have known and recognized. Many of them did this kind of needlework."

After Mays put out the call for volunteers, more than 200 embroiderers from across the country submitted samples.

http://www.vagazette.com/news/dp-nws-pocahontas-wedding-jacket-20140331,0,5440712.story

Among those who ended up contributing stitches were former Virginia First Lady Roxanne Gilmore as well as volunteers from as far away as Alabama and Seattle.

Leaning over patterns inked by Tom Hammond, Colonial Williamsburg's costume research and design supervisor, they made their first stitches in late January, followed by groups of three or four and even single volunteers who put in irregular shifts lasting hours.

"It gets hard after a while — and you have to take a break," says Ann Berry, former director of administration and operations at Jamestown for Preservation Virginia, who finished some of the last stitches this past week.

"But I actually lived at Jamestown at one time — and I volunteered because of that connection."

Straube joined in because of similar ties, contributing not only stitches but also some well-informed ideas on the choice of Virginia flora and fauna that range through the jacket's meandering foliar design.

Drawn from illustrated herbals, emblem books and bestiaries of the day, the collection includes various fish, fowl, insects, fruit, flowers and animals — not to mention a shipwreck inspired by Rolfe's hair-raising run-in with a hurricane off Bermuda.

"It was amazing to be working alongside so many other women — all of us leaning over the frames with our needles and thread just as a lot of women did back then," Straube said.

"They could easily have put something like this together. It was well within their realm."

If the settlers wanted to make a show of their investment in Pocahontas — who had learned English, adopted Christianity and then decided to stay at Jamestown after having been taken hostage in 1613 — the Powhatans are said to have recognized the significance of the wedding, too.

And dressing the actor interpreters for the occasion has taken Buck Woodard — the director of Colonial Williamsburg's American Indian Initiative — to such sources as the famous late 1500s drawings of Roanoke Island settler John White and the priceless collection of early American Indian artifacts at Oxford University's Ashmolean Museum.

Period descriptions and archaeological evidence have played key roles, too, in the design of such garments as brain-tanned leggings, moccasins and aprons as well as animal hide and fur mantles.

Then there are the shell-beaded headbands and arrowheads based on original artifacts recovered from the soil at James Fort.

"There is some conjecture here. But it's based on a lot of good evidence," Woodard said.

"We have one Indian who will be wearing his hair half-shaved on one side of his head and half-long on the other — just like the Powhatans."

Erickson can be reached at 757-247-4783.

http://www.vagazette.com/news/dp-nws-pocahontas-wedding-jacket-20140331,0,5440712.story

Want to go?

The Wedding of John Rolfe and Pocahontas

Where: Historic Jamestowne, at the western end of the Colonial Parkway, James City

When: 10:30 a.m. and 1 and 3 p.m. Saturday, April 5

Cost: Included in Historic Jamestowne admission ticket of $14. Children under 16, free.

Info: 757-229-4997. http://www.historicjamestowne.org

http://www.vagazette.com/news/dp-nws-pocahontas-wedding-jacket-20140331,0,5440712.story

RevQuest: The Old Enemy Launches in Colonial Williamsburg on Monday

3/30/14

The latest version of the RevQuest saga at Colonial Williamsburg launches Monday.

RevQuest: The Old Enemy will require players to act as agents of the Continental Congress’ Committee for the Secret Correspondence, led by Benjamin Franklin. In the latest installment of the game, the colonies are about to declare independence. The fights have started, but America does not have a professional army or navy.

RevQuest players will work to secure a secret alliance to ensure America does not fail. The latest installment of the game requires visitors to take a video trip to Philadelphia to meet a founding father, who will provide mission instructions before guests enter the Revolutionary City. Inside the city, the players will find secret agents and documents as they follow clues to secure the ally.

The quest starts online, where players can walk the streets and speak with residents to find aid in America’s fight for independence. Once in Williamsburg, players will have all the information they need to crack codes and find clues.

http://wydaily.com/2014/03/30/revquest-the-old-enemy-launches-in-colonial-williamsburg-on-monday/

Players who complete the game successfully will receive an invitation to a secret finale, which will provide information about people and events who served as inspiration for the game. A souvenir will also be rewarded for work, as will a password for unlocking additional web content.

Materials for the game may be picked up at Colonial Williamsburg’s Regional Visitor Center. The game is free to play with a Colonial Williamsburg ticket and is best played with a text message-enabled cell phone. The game takes about 90 minutes to two hours to complete, but can be played over several days. RevQuest: The Old Enemy runs through Nov. 30, and is the latest installment of a game launched in 2011 that has been played by more than 83,000 people.

http://wydaily.com/2014/03/30/revquest-the-old-enemy-launches-in-colonial-williamsburg-on-monday/

Williamsburg Inn Employee Marks 50 Years with Colonial Williamsburg

3/27/14

When Charlotte Johnson started working at the Williamsburg Inn in 1964, she earned $18.75 per week.

In those days, she never thought she would work for Colonial Williamsburg for 50 years, but last week marked a half-century of service with the place she calls her second home.

Johnson came to the area to be near her sister, and found the area reminded her of her Hometown in Kentucky. She initially worked at William & Mary in a student center that was known at that time as the Wigwam.

A single mother of two with her 6-week-old daughter in tow, Johnson started as busser in the dining room of the inn in 1964 – the year The Beatles came to America, the year Lyndon Johnson defeated Barry Goldwater to hold the presidency and the year Martin Luther King Jr. was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

The times – and the menu – have changed since then.

When Johnson began her work at Colonial Williamsburg’s resort hotel, the Regency Room had yet to be built and meals were only served in an L-shaped dining room. The kitchen was on the opposite side of the building from where it is now.

Alcohol was not served by the drink until the 1980s – champagne cocktails were the only spirited libations for guests. There was not even a bar until a 2001 renovation, and wait-staff had to visit a window into the kitchen to place drink orders.

http://wydaily.com/2014/03/27/williamsburg-inn-employee-marks-50-years-with-colonial-williamsburg/

In addition to the layout of the building, Johnson recollects how innovations in technology changed her work over the years. In the age before computers, the reservation office carried a hefty book of guests to the restaurant every evening.

Attitudes have evolved as well: Twice a week in the 1960s, the inn held a “plantation breakfast” where servers wore costumes.

Johnson, who is black, does not recall any specific issues of racism or segregation, but said the town is more open than it was decades ago. Colonial Williamsburg became one of the first to begin the integration process locally, hiring black people and forcing buildings it owned to desegregate.

As a busser, she did a little bit of everything at the inn, substituting for room service or hostess, and enjoyed getting to know the folks in town by waiting tables at private functions.

By 1974 she was working as a waitress when her mentor — fondly recalled as “Miss Jackson” — retired. Johnson took over that role and continued to climb the ladder to captain of the dining room. Captains’ duties included seating, scheduling and other tasks related to guest services.

Johnson said she was always encouraged to move up through the ranks at the inn. Having two children pushed her to excel. While she said she was scared at first, she came to embrace new responsibility and management duties.

In 1987, the Williamsburg Inn eliminated the captains positions and offered Johnson severance pay or the chance to apply for another job at the establishment. She chose to take the severance package, but had no new course in mind when she received a call from the inn just a couple months later to offer her a new supervisor title.

“Oh, I was ready to come back,” Johnson said.

The break was not long enough to count against her tenure with Colonial Williamsburg, earning her the distinction having the most years with the inn in its recorded history. Johnson had not realized she worked straight-through without breaks for more than five decades until the feat was pointed out to her when she signed up for social security.

She now works as assistant manager of the dining room, the first manager to start from the bottom and rise to the rank.

With that honor, Johnson does not just aspire to set an example for entry-level employees.

“I hope I’ve been a role model, period,” she said.

Not one to lose sight of her beginnings, Johnson makes sure to take time in her day to interact with employees, asking them how their days are going or about their children. Her goal is to make sure those under her know no matter their role, they are important to the operation. She is always willing to lend a hand, too.

http://wydaily.com/2014/03/27/williamsburg-inn-employee-marks-50-years-with-colonial-williamsburg/

“I’m not the type that I can’t wipe the coffee up if it spills,” Johnson said.

One of her favorite memories from her 50 years was being one in a group of 12 employees who deemed themselves the Action for Excellence Team. They organized appreciation events for other Colonial Williamsburg employees.

It all goes to being proud of the product, and Johnson loves walking into the Williamsburg Inn every day knowing she is part of something great.

The inn sees a wide variety of guests in any given day, but Johnson has been around for some of the most notable visitors: the Queen of England, President Reagan for the 1983 Economic Summit, opera star Andrea Bocelli, and most recently Judith Sheindlin – Judge Judy of television fame – and Joan Rivers. Johnson does not get starstruck though – those people are just guests, she said.

She has also seen many repeat guests who might not be celebrities, but who are meaningful to her nonetheless. Johnson said visitors to the inn seem to be getting younger as the next generation of patrons returns to relive anniversaries or family vacations from years past.

She recently spoke with a guest who remembered Johnson helping her into a booster seat; the woman is now 24.

Johnson keeps in contact with those she has encountered over the years, maintaining correspondence with four people currently through notes and pictures of their children and grandchildren.

She has grandchildren of her own now, in whom Johnson tries to instill the importance of hard work and the lesson nothing is achieved from inactivity.

It is a sentiment she applies to her own life. After 50 years with Colonial Williamsburg, Johnson is eyeing retirement, but said she would likely stay working part-while while she continues to actively volunteer in her church.

If she did stop working, Johnson thought of one relief: Her legs would be grateful not to wear pantyhose every day. Even those have changed in the course of her time at the inn – Lyrca was invented in 1958 but not used in most hose until the 1980s.

To honor Johnson’s service, Colonial Williamsburg held a reception March 19. Her family and some of the employees who had worked with her years earlier attended and spoke to Johnson’s hard-working attitude.

She was presented with a Colonial Williamsburg pin, adorned with the number 50 and a small diamond. Other employees receive numbered pins when they reach decade milestones, but Johnson’s is the first of its kind in numeral and sparkle, a testament to her exceptional achievement.

One person joked the diamond was actually glass, but Johnson does not need a gemstone to feel honored.

http://wydaily.com/2014/03/27/williamsburg-inn-employee-marks-50-years-with-colonial-williamsburg/

“Even if it was just a pin,” she said, “I’d still be grateful.”

http://wydaily.com/2014/03/27/williamsburg-inn-employee-marks-50-years-with-colonial-williamsburg/