Colonial Williamsburg, 2003 Annual Report 9Colonial Williamsburg, 2003 Annual Report8

FOLLOWING A SIX-YEAR ROLLOUT of thethemes for “Becoming Americans: Our Struggle toBe Both Free and Equal,” Colonial Williamsburg’s

2003 programs focused on the experiences of the town’sand Virginia’s residents in 1774. The rolling thunder ofthe American Revolution began to be heard that year inthe colony, and storms started to build among its people.The year 1774 is rich with the events that led to the for-mation of the nation. The Revolution is an importantspine for the body of the story that speaks to the trials andtribulations of everyday life during the colonial period.

Monthly programming reflected the seasons of theyear by creating offerings representing national obser-vances and significant historical events. Special pro-gramming was introduced for National ReligiousFreedom Day and Religion in American Life Month,Presidents Weekend, Black History Month, Women’sHistory Month, Memorial Day, Independence Week-end, and Veterans Weekend.

Other seasonal programs visited milestones from1774 to 1781. The arrival of Lady Dunmore in 1774,when the town still had a cordial relationship withthe royal governor’s aristocratic family; the Britishoccupation of Williamsburg in 1781 during the Warfor Independence; the role of free and enslavedAfrican Americans during the war; and the town’suse as a staging area by the Continental Army in thedefeat of the British at Yorktown were special pro-grams that guests enjoyed as they learned abouteveryday life in the eighteenth century.

Robin Reed, project director at the Smithsonian’sAmerican History Museum Behring Center, arrived inMay as the director of the newly restructured depart-ment of public history development. This department isresponsible for planning day and evening programswith attention to their content and quality. In addition,its charge is to begin planning with the objective of set-ting programs twelve months before presentation.

Historic Area Programming

Dave Doody

Near the Magazine, Colonial Williamsburg interpreter Richard Schumann as Patrick Henry, left, gives the company the order tofire. The restructured department of public history development offered new programs to illuminate and enrich the “BecomingAmericans” story line that links Historic Area presentations.

and an unanticipated bequest from the estate of Mrs.Willard Hoffmire provided $1.2 million. Mr. and Mrs.Hoffmire visited Colonial Williamsburg during WorldWar II when he was stationed in Virginia. They becameannual supporters in the 1980s and members of theColonial Williamsburg Burgesses in 1989. Their beliefin the importance of Colonial Williamsburg’s educa-tional mission led to their bequest.

In addition to endowment support of $7.9 millionfrom the DeWitt Wallace Endowment Fund to supportthe DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum, the De-Witt Wallace Collections and Conservation Building,and educational outreach, gifts from institutionaldonors included a $1.3 million grant from the City ofWilliamsburg for marketing, a $339,000 National En-dowment for the Humanities grant for support of a dig-ital archive of research documents on colonial Americanhistory, archaeology, and architecture, and a contribu-tion of $100,000 from AT&T in memory of foundationchairman emeritus Charles L. Brown. A $177,500 dis-cretionary grant from the Norfolk Foundation helped tomeet a $200,000 challenge grant from a private Rich-mond foundation to complete reconstruction of the Pey-ton Randolph outbuildings.

Corporations, foundations, and individuals con-tributed nearly $39 million to the Colonial WilliamsburgFoundation in 2003, bringing the comprehensive Cam-paign for Colonial Williamsburg total to $360.6 million.

Colonial Williamsburg

A gold funeral medal for Washington’s interment is part of the latest gift from the Lassers of Scarsdale, New York.

Colonial Williamsburg

This treasury note issued in Montreal in 1759 is also in the Lasser collection of colonial currency and coins.

MONG THE INDIVIDUALS who generouslysupported Colonial Williamsburg in 2003 weresenior trustees, National Council members, and

honorary campaign co-chairs Abby and George O’Neillof Oyster Bay, New York, who endowed a chair, the Abbyand George O’Neill Director of the John D. Rockefeller,Jr. Library, with a gift of $1.5 million.

Trustee and National Council members John Don-nell Jr. and his wife, Marcia, of Atlanta, Georgia, addedto the Marcia and John R. Donnell Jr. Historic AreaPreservation Fund, bringing their support of the Cam-paign for Colonial Williamsburg to $1 million.

A $1 million trustee and National Council membersgift from Dick and Shirley Roberts of Virginia Beach,Virginia, endowed the position of Shirley and RichardRoberts Architectural Historian.

Carolyn and James Millar of Atlanta, Georgia,made a $1 million planned gift.

Ruth and Joe Lasser of Scarsdale, New York, do-nated colonial coins, medals, and currency to the LasserCoin Collection at Colonial Williamsburg, which theybegan with earlier gifts. This is a collection-transform-ing gift of great value.

The Lassers, Martha and Richard Girard ofMcLean, Virginia, and James Welsh of Fairborn, Ohio,notified Colonial Williamsburg of bequest expectancies,

AMajor Gifts and Recognition

Colonial Williamsburg, 2003 Annual Report 11Colonial Williamsburg, 2003 Annual Report10

THE PRODUCTIONS, PUBLICATIONS, andLearning Ventures group extends the institu-tion’s educational reach to audiences across the

United States. In 2003, the publications program re-leased John Davis’s Pewter at Colonial Williamsburg. Italso issued Physick: The Professional Practice of Medi-cine in Williamsburg, Virginia, 1740–1775 by SharonCotner, Kris Dippre, Robin Kipps, and Susan Pryor, andSue Rountree’s From a Colonial Garden. The produc-tions unit released two audio recordings—The WorldTurned Upside Down and The Grand Entertainment.

The division’s K–12 education outreach initiativeexpanded. Five hundred eighty-three teachers attendedthe teacher institute and other on-site teacher develop-ment programs. Participants immersed themselves inprimary sources, living history teaching techniques, andtechnology resources that invigorate the classroom andinspire children.With support from the Procter & Gam-ble Company, and in cooperation with the CincinnatiPublic School District, the education outreach team pi-loted a teacher development format that has the poten-tial to carry Colonial Williamsburg history teachingresources to school districts across the nation.

Partnerships lengthened the reach of the educationmission. PSCU Financial Services, the leading providerof traditional and online financial services to creditunions, partnered with Colonial Williamsburg to spon-sor a history education initiative. During the next fiveyears, PSCU Financial Services’ 500 member creditunions will support schools across the country by pro-viding registrations for the foundation’s award-winningelectronic field trip program and sponsorship for teach-ers attending its training programs.

Colonial Williamsburg’s educators and teacheradvisors collaborated with Texas Instruments to cre-ate history lessons that use Texas Instruments’handheld TI-83 Plus, a small calculating, computing,and storage device. High school and middle schoolclassrooms will use these lessons and this technologyto engage students in the demographic analysis ofearly America.

In November 2003 a partnership was announcedbetween Colonial Williamsburg and Pearson ScottForesman, the nation’s leading elementary socialstudies textbook publisher, for creation of Americanhistory materials for the elementary social studiestextbook series.

The partnership will carry Colonial Williamsburghistory education materials to millions of students dur-ing a period of debate about the teaching of history andthe best way to accomplish it. In a nation that is the

product of a long and spirited conversation about val-ues and actions, the Pearson Scott Foresman partner-ship is a natural progression in ensuring that thelesson plan of American history is not reduced or di-minished in importance.

Educational Outreach

Colonial Williamsburg curator John Davis’s book on pewter

The foundation began a partnership with Pearson Scott Foresman.

THE ABBY ALDRICH ROCKEFELLER FolkArt Museum opened exhibitions in 2003 thatdemonstrated the scope of the nation’s oldest

and best-known collection of American folk art. HeavyMetal featured whimsical yet functional Americanironwork, including weathervanes, fire backs, gardenfurniture, and even a nineteenth-century parlor stove inthe shape of George Wash-ington. In Tramp Art,guests encountered the in-tricate, chip-carved furni-ture and ornaments madeof recycled wood by Ameri-can men at the turn of thetwentieth century, and thepainting techniques ofPennsylvania folk artistEdward Hicks were ex-plored in Decorative De-tails. The museum alsohosted Lions & Eagles &Bulls, the Connecticut His-torical Society’s travelingexhibition of antique sign-boards from New Englandinns and taverns.

The DeWitt WallaceDecorative Arts Museumpremiered Different byDesign, which looked at thetransfer of American furn-iture styles from place toplace before the age ofmass communication. TheLanguage of Clothing, ashowing of Colonial Wil-liamsburg’s historic ap-parel collection, won theRichard Martin Award forExcellence in the Exhibi-tion of Costume, an honorbestowed annually by theCostume Society of Amer-ica. Also new in 2003 wasPewter at Colonial Wil-liamsburg, a display ofAmerican and Britishpewter from 1650 to 1830.The exhibition cele-brated publication of anaward-winning book of

the same title by John D. Davis, the Samuel andPauline Clarke Curator and curator of metals.

Colonial Williamsburg continued to share its col-lections with the nation through the traveling exhi-bition Furniture of the American South, whichopened to audiences at the North Carolina Museumof History in Raleigh and the Cheekwood Museum of

Art in Nashville. Degreesof Latitude, featuring his-toric maps of America,traveled to the MilwaukeeArt Museum, the ConcordMuseum in Massachu-setts, and the DAR Mu-seum in Washington, D.C.Near the end of the yearthe virtual exhibitionMapping Colonial Amer-ica was posted on thefoundation’s Web site.Using state-of-the-art tech-nology, the site allowsguests to zoom in on ahost of highly detailedmaps made between 1587and 1782.

In the fall ColonialWilliamsburg announcedambitious plans for mov-ing and centralizing theAbby Aldrich RockefellerFolk Art Museum to a newand more accessible siteat the DeWitt WallaceMuseum, creating theMuseums of Colonial Wil-liamsburg.When the trans-fer is complete in late2006, the folk art objectswill have greater visibil-ity, there will be access tothe Hennage Auditoriumfor folk-art related pro-gramming, and there willbe more and better ex-hibition opportunities.Each of the folk art anddecorative arts museumswill retain its distinctiveidentity following central-ization.

Collections and Museums

Hans Lorenz

In 2003, the award-winning Language of Clothing exhibit at the decorative arts museum was one of several on display.

Colonial Williamsburg, 2003 Annual Report 13Colonial Williamsburg, 2003 Annual Report12

DESIGN WORK BEGAN in 2003 on the renova-tion and restoration of the Williamsburg Lodgeand Conference Center, the economic engine for

Colonial Williamsburg’s hospitality business. Our plansreflect its strategic importance. The goal is to create afacility suited to the contemporary business travelerand resort guest while restoring the look, feel, andcharm of the original Lodge.

The work is to proceed in stages, beginning in 2004,when the East Guest Houses, containing sixty rooms,will be erected on South England Street. A phased ap-proach will enable the Lodge to welcome gueststhroughout the renovation.

The Lodge opened in 1939. Its main building is toremain the cornerstone of the architectural plan, butthe main façade is to be restored to its original concept.The renovated Lodge is to feature a conference center ofapproximately 45,000 square feet in the heart of thehotel, and is to have 323 guest rooms. The South andTazewell wings are also to be preserved.

Plans were also announced in 2003 for a compre-

hensive spa and fitness center serving the Lodge and thenearby Williamsburg Inn, and a health evaluation cen-ter offering diagnostic services and lifestyle counseling.The spa would occupy the building currently housingthe Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, which isrelocating to the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Mu-seum site, and the health evaluation center is to be atthe site of the Craft House at the Williamsburg Inn.

The Lodge renovation project, the spa, and the healthevaluation center will place Colonial Williamsburg’s facil-ities at the forefront of the hospitality industry and main-tain the foundation’s position among the leading resorts inthe country. Serving Colonial Williamsburg guests andthe community, these facilities will yield a significant rev-enue stream in support of educational programs.

The Williamsburg Inn returned to the Condé NastTraveler magazine’s “Gold List,” and was recognized inTravel & Leisure magazine’s “The 500 Greatest Hotelsin the World” list. The Inn’s Regency Room received theAmerican Automobile Association’s “Four Diamond Rat-ing,” and the “Distinguished Restaurants of North

Hospitality

CMMI/Glavé & Holmes

Architect’s drawing shows the guest houses that will be part of the Williamsburg Lodge renovation.

helps individuals to plan vacations or teachers tobring interactive resources into the classroom. Vir-tual tours of the Capitol, the Courthouse, the RaleighTavern, and other signature buildings are available.A Historic Trades’ show presents the tools of thecrafts, and Web technology lets users listen to PatrickHenry protest against the Stamp Act at Virginia’s re-constructed 1700s Capitol. A calendar of events andan itinerary planner were introduced so that Webusers can check programming and performances,special events, and Kimball Theatre films, saving theinformation online. Streaming video of electronicfield trips, enhanced versions of the journal ColonialWilliamsburg, and tours of Colonial Houses proper-ties are also on the Web site.

CIVILIZATION TORN between loyalty and lib-erty . . . faces a decision that will change theworld. Welcome to the Revolution. America.

Chapter I.” With these words, the Colonial Williams-burg Web site unveiled a new web design. The mes-sage is accented in the site’s pages that follow withimages and words that tell the story of America on theeve of the Revolution. The URLs www.colonialwilliamsburg.org, www.colonialwilliamsburg.com, and www.history.org lead Web users to the same place—a site thatexcites and educates audiences.

Among the other initiatives of 2003 was a re-designed Visit section that features “Tour the Town,”an animated, interactive map that brings the His-toric Area to life online with sights and sounds, and

Web Site

A

The Web site offers interactive tours of the town as well as information about everything from exhibits to lodging.

Dave Doody

On Market Square, Colonial Williamsburg militiamen drill a squad of very young guests on the finer points of military bearing.

Colonial Williamsburg, 2003 Annual Report 15Colonial Williamsburg, 2003 Annual Report14

THE YEAR 2003 meant growth, refinement,and focus for Colonial Williamsburg’s prod-ucts division. Strong financial results were

realized across retail, direct marketing, and licens-ing operations.

In a collabora-tion with the edu-cation division, thePrentis Store be-came the venue forthe sale of historicproducts producedby the artisans ofthe Historic Tradesprogram. A collec-tion of marketingmaterials was devel-oped that includedportraits and biogra-phies of craftspeopleat each of the tradesexhibition sites.

Retail storemarketing strate-gies were targetedto the individualneeds of each loca-tion. More in-storeevents and regionaladvertising en-hanced store rev-enue. The CraftHouse at Mer-chants Square, ahome furnishingsbusiness, and Green-how Store, a His-toric Area shop,celebrated twenti-eth anniversaries,and the GoldenHorseshoe, one ofour two champ-ionship golf courses,celebrated its for-tieth anniversary.The complex plan-ning phase of re-

Products

The annual report is on the Internet at www.colonialwilliamsburg.org/foundation/annualrpt03/index.cfm

merchandising of the Colonial Williamsburg Shops atMerchants Square was completed, and preparationbegan for the summer 2004 opening of Williamsburg atHome in the new College Corner Building. The store

will offer top-of-the-line reproductionfurniture and otherquality goods.

E - commercealmost doubled.Growth was fueledby an expandedproduct assortmentavailable at www.williamsburgmarketplace.com. Thecatalog merchan-dise assortment wasalso refined to moreclearly articulateColonial Williams-burg’s mission.

In spring of2003, licensee Wa-verly launched theImages of Naturecollection in theWILLIAMSBURGbrand casual life-style line. It fea-tures fabrics andbedding and is sup-ported by licensedbath and decora-tive accessoriesproducts. A part-nership with thecountry’s oldest con-tinuously operatedfurniture manufac-turer, Nichols &Stone, was an-nounced in the au-tumn. The line isfeatured in morethan 130 furniturestores across thenation.

s h o e m a k e rTHE 18TH-CENTURY VIRGINIAN had a wide variety of shoes, boots, slippers and

pumps to choose from. Every merchant, milliner and shoemaker’s shop operating in Williams-

burg met the demand with stocks of “sale shoes,” or ready-mades, which were manufactured

locally or imported from London. Refurbished second-hand shoes were also to be found, as

the tariffs were lower for exporting used shoes out of England than brand new ones. Some

Virginians, such as George Washington, preferred mail order and sent off to such popular

London firms as Didsbury, Gresham, or Carpues, to have their footwear made to measure.

Women wore dainty silk or utilitarian wool shoes with cowhide soles and covered wooden

heels, often concealing them inside protective over-shoes called “clogs.” Men strolled the

dusty streets well shod in calfskin shoes with soles and low leather

heels made of steer hide. Everyone wore buckles, as strings and rib-

bon ties were considered passé by the latter part of the 17th cen-

tury.

The Shoemaker’s Shop in Colonial Williamsburg re-creates

the firm of George Wilson, who carried on the making of boots

and shoes for gentlemen. Then, as today, the trade was divided

up into branches, with some firms specializing in the making of

men’s or women’s shoes for either wholesale or retail business.

The Prentis Store now carries goods made by Historic Area crafts- and tradespeople.

America Award.” Hotel properties also earned Success-ful Meetings magazine’s “Pinnacle Award,” MeetingsSouth’s “Stars of the South Award,” Corporate Meetingsand Incentive’s “President’s Award,” Meetings & Con-ventions magazine’s “Gold Key Award,” and the “Plan-ner’s Choice Award” from Meetings News.

Golf magazine recognized the Inn and GoldenHorseshoe with its “Gold Medalist Award for 2003,” oneof twenty-two presented in the nation. Golfweek listedthe Golden Horseshoe as one of the best golf courses.

Travel & Leisure Golf reader’s survey also accorded theInn prominent recognition.

In the Historic Area, Chowning’s Tavern revised itslunch menu to offer indoor and outdoor Colonial QuickFare, an attractive alternative for guests, especiallyfamilies with children.

It also introduced early Gambols, starting at 5:00p.m., to appeal to a family audience. This presentationof colonial games and entertainment features light fareand beverages.

Condé Nast Traveler put the Williamsburg Inn on its “Gold List,” and Travel & Leisure included it in its “500 Greatest Hotels in the World.”Colonial Williamsburg

Colonial Williamsburg, 2003 Annual Report16

2oo3 Donor Registry

THE COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG Foundationbenefited in 2003 from the participation of morethan a score of distinguished men and women

who served on the board of trustees and its committees,as well as on the board of directors and committees ofthe subsidiary Colonial Williamsburg Company. Theirwork on behalf of the foundation advanced the goalsand mission of the institution and continued a morethan seventy-five-year-old tradition of careful andthoughtful governance.

The Colonial Williamsburg community was saddenedby the death of former colleague Charles Brown, chair-man emeritus of the board of trustees, during the year.Brown became a trustee in 1979, the year he became chiefexecutive officer of AT&T. He was elected chairman of thefoundation’s board in 1985 and also chaired the ColonialWilliamsburg Hotel Properties board of directors. Brownretired in 1991. He died November 12 in Richmond, Vir-ginia, at the age of eighty-two.

Also marked in 2003 was the death of former foun-

dation trustee David Brinkley. Brinkley, who had a longand distinguished career as one of the nation’s most re-spected television journalists, joined the board in 1966and retired in 1990. He was a charter member of theRaleigh Tavern Society, Colonial Williamsburg’s leadingspecial donor society. Brinkley was the society’s chair-man from its inception in 1979 until he was succeeded in2003 by co-chairs Jim Lehrer and Charles Brown. Hedied June 11 at his Houston, Texas, home at eighty-two.

Randall Tobias, chairman emeritus of Eli Lillyand Company, retired in 2003 from the foundation’sboard after thirteen years of service. He chaired itsdevelopment committee and the steering committeefor the Campaign for Colonial Williamsburg. He alsowas a member of the board’s finance, nominating andgovernance, and executive committees. Tobias wasappointed in July 2003 by President George Bush tobe the nation’s Global AIDS Coordinator, with therank of ambassador, reporting to Secretary of StateColin Powell.

DVANCE PREPARATIONS by Colonial Wil-liamsburg employees and an unwavering com-mitment to the guest experience played critical

roles in minimizing the potentially catastrophic conse-quences of Hurricane Isabel and en-suring the comfort and safety ofguests during and after the storm.

Well before Isabel slammed intoWilliamsburg on Thursday, Septem-ber 18, Colonial Williamsburg’s land-scape, facilities, and maintenancecrews had developed and imple-mented a complete action plan. Dur-ing the two days before the storm, inconjunction with hospitality, products,collections, and Historic Area staff,they secured the foundation againstthe hurricane’s fury, sealing buildingsagainst rain and floodwater, closingshutters and interiors, and tyingdown signs and benches.

The day of and after the hurri-cane, hundreds of employees fromevery area of the foundation braved the elements andreported for duty. In many cases, the homes of thoseemployees had been damaged, and some destroyed.

Their attention to Colonial Williamsburg’s need andColonial Williamsburg’s guests was selfless. Withinhours, downed trees were moved, buildings wereopened, and roads were cleared.

Hundreds of Historic Area treeswere toppled. Colonial Williams-burg’s Green Course Clubhouse wasseriously damaged. There waslesser harm to the teahouse at Bas-sett Hall, a Wetherburn’s Tavernoutbuilding, and a perimeter wall atthe Governor’s Palace, and almosteveryone in the region was withoutelectricity.

Historic Area staff providedprograms for guests in hotel venuesduring the two-day closure of theHistoric Area. Dozens of hospitalitystaff worked around the clock formore than four days to provide com-fortable rooms and hot meals toguests. Employees across the foun-dation pulled together to provide

the best possible experiences for guests, and after-ward efficiently worked to erase the evidence of thehurricane’s visit.

Hurricane Isabel

Management and Governance

Dave Doody

Palace Green cleanup

A