Evening star., 1938-10-23
NEW LIFE BEGUN
BY WILLIAMSBURG
Restoration Pops Up Town.
Tempo Is Faster, Prices
Are Higher.
BY BETH CAMPBELL.

years on restoring this historic COM
munity-population $500 to 5000.
Mr.. Rockefeller's plan, now al
most completed, was to make Will
liamsburg look as it did 200 years ago
when it was the bustling capital Of
Virginia-and Virginia extended to
what is now Wisconsin.
Public buildings, streets, stores,
houses and gardens-all restored or
reconstructed after painstaking re-
search here and abroad-provide an
18th century atmosphere where it is
easy to visualize men and events i'm
portant in the making of America.
The 100000 tourists who visited Will
liamsburg last year can bear witness
to the changes-especially if they
stayed in restored hotel and slept
under the canopy of an old four
poster bed.
Living Standard Higher.
But the byproduct of the restora-
ton, Williamsburg people said today,
has been a transformation in their
daily lives
The tempo is faster The depres-
sion slipped by almost unnoticed.
Business is better and the standard
of living higher than before. Few
people are on relief.
Women who never had worked are
employed-and it's hard to get up a
bridge game. Even the gardeners
and cooks talk glibly of early Amer
lean history.
But some residents said the golden
avalanche has not been all benefits.
Women who work or rent rooms to
tourists, they remarked, are not as
free to work in church organizations.
Williamsburg Restoration, Inc,
bought and tore down the business
buildings on the main thoroughfare
and substituted two entire blocks of
neat Colonial shops which harmonic
with the restored or reconstructed
homes, taverns and greens along Duke
OF Gloucester street.
The towns leading business men rent
their quarters, either at fiat rate or
at minimum plus percentage of
receipts.
Rents are plenty high" one druggist
conf1ded. But guess they're in line.
We get more cash customers with the
tourists pouring through and our old
customers are better able to pay their
bills"
Charges Higher Prices.
A restaurant owner said he charges
higher prices now and did q greater
volume of business, but he added that
his overhead had gone up along with
his sales.
These new brick buildings are
better than the old ones" he said.
but the fixtures have to be in keeping,
the atmosphere more metropolitan
1t would look funny not to have wait
resses in TRICK uniforms in store like
this
Although officials estimated that the
population is about the same, the post
master said postal receipts had in
creased from some $4,000 to more
than SAL 900. The assessed valuation
OF real property has almost doubled,
according to the city treasurer.
The restoration was not given sole
credit for the increased prosperity,
although it is employing $50 persons,
spending large sums, and attracting
tourists in droves.
The rebirth of William and Mary
College, second oldest in the United
States, started in 1918, nearly 10 years
before the restoration began. The two
developments have grown together,
affecting each other and the town.
College authorities praise the res
toration, not only for the school build
1ngs restored but for the atmosphere
OF 18th century culture and customs
created. Students, they said, uncon-
sciously absorb high regard for
American tradition.
Students Are Happy.
William and Mary students learn
that they don't need an expensive car
or steam yacht to be happy, said Pres
ident John Stewart Bryan. They're
happy here, where there are no night
clubs, no gambling places, no burlesque
shows and no open bars. The most
expensive things they can do is 60 to
the inn and eat a 81 dinner"
The So dinners and 81 lunches in
Williamsburg, residents. said, are in
line with high prices paid for food
stuffs in bulk by housewives. Rents,
too. they said, are much higher than
they used to be-
The restored houses rent for from
$35 to 5000 month.
Everything has changed" laughed
white-haired Mrs E. M. Lee, a life
time resident and wife of the assistant
postmaster. Nobody worked before.
Now everybody works. We used to
play cards and go visiting with our
immaculate white gloves There were
numerous small night parties.
Now hostesses give one or two big
parties a year at the inn, and hardly
anybody goes calling" she said. Mrs.
Lee is one of the SO williamsburg
women who work for the restoration
as hostesses or escorts.
Near 18th Century Costumes,
The hostesses wear 18th century
costumes, furnished by the restoration,
and show visitors through the display
buildings from 9 am. until S pm.
Several said they average from 40 to
30 cents an hour and make from $50
to $50 month. They are given train
ing about details of the historical
background of the buildings and their
restoration.
Its developed us ALL" one aristo-
cratic-looking woman volunteered. "A,l
OF us can't go to the world and here
the world comes to u.s."
You have to love people, old furni-
ture and old china" explained a den-
lists wife, who formerly taught in the
college.
Il couldn't find anybody free to 20
to-N Norfolk with me Thursday"
young doctors wife observed. II had
to take my maid. Everybody was
working"
Particularly happy about the res
toration was Miss Emma Lou Barlow.
Her house was about to be chewed up