DATE: Thursday, April 24, 1997              TAG: 9704230176

SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS         PAGE: 06   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: COVER STORY 

SOURCE: BY JOAN STANUS, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  263 lines

NORFOLK'S TREASURE THE MACE, LIKE THE CITY, HAS PERSEVERED DESPITE ADVERSITY, WARS AND RESTORATIONS.

ENSCONCED IN a prominently displayed, lighted glass case on the second floor of the Chrysler Museum, positioned against a striking blue-gray background, the Norfolk Mace today reigns as the city's original treasure.

Since its placement there in 1989, the weighty silver artifact is rarely removed from its prestigious spot overlooking Huber Court.

Instead, whenever the city holds a celebration, parade or other ceremonial occasion, one of two scale replicas is brought out from storage and used.

No one is chancing that the symbol of Norfolk's 18th century beginnings, and the only remaining Colonial mace in the United States retained by the city for which it was made, will suffer further indignity.

Almost like the city itself, the mace has persevered despite adversity, wars and restorations.

The mace's indignities have been plentiful. Throughout its 244-year history, the ceremonial symbol has been lost, disassembled, discarded with the trash, buried in an obscure garden, hidden beneath a fireplace and locked inside an electronically controlled case that descended into a hole in the floor.

It's only because of good fortune, serendipity and some fast thinking by early Norfolk residents that the pure silver piece, given to the city by Lt. Gov. Robert Dinwiddie in 1754, has remained at home all these years.

``We're just damn lucky we've gotten it all back together and didn't lose any of the pieces,'' noted Amy Yarsinske, a Norfolk historian who has written several books on the city's past. ``It's now considered the only pre-Revolutionary symbol of civic authority of its kind in America. No other Colonial city has been as lucky as we have. It just shows how rich a history we have.''

In medieval times, a mace was used as a weapon of war. Probably fashioned after a crude club, the device was designed with a rod and ball on top to inflict harm upon an assailant. Used largely by military leaders, the battle mace eventually evolved into a symbol of authority.

By 1354, hundreds of legislative bodies throughout Europe had begun using ceremonial maces to call their members to order.

Norfolk was a thriving seaport and shipbuilding center of about 4,000 residents in 1753 when Dinwiddie decided to recognize the borough by giving it its own ceremonial mace. Customs surveyor general of the southern ports of America, a member of the Virginia Council as well as lieutenant governor, Dinwiddie commissioned the creation of the 41-inch-long, 104-ounce piece from London silversmith Fuller White.

Even though an inscription says otherwise, a year later, Dinwiddie presented the mace in person to Norfolk officials during ``appropriate ceremonies,'' according to historian William L. Tazewell in his book, ``Norfolk's Waters: An Illustrated Maritime History of Hampton Roads.''

Inscribed around the base of the mace's head are the words: ``The Gift of the Hon. Robert Dinwiddie, Esq. Lieut. Governor of Virginia to the Corporation of Norfolk, 1753.''

Noted Yarsinske: ``It was seen as a bond between the royal government and Virginia's principal port. For that time, it was a very elaborate and expensive gift.''

During the next 20 years, while symbols of the crown's authority were still strongly favored, the mace was routinely carried ahead of the mayor in processions or paraded at opening sessions of court.

As the Revolutionary War approached and Americans broke with England, many regal symbols were discarded, but, surprisingly, not the mace. Instead, for Norfolk residents, it became a symbol of the public's unity.

In fact, its symbolic significance was so strong that when Norfolk was attacked and burned Jan. 1, 1776, residents who fled the city took the mace with them, along with other important municipal documents. They buried it - after disassembling it into a number of pieces - in an obscure garden in Kemps Landing in today's Kempsville borough of Virginia Beach.

For more than two decades after the Revolution, as Norfolk rebuilt, the mace was lost to historical records. Then in 1790, it finally resurfaced and was returned to the custody of the court clerk.

For the next 70 years, the mace was probably passed to successive mayors for safekeeping, according to museum records. Historical accounts also note it was carried in a Sept. 19, 1836, parade commemorating Norfolk's 100th anniversary as a borough.

During the Civil War, residents once again sought to protect the mace from possible harm. When the city was evacuated by the Confederates on May 10, 1862, then Mayor William W. Lamb, who was a colonel in the Confederate Army, concealed the mace beneath the hearth of his third-floor library fireplace. Even though Union troops occupied the house at 420 Bute St. for a time, the mace ``did not come to light until after the war, when Lamb returned it to its rightful guardian, Mayor Frances De Cordy,'' notes museum records.

Accounts vary as to what happened to the mace during most of the 30 years that followed, but from 1881 to 1885, museum records show it was kept in a vault at the Exchange Bank of Norfolk. After the bank failed in 1885, however, the mace again disappeared.

In the 1890s, it was ``rediscovered'' by chance in admittedly ``bad shape'' among litter and debris in an old record room of a Norfolk police station.

``Some of those old police stations became a real repository for all kinds of things,'' explained Yarsinske. ``They had everything from crime scene specimens in jars to all kinds of weapons. That's where they found the mace, buried in all the trash.''

A few years later, the historian figures, city officials decided to have two replicas of similar weight and size made so the original could be permanently safeguarded.

After its restoration, the mace was housed for decades in a specially designed, electronically controlled glass box. Displayed in the lobby of the former Sovran Bank (now NationsBank) in downtown, the box holding the mace would descend into a hole in the floor at the end of each day.

In 1989, the city transferred the care of the mace to the museum, where it remains today.

While reluctant to discuss the appraised value of the centuries-old antique, museum officials contend the mace is ``irreplaceable.''

``A value just can't be given to something like this,'' noted Richard Salzberg, public relations manager for the Chrysler. ``In terms of it as a work of art and historically what it means to the city, it is priceless.''

The museum also keeps one of the replicas in storage. The other replica is kept in the mayor's office to be used in city parades and ceremonial occasions. ILLUSTRATION: Staff color cover photo by RICHARD L. DUNSTON

Photo by GARY KNAPP

Mace jewelry, similar to Amy Yarsinski's pin and earrings, are

available in the museum gift shop.

File photo

In 1989, Norfolk City Clerk Breck Daughtrey carried the Norfolk Mace

from Sovran Bank (now NationsBank) to the Chrysler Museum, escorted

by Norfolk police officers W.T. Adams, left, and T.C. Reed.

Graphic

Mace replica in festival parade

Norfolk residents can catch a peek of their ceremonial mace - or

rather one of its replicas - during the Azalea Festival Grand Parade

and coronation of Queen Azalea XLIV on Saturday.

Watch for a police honor guard. They'll be the ones toting the

weighty shaft during the processions.

The parade begins at 10 a.m. at St. Paul's Boulevard and

Waterside Drive and ends at Charlotte and Boush streets.

The coronation is set for 2:30 p.m. in Norfolk's Botanical

Garden. Admission to the garden is $3.

FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

TODAY, APRIL 24

Welcoming ceremony, for Queen Azalea XLIV and flag-raising

ceremony, SACLANT headquarters flag plaza, Blandy Road off Terminal

Boulevard, 10 a.m. The Azalea Queen is welcomed by the city of

Norfolk and SACLANT officials, followed by a formal military

presentation of the flags of each of the 16 NATO countries.

Opening-night celebration, Nauticus, 6 p.m. Presented in

conjunction with the opening ceremonies of the Virginia Waterfront

International Arts Festival. Celebratory music performed by guest

artists from the International Military Tattoo, the Bay Area Youth

Orchestra and the Virginia Wind Symphony. Opening ceremonies are

free and open to the public.

Art poster competition, Waterside. Selected pieces by Norfolk

students in grades six through eight will be displayed through

Friday. The theme of the artwork is ``The United States and NATO

Connection.''

Frigate Elrod, docked for public viewing, Nauticus, through

Sunday. The Elrod is a 4,100-ton, 453-foot-long, Oliver Hazard Perry

class, guided missile frigate. The ship is named for Maj. Henry T.

``Hammerin' Hank'' Elrod, USMC, who gave his life defending Wake

Island during World War II. The Elrod welcomes viewers aboard during

these times:

Today, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

(Friday, no public viewing)

Saturday, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Sunday, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

FRIDAY, APRIL 25

Festival luncheon and fashion show, Omni Waterside Hotel, 11:30

a.m. This year's fashion show is a celebration of American designers

presented by local boutiques. The Azalea Queen, princesses and

attendants will be introduced during the show. Contact the Hampton

Roads Chamber of Commerce-Norfolk Division at (757) 664-2525 for

tickets and more information.

19th Annual Azalea Festival 8K Run, Norfolk Botanical Garden,

5:45 p.m. Optimist Club of Norfolk sponsors the race, ``A Tidewater

Striders Event,'' which is open to the public. The course is on

flat, paved roads through the Garden. The race is open to all age

groups, and prizes will be awarded to the top three runners in each

age group. Cost for entry is $12 in advance and $15 day of race.

Registration begins at 4 p.m. For race information, call (757)

627-RACE.

International Military Tattoo, Scope arena, 8 p.m. Presented in

conjunction with the Virginia Waterfront International Arts

Festival, the Tattoo will feature regimental bands, precision drill

displays, flag-wavers, native uniforms, massed pipes and

drum-and-bugle ensembles. For more details, contact the Virginia

Waterfront International Arts Festival Box Office at (757) 664-6492.

SATURDAY, APRIL 26

Festival Grand Parade, downtown Norfolk, 10 a.m. The parade

features more than 70 entries; 16 floats, one representing each NATO

country, will carry the Azalea Queen, Jennie Elizabeth Eisenhower,

and her court. The ODU Lady Monarchs basketball team and coach Wendy

Larry are the grand marshals. Musical groups include military and

school marching bands, including the U.S. Continental Army Band and

the U.S. Navy Atlantic Fleet Band.

NATOfest, Town Point Park, next to Waterside, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. This

event celebrates the traditions of this year's most-honored nation,

the United States, as well as the other 15 NATO nations.

Performances are to include the Academy of Classical and

Contemporary Dance; Janeeda and the Near East Dancers, Turkish

bellydancers; the Annunciation Dancers, a teen group from the Greek

Orthodox Church; Touch of Nostalgia Italian Band; Los Andalusas, an

adult Spanish Flamenco dance group; the Flatland Cloggers; and many

other musical and dance groups.

Coronation of Queen Azalea XLIV, Norfolk Botanical Garden, 2:30

p.m. Jennie Elizabeth Eisenhower will be crowned the 44th Azalea

Queen in an event that features musical performances and a keynote

address by the NATO ambassador from Belgium, Dr. Robert Hunter. $3

admission to the Gardens.

44th Annual Air Show, Naval Air Station, Norfolk; gates open at 9

a.m. Frank Kingston, nationally renowned air-show announcer, will

narrate this year's performances, including Manfred Radius Sailplane

demonstration and John Mohr, Bobby Younkin and Les Shockley's Super

Shockwave. Free concerts begin at 4 p.m. featuring Brady Seals,

former lead singer of Little Texas, and Jon Secada. Concerts are

followed by a night air show starting at 7 and featuring a

pyrotechnics display as well as military and civilian performances.

Admission and parking are free. For more information: (757)

445-6647; or on the Internet at http://www.pinn.net/airshow.

Queen Azalea Dinner and Ball, Omni Waterside Hotel, 7:30 p.m.

``Colonial Garden'' theme. Musical entertainment by local band North

Tower. Tickets are $180 per couple. For ticket information, contact

the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce-Norfolk Division at (757)

664-2525.

SUNDAY, APRIL 27

44th Annual Air Show, Naval Air Station, Norfolk; gates open at 9

a.m. Day Two of this event provides more performances from military

and civilian groups, including Les Shockley's Super Shockwave and a

truck, powered by two jet engines, that travels at more than 300

mph. Admission and parking are free. For more information: (757)

445-6647; or on the Internet at http://www.pinn.net/airshow.

QUEEN'S SCHEDULE

When Queen Azalea XLIV, Jennie Eisenhower, arrives in Norfolk

today, she'll find a hefty schedule of events waiting. She'll keep

the following appointments:

TODAY, APRIL 24

12:30-12:50 p.m. Queens interview at WAVY-TV 10 in Portsmouth

1:15-2 p.m. Norfolk Collegiate Lower, luncheon with the Azalea

Festival princesses

2:20-3:20 p.m. Westminster Cantebury Retirement Residence,

accompanied by princesses, on Shore Drive in Virginia Beach

3:45-4:15 p.m. Visit to historic St. Paul's Episcopal Church

4:30-5:15 p.m. MacArthur Memorial to lay a wreath

FRIDAY, APRIL 25

8:30 -9:15 a.m. Visit Ruffner Middle School, on Tidewater Drive

9:20-9:45 a.m. Visit to Goodwill Industries, 800 Tidewater Drive.

Plant a crape myrtle tree at 900 Tidewater Drive.

10-10:30 a.m. Appearance at the Mark Morris Dance Group

performance at Norfolk State University's Wilder Auditorium

10:45-11:15 a.m. Kirn Memorial Library to read to children

3:30-4 p.m. Visit Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters

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