Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 11, 1993 TAG: 9304110162
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARK MORRISON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: FOREST LENGTH: Medium
300 TO SQUEEZE INTO POPLAR FOREST FOR DINNER SPEECH
The tent will be only so big.So, the public will not be invited to Mikhail Gorbachev's visit Tuesday to Thomas Jefferson's Bedford County retreat, Poplar Forest. About 300 invited guests will be admitted.
Bill Garner, director of development at Poplar Forest, said he would have preferred to open the former Soviet leader's visit to the public - or at least to everyone who has contributed to Poplar Forest's restoration - but there just isn't room. Security and parking were other limiting factors.
"I wish we could have 4,000," Garner said.
The 300 who will be allowed into the black-tie dinner for Gorbachev are primarily the biggest contributors to the restoration, either through large donations or volunteer time.
Garner was quick to point out that the invitation list was not based solely on donations. "I don't want to cheapen this by saying it's strictly a money thing."
Several elected officials, including Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Roanoke; Rep. L.F. Payne, D-Nelson County; Del. Lacey Putney, I-Bedford; and state Sen. Elliot Schewel, D-Lynchburg, also are invited. Gorbachev is scheduled to arrive at Poplar Forest around 6 p.m. for a reception.
Garner said Gorbachev will speak between the salad and main course. He is expected to discuss Thomas Jefferson's impact on the emerging democracies in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. A question-and-answer session will follow.
Tuesday marks Thomas Jefferson's 250th birthday.
Jefferson built Poplar Forest when he was president and used it as a retreat from his Monticello home in Charlottesville after he left office. After his death, it was sold by his grandson and remained in private ownership through 1984, when the Corporation for Jefferson's Poplar Forest bought the retreat.
The group is now restoring the home to Jefferson's original design. It was altered considerably following a fire in the 1840s and when it was modernized earlier this century.
Earlier Tuesday, Gorbachev will help celebrate Jefferson's birthday at the University of Virginia. He is expected to give a speech on the Lawn shortly after 10 a.m. His address there will be open to the public.