Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 14, 1993 TAG: 9304140232
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MADELYN ROSENBERG STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Long
JEFFERSON GOING STRONG AT 250
It is said that the people in this historic city talk about Thomas Jefferson as if he never died, but merely took a stroll to the Rotunda for a glass of water.And as travelers from all over the United States came to Charlottesville to celebrate Jefferson's 250th birthday Tuesday, they witnessed the legacy - the architecture, the ideas, the university - that the third president left behind.
And that history, at least, is still breathing.
"When you live here, you become submerged in Jefferson," said Melinda Frierson, head of the Albemarle County Historical Society. She admits she is biased by a love for things past, but says even the less-interested talk about Jefferson's beliefs in the present tense: " `Mr. Jefferson thinks this' or `Mr. Jefferson believes that.' People say in a cliche way that we act like Mr. Jefferson is still alive, but that's the way it is."
On NBC TV's "Today" show, Willard Scott gave birthday wishes to a few centenarians, and wished a happy 250th birthday to the author of the Declaration of Independence. "That's the oldest person we've had on the show," he said.
The tell-tale sign that the former president had People say in a cliche way that we act like Mr. Jefferson is still alive, but that's the way it is. Melinda Frierson Head of the Albemarle County Historical Society departed (aside from the references to age) was that at least a half-dozen people quoted his tombstone: "He was buried Thomas Jefferson, Author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom; Father of the University of Virginia."
Not that there was ever a question of parentage at Mr. Jefferson's University.
"His house and the university keep his memory alive," said Merrill Peterson, a professor emeritus and an authority on Jefferson.
"Every professor and some students can quote him at length," said Lou Ann Broad, who received her master's degree from UVa. She stood near the lawn, clutching envelopes with Jefferson stamps, introduced Tuesday in honor of the occasion.
"I studied architecture and we found him sacred," she said.
There were so many sweets honoring Jefferson on Tuesday that the UVa news office sent out an information sheet on the cakes alone.
One of them, built by university caterers, was shaped like the Rotunda and included 140 pounds of icing.
It took a dozen men, one of them wearing a weightlifting belt, to carry the cake across the grounds, yelling all the way.
"No, move it THIS way."
"A little bit around now."
"Set her down."
Strangely, Jefferson never celebrated his birthday during his life, which ended in 1826.
He once told a friend, "The only birthday I ever commemorate is that of our independence, the 4th of July."
And on Tuesday, it was like Independence Day, with games for children and fireworks, recalling a display Jefferson saw in France.
People recorded the occasion by grabbing programs and buying T-shirts and pins bearing the face of the university's founder.
President Bill Clinton sent greetings in a letter read by U.S. Sen. Charles Robb.
And Andrei Bulawka stood before his father's video camera, reading aloud the Founders Day program to commemorate the event for his mother, who was in Washington, D.C.
"In just 10 minutes," he said, waving an arm for dramatic affect, "Gorbachev will speak."
Mikhail Gorbachev, the former president of the Soviet Union and former secretary of that defunct nation's Communist Party, was the main attraction for some, but make no mistake: This was Jefferson's day.
"Gorbachev's interesting, sure," said John Alemi, who came with his family from Philadelphia. "But we wanted to see what Thomas Jefferson did."
At Monticello, Jefferson's home on the mountaintop, a band played majestic marches with trilling piccolos and blasting trumpets.
Gorbachev, with a sunburn that did not quite hide the famous birthmark on his head, honored Jefferson from the same porch where the Renaissance man had once stood. If it were summer, he would have been shaded by stately oaks and poplars. Instead, Gorbachev donned a UVa cap to protect himself.
The hat was a loan from Johnny Cates, who runs a Buick dealership in Richmond.
"He told me, in Russian, that we have the same-sized heads," said Cates, who grew up in Charlottesville. Cates had come back for Gorbachev's interesting, sure. But we wanted to see what Thomas Jefferson did. John Alemi Came with his family from Philadelphia for the event the historic weekend, and had not expected to shake Gorbachev's hand.
He, too, said Jefferson's presence was on UVa's grounds and on the mountaintop. "You can feel it."
The feeling was not lost on university leaders, who told people to watch for Jefferson's spirit and learn about his timeless principles: equality and education.
Nor was it lost on Gorbachev, who said Jefferson and his ideas were fluid, moving like the tide. "The discussion of Jefferson will never end."