Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, October 4, 1994 TAG: 9410040058
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PULASKI LENGTH: Medium
She said she surprised herself by completing a replica of his banner in time for the annual celebration honoring the Polish nobleman who fought on the colonists' side in the Revolutionary War. Pulaski left his name on a dozen or more communities in what became the United States.
The town and county of Pulaski are two of these sites, and will observe Count Pulaski Day Oct. 15, at which time Stevenson's creations are to be on display at the Fine Arts Center of the New River Valley in downtown Pulaski.
Meanwhile, the 36-by-28-inch portrait that Stevenson painted of Count Pulaski hangs above the fireplace in the Count Pulaski Bed and Breakfast, which Stevenson and her husband, William Struhs, opened about a year ago in an 80-year-old home at 821 N. Jefferson St. The brick building, known as the Harry Roberts House, is listed on the Registry of Historic Places.
``So, everyone who comes in, I introduce them to the count,'' Stevenson said. She also has typed up some notes with more details about him. ``Some people don't really want to hear the whole story of his life.''
Stevenson is a retired educator. ``I'm not a portrait painter and I'm not a flag maker. I'm not sure what I'm doing with all this stuff, except that I wanted it,'' she said. She thought that a likeness of Count Pulaski would be a natural for a bed and breakfast named for him.
``When I started out with a little black and white enlargement out of the encyclopedia, I would show people that and say I hoped to have a little better representation of him someday,'' she said.
At first, she could find no color portraits of Count Pulaski and did not know how to color his uniform. Later, someone told her about a color painting of him that had been kept for years in what is now NationsBank of Pulaski. She copied the uniform from that.
Stevenson was tempted to improve his looks, but finally went for an exact likeness instead. ``I gave that man plastic surgery three or four times. I finally decided, I'm not going to improve him any more, I'd better just leave it alone.''
The battle flag that she completed in September hangs outside the bed and breakfast between the U.S. and Virginia flags.
The battle flag, carried on the saddle of Pulaski's horse, has a different design on each side. Stevenson found a reproduction of the flag and information on its meaning at the Pulaski County Administration Building.
``I don't know where they got their design,'' she said. ``I think it's time we had a few more copies of it.''
She finally found the material she needed for the flag in Floyd. She went to Roanoke to get the canvas needed to mount it on the pole. She bought all the gold trim that the Pulaski Wal-Mart had in stock for the border.
``I shopped all over Virginia to find pieces of this thing,'' she said. ``I'd work a little while, and think, `I'm not sure I can do this,''' she said. ``But I think it's interesting to have as much of Count Pulaski's memorabilia as we can find.''
On Oct. 15, visitors to downtown Pulaski can see the count in person. Winsdon Pound, a former Dublin Elementary School principal who now works at St. Albans Psychiatric Hospital, traditionally wears the Count Pulaski regalia on Count Pulaski Day.
by CNB