THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 26, 1995 TAG: 9511230096
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHARLOTTE SHEPARD, SPECIAL TO HOME & GARDEN
LENGTH: Long : 145 lines
LIFE IN THE long-ago will be re-created next Sunday for the Hampton Holly Days Home Tour in the George Wythe section, alongside the family holiday customs and decorations of the current residents.
Meet descendants and friends of former owners, sightsee where Union army officer George Custer observed the battle of the Virginia (previously known as the Merrimack) and the Monitor and view a private collection of ``Gone With the Wind'' memorabilia.
The homes will be open from 12:30 to 5 p.m. Four overlook the Hampton Roads harbor on Chesapeake Avenue, and the fifth is on Spotswood Place.
Bob and Juanita Joyce have invited descendants and friends of former owners of their Chesapeake Avenue home to meet visitors. The Joyces will display early pictures of the home, completed in 1900, and its former owners. When the home was built by James McMenamin, it was known as Innisvail and was one of seven homes between Hampton and Newport News.
The Joyces became the home's fourth owners when they bought it in 1958 from the Daniel Hammond family, which had owned it since 1958. The Joyces also purchased many pieces of Hammond family furniture at an estate auction.
Only a few of the 21 rooms will be open. Three of the rooms open feature a collection of ``Gone With the Wind'' memorabilia. The entrance hall features a fireplace and cypress paneling.
Off the entrance hall in the music room is an 1862 award-winning musical instrument that looks similar to a piano but is a German ``straight-string.''
The staircase has the original stained-glass Gothic windows. A male cherub lights the staircase. ``We think it was originally lit by gas but has been electrified now,'' Juanita said.
A stained-glass transom insert and a lamp shade were made by Walter Sandgren of Newport News, Juanita Joyce's father. ``He uses a Victorian design book,'' she said.
``The dining room wallpaper is said to be from the 1920s, but appears older,'' she said, ``and we are using a wallpaper book of authentic Victorian patterns when we repaper a room.'' They just installed a reproduction tin ceiling in the den.
Both Joyces work with the Hampton school system, Bob as a social worker and Juanita as director of special education.
Nancy and George LeCuyer were married in the living room of their Western ranch-style home on Chesapeake Avenue. Nancy had moved into the home when it was built by her parents, Bessie and Amory Milburn, in 1948.
``I have lived within two block of this home all my life,'' she said, ``and my mother still lives in a small home addition in the rear of this one, so our children grew up with grandparents close by.''
The open flow through the home enhances entertaining. George is the owner of the Wine Street Gourmet, and the breakfast room walls are papered with wine labels.
``If I want to know if a certain wine is good, I look to see if its label is on the wall,'' daughter Nancy Lee said.
Also located on the kitchen walls is the LeCuyer's collection of Caribbean art.
Two other interesting collections are enamel pieces by Jean Tudor, a world-famous enamelist who began her work while her husband was rector at Grace Episcopal Church in Newport News and a collection titled ``Soldiers of the Revolution'' from Royal Doulton.
The large Southwestern-style family room has earthstone tile flooring and an adobe-style fireplace. Indian art representing the story of creation hangs over a sofa.
Melissa and Randy Gilliland own a 1849 Greek Revival home on Chesapeake Avenue, which they share with their 16-month-old son, Mark Palmer. ``This is one of the three oldest homes in Hampton,'' said Randy Gilliland, owner of G&R Metals.
Known as the Simpson Cottage, the one-story home was built by John Simpson. A rear addition was later put on.
``Union army officer George Custer sat on the roof to watch the battle between the Merrimack and Monitor,'' he said.
Conrad Wise Chapman, a famous Civil War artist, lived in the home in 1909.
``The older section of the home has the original woodwork, plaster and glass, and the unusual design over the doors is called `dog-eared.' '' said Randy, who has owned the home with his wife for three years.
The large entry, facing the water, was known as the ``summer parlor.''
Cocabola,'' the Spotswood Place home of Letia and Joe Drewry, was built in 1937 by Harry Kimberly, the local postmaster.
It has a Williamsburg flavor with its wood paneling and interior design. It also has a newer rear addition.
The Drewrys have owned the home since 1982 and share it with their 5-year-old daughter, Elisabeth Alexandria.
The name ``Cocabola'' comes from Letia's maternal-grandparents' home in Beckley, W. Va. The brass nameplate from the first Cocabola hangs over the Drewry fireplace. It has been translated as ``good earth'' and ``home, haven and safe space.''
The home is furnished with many of Letia's family pieces. She returns frequently to Beckley, where she is owner of the Dr. Pepper/7-Up Bottling Co. Joe is a retired engineer from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Other features of the home include random-width heart-pine floors, flush trim, batten doors and low ceilings.
A living room window features a stained-glass hanging that Joe commissioned. It is a replica of the window in St. John's Episcopal Church. ``When I was expecting, we told neighbors we would place it in the window as a signal that I had gone to the hospital, and it still hangs there,'' Letia said.
Beside the living room fireplace is Letia Drewry's grandmother's hope chest, which ``now holds a collection of cuff-links that I gave my father, plus other family pieces,'' she said.
A new Drewry find is a ``fun'' Noah's ark, with unique animals.
The dining room has a china cabinet with a tree-of-life design.
A harpist will play in the keeping room, which houses several interesting pieces of art work.
An unusual window made by artist Elizabeth Grafton is off the kitchen. The designs were created in Blenko glass and named ``Lady Liz'' for the artist. Complementary stained-glass designs in the kitchen were created by local artist Sandy Dekker.
Sallie and John Sebrell bought their home on Chesapeake Avenue in 1990. They share the 1918 home with their 16-year-old son, Tom, and 19-year-old daughter, Trez. John is the president and CEO of Old Point National Bank, and Sallie is a volunteer in environmental organizations.
``I am from Charleston, and we wanted to give the home a `Charleston look,' so we had first- and second-floor wraparound porches built,'' Sallie said.
The interior features dark paneling, ceiling rafters in the living room and a chandelier and some wall sconces thought to be from a French chateau.
The draperies in the foyer came from Sallie's aunt's house and have been used in the last three houses she has lived in. The home is furnished in antiques.
The tour originates from the Charles H. Taylor Arts Center on Victoria Boulevard, where parking is available, and a trolley will take visitors to the homes. Light refreshments are available in the center.
Kelly O'Neill is chairperson for the fourth annual Holly Days Home Tour, assisted by former chairperson Ann Bane.
There is a house chairperson for each home, and each room will have a host or hostess to explain its furnishings, features and decorations.
Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 the day of the event. They include the trolley, admission to the Arts Center and homes. Tickets are available at the Hampton Visitors Center (727-1102), in many downtown Hampton stores, or through the Hampton Frolics office (272-6429) on the seventh floor of Hampton's City Hall. ILLUSTRATION: CHARLOTTE SHEPARD/Photos
Legend has it that Union army officer George Custer watched the
battle of the Virginia and the Monitor from the roof of this Hampton
home, now owned by Melissa and Randy Gilliland.
A stained-glass window in garden colors graces the home of Letia and
Joe Drewry.
by CNB