DATE: Friday, August 15, 1997               TAG: 9708130115

SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS     PAGE: 02   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: Ida Kay's Portsmouth 

SOURCE: Ida Kay Jordan 

                                            LENGTH:   62 lines

TOURIST FINDS PORTSMOUTH BY CHANCE, AND FINDS CITY A SURPRISING VACATION SPOT

Portsmouth got some good press in Baltimore recently without even asking for it.

I had heard about an article on the front pages of the travel section of the Baltimore Sun but I couldn't find a copy around here. Then last week Berniece Pilzer called and said she had brought it back from a vacation trip. It seems somebody in Baltimore had sent the clipping to someone in another city who gave it to Berniece who gave it to me. A long way around, but I was glad to get it.

The very positive story, headlined ``Portsmouth, Va., is a surprise hit,'' was written by a Sun staffer, Sandra McKee.

It seems she and her father started on a vacation without a destination and wound up in Portsmouth. Furthermore, she was unexpectedly delighted and proceeded to write glowingly about the city when she returned to work.

Here are two paragraphs from the story:

``Does anyone plan to vacation in Portsmouth? When you tell people you went there for part of a vacation, they either laugh or give you a look that says, `Why?'

``The simple answer: It was there. The expanded answer: It's a historic town that offers a full weekend's worth of distractions.''

Then she proceeds to talk about ``uncovering the secrets of Portsmouth.''

She mentions the Commodore Theater, the Arts Center and the Children's Museum. And she devotes much of a long story to Olde Towne's architecture and to the museums, complementing the Lightship in particular.

The reporter also touches on Portsmouth's friendly people. Stopping to admire the Peters house on Court Street, the reporter and her father met Sally Macon and Tom Williams who were working in their yard.

They were invited inside by Sally Macon Williams, who explained that she seldom asked strangers in, but added, ``sometimes you see people looking at your house and you just have the feeling they should meet.'' Hooray for the Williamses! They offered Southern hospitality at just the right time.

How nice it is to read a report from a visitor who obviously was very taken with Portsmouth and proceeded to tell the world about her visit.

I think many people who live around here never see the interesting historic aspects of the city nor do they see its beauty.

A number of people who have worked for this newspaper, some of them in Portsmouth, now work on the Baltimore Sun and I hope none of them were among those who laughed at the reporter. But you never can tell.

Recently, Don Kennedy, who lives on the Peninsula, came to work in our office. After his first walk over to High Street, he came back absolutely amazed, he said, at how good it looks. The image he had of downtown Portsmouth in no way matched up to the real thing.

Unfortunately, all the Portsmouth folks who ``never go downtown'' have mental pictures that are inconsistent with the way things are - the same as people who live elsewhere. But the long-time residents are first among those who help perpetuate the notion that Portsmouth is ugly and unsafe when, in fact, it is beautiful and as safe as anywhere else.

Occasionally somebody like the Baltimore reporter comes along and immediately sees the charm. Her assessment should prompt a lot people in Portsmouth to take a second look at their city.

The residents are important links between the city and people who never have been here. Their comments about Portsmouth will be taken as accurate assessments and quite often that is not the case.

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