DATE: Friday, October 17, 1997              TAG: 9710170668

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B4   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JOHN-HENRY DOUCETTE, CORRESPONDENT 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   60 lines

THOMAS JEFFERSON STILL POPULAR, 200 YEARS LATER

A couple of centuries after he penned the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson can still pack a house.

Folks at the Chrysler Museum of Art had expected about 70 people to sign up for An Evening With Thomas Jefferson on Thursday.

Hundreds responded.

The museum added a second show in which history performer Bill Barker brought the third president to life in the Museum Theatre. This talk promoted a few period artifacts on display at the museum and the historic houses in the Chrysler's care.

Barker, as the man who creatively used the powers of the presidency when he brought Louisiana into the fold, recalled his love of France. After joining John Adams and Benjamin Franklin there in May 1784 to negotiate commerce treaties, he took over for Franklin as minister to France.

`` `Is it you, sir, who replace Franklin?' '' Jefferson recalled being asked. ``I answered, `No sir, I succeed him; no one can replace him.' ''

Humble words aside, Jefferson recalled his fondness for France. Especially the fruit of the vine. He also downplayed speculation of an overseas affair so vividly brought to the silver screen recently by Nick Nolte in ``Jefferson in Paris,'' a portrayal which Jefferson did not address.

Clad in a smart brown coat, the blond-locked Jefferson also discussed his shipboard return to the United States through the bustling port of Norfolk.

``I must say it is pleasing to be back in Norfolk,'' Jefferson said. When he returned, he arrived in a port city which ``had not yet recovered from the effects of the war,'' but found good living arrangements at a hotel at Freemason and Cumberland.

The sharp statesman also handled a question-and-answer session with the audience like a pro, fielding questions on church and state and modern taxation, in a Virginia where much of the agrarian dream has been paved with strip malls and planned housing.

Jefferson, always one to believe in the people's ability govern, urged moderation when it came to dipping the government ladle into the working man's well.

Small government, he urged, ``I don't feel that we will allow it venture any further lest it become a business unto itself.''

The crowd laughed.

``We might someday tax our income,'' he exclaimed, ``and then we've gone too far.''

The crowd applauded.

Jennifer Priest brought a trio of young people to hear the president. Because of the demand for the show, they had to wait for the second presentation. Elizabeth G. Gregory, 11, and 9-year-olds Leigh F. Strickland and Taylor Priest were excited to hear Jefferson.

``I thought it was a delightful opportunity for the children,'' Priest said. ``But I was kind of surprised it was the same old group of Chrysler people here. . . . Pretty much the same folks come to the Chrysler openings.''

The audience was an older one, she noted. The children did not seem discouraged.

``One of my favorite subjects in school is history,'' Elizabeth said. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

Thomas Jefferson, portrayed by Bill Barker, at the Chrysler Museum.

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