Staunton

Staunton stands on the western edge of the Shenandoah’s.  It has two major claims to fame.  First, it survived the Civil War virtually intact, its various districts filled with two hundred and fifty years of wonderful

architecture.  We wandered the downtown admiring the Clock Tower on the 1890 YMCA,

the 1895 Marquis Building

and this 1912 New Theatre.

We parked next to the Temple House of Israel built in 1925.  It looks like it belongs in the Middle East.

Near the temple is the birthplace of Woodrow Wilson, the second reason for the town to be known. 

 Wilson’s father was a Presbyterian minister and lived in a manse provided by the church.  The children were well educated by their mother though Woodrow was dyslexic.

Our docent explained that a typical main meal took three hours from preparation to consumption. Built in the 1850's, the house had modern conveniences like a range, a stove that had a “range” of cooking temperatures (positions).  Three slaves provided by the church tended to the house.  Mother Wilson was a musician and her guitar sits in the parlor.  No photos allowed in the house.  When Wilson was three, the family moved to Augusta, GA. 

His adulthood is told in the Wilson Library and Museum next to the house.  The Pierce Arrow purchased by some supporters has been lovingly restored and is used in holiday parades.

 Wilson had a purpose in furthering his education and promoting his own values.  His progressive ideas led to conflict when he was President of Princeton University, but served him well as the Democratic Presidential candidate against two Republicans, Taft and Roosevelt.  One of his plans during his terms in office was to convert the peoples of Africa to Christianity.  He was joined in this plan by Secretary of State William Jennings Bryant. 

Wilson initially opposed suffrage but changed his mind.  This warning (not his) was circulated during his term in office.

Wilson’s first wife died during his first term.  Though he grieved deeply, he remarried a year later.  His efforts in trying to establish the League of Nations led to his having a stroke while in Colorado.  What has recently been revealed in the records of his doctor is that only the doctor and Wilson’s wife Edith knew how incapacitated he was.  The rumors of Edith being the “first woman President” are true as she acted in his name for the remaining eighteen months of his term.

 In the basement of the museum is a mockup of a French-built trench from WWI.  It zigzags every ten yards to keep the enemy from following the soldiers and to minimize the damage from in- coming grenades and artillery shells.

Our travel material recommended Mrs. Rowe’s Restaurant.  The recommendation was supported by a woman at the Elk’s Lodge where we were parked and rebuked by a police officer at the Court House.  On our visit we learned that one needs to be on Social Security to eat there or so it seemed.  The officer was right, the food is not like it used to be even if we did know what “used to be” tastes like.



Even so, Staunton was one of those unexpected delights that happen along the road.  We thought it was just a stop between two national parks but it wound up offering interesting things to see and enjoy. 

 And it had a good Halloween display.