Visit To
Chinqua-Penn Plantation House
By Adelaide Van Wey
- ■■ - -
When I was a student at
Salem College in Winston
Salem a million years ago, I
was invited by friends of my
mother’s, Mr. and Mrs. Jeff
erson Penn, to spend a day at
their palatial home, Chinqua
Penn, in nearby Reidsville.
Last winter I read an article
in the New York Times that this
home now belonged to the Uni
versity of North Carolina, hav
ing been presented to the uni
versity on October 20th, 1959 by
Mrs. Penn.
Mr. Penn died in 1946, but
Mrs. Penn' continued to live
there until her death in 1965.
In April of 1966 the home was
opened to the public, and as a
more than worthwhile sight
seeing trip it was so describ
ed in the article in the New
York Times.
All these years I have remem
bered the beauty of the gardens
and the lavish furnishings of
the house, and last month, on a
vacation trip North, my husband
and I stopped the first day to
visit Chinqua-Penn.
The fact that the home is now
open to the public is not well
known yet., and that is the pur
pose of this article, to try to
acquaint as many of our North
Carolina friends and neighbors
of this outstanding attraction
within a half-day's drive from
home.
Chinqua - Penn Plantation
House was begun in 1923 and
was completed in time for its
owners to enjoy Christmas of
1925 in their spacious new
home. The Penns built and
furnished it for their own
pleasure and purposes, gather
ing its lavish furnishings dur
ing two round-the-world tours
and many visits to Europe and
the Orient. The beautiful gar
dens, art treasures, furnish
ings, and decorations of Chin
qua-Penn reflect the life and
tastes of a discriminating
couple.
The 27-room mansion of stone
and logs is of no specific archi
tectural style, but it is more like
an English country house than
anything else. It is Y-shaped and
is situated on a knoll affording
a wide view of the rolling coun
tryside. An Italian stonemason
was brought over to lay the
beautiful colored stones which
were quarried there on the plan,
tation.
The many rooms are filled
with a priceless collection of
furnishings and art objects.
The furniture is mainly Euro
pean and the art objects Ori
ental. There are also many
pieces of religious art. The
collection includes altar pieces
from a temple in Nepal, rare
Chinese terra cotta, sculp
tures, Flemish tapestries, a
15th century Byzantine mo
saic. two life size Chinese
statues dating from about 700
A.D., and many other unique
treasures. One small touch
that particularly intrigued me
was the jade doorknobs in one
cf the guest rooms, which was
done in all China decor.
I can never forget the beau
tiful grounds around Chi-nqua
Penn house. There are rock
walls, masses of dark green ivy,
a formal garden lined with hun
dreds of boxwoods, and a large
rose garden. Perhaps the most
impressive sight of all is from
the foyer doors, looking across
the paved courtyard centered
with a magnificent fountain.
Steps, over which water falls,
lead to the large Italian blue
tiled swimming pool. On the op
posite side of the pool is the
ornate Chinese Pagoda with tre
mendous Chinese statuary in and
around it and the pool.
Walter Liebseher is the
charming curator . manager
of Chinqua-Penn House. He is
seeing that this beautiful prop
erty is kept in perfect con
dition. Delightful, knowledge
able guides are on hand to
give one all details about the
many interesting features of
the house and grounds.
From Reidsville, continuing
on our vacation, we drove to
Newport, R. I. to see the fa
mous millionaires’ “cottages.”
that are in reality practically
palaces—“The Elms” built for
E. J. Berwind. “The Breakers”
built for Cornelius Vanderbilt,
"Marble House" bu;l* '
iam K. Vanderbilt and “Bel
ccurt Castle” built for Oliver
H. P. Belmont.
It is interesting to note that
Friends Of The Library Story
Hour To Have Program On Pets
On Saturday morning at 9:30
at the Library, Mrs. Gerald
Grose will talk to the children
about a subject dear to their
hearts—their pets. Mrs. Grose
will emphasize both the impor
tance and the fun of giving pets
NOTICE OF RE-SALE
IN THE SUPERIOR COURT
State of North Carolina
County of Transylvania
Roy Mathis,
Petitioner
vs.
Nora Mathis,
Respondent.
Under and by virtue of an or
der of the Superior Court of
Transylvania County made in a
Special Proceeding entitled “Roy
Mathis, Petitioner, vs. Nora Ma
this, Respondent” the undersign
ed Commissioner will on the
28th day of July. 1967 at 12:00
o’clock, noon, at the Courthouse
door in Brevard, North Caro
lina. offer for sale to the high
est bidder for cash all the fol
lowing described piece or parcel
of land, lying and being in the
Township of Catheys Creek,
County of Transylvania, State
of North Carolina, described as
follows:
BEGINNING at an iron pip
in the edge of Locust Street Ex
tension at C. J. Moore’s Corner
and runs North 88 deg. 50 min.
East 197.2 feet to an iron pipe
found on the Northwest side of
a fence corner; thence North
17 deg. 59 min. East 99.4 feet
to an iron pipe found at a fence;
thence South 86 deg. 41 min.
West 210.1 feet to an iron pipe
(Set South 88 deg. West 3.4
feet from a 1” white pine, South
63 deg. West 15% feet from a
1” white pine, and South 26%
deg. West 20.7 feet from a 14”
cedar); thence South 11 deg. 50
min. West 86.9 feet to the BE
GINNING. Containing 0.42 acres,
as shown by plat made by Will
iam Leonard, RLS, dated Sep
tember 23. 1958.
This the 18th day of July,
1967.
John R. Hudson, Jr.
Commissioner
7-20-2te
the regular care of feeding and
grooming and training that pets
need. All children are invited to
attend.
Last Saturday 90 children lis
tened attentively as Mrs. Vasant
Chapnerkar described life in In
dia. In government, the Indian
Prime Minister holds a position
of authority similar to that of
the president of the United
States. In education, the grades,
once through twelve, are called
standards, and children of the
educated classes learn to speak
three languages usually. Of
these three, one or two will be
chosen from the fourteen native
languages of India; the child
will use the dialect of his own
area. More than 200 dialects are
heard in modern India.
Mrs. Chapnerkar taught the
children an Indian word of
greeting—namaste—and her two
small daughters, who were at
tired like their mother in the
native dress of India, sang two
Indian love songs.
On July 29 Mrs. Joseph Dixon
will entertain the children with
a puppet show.
ASCS News
By JULIA WESTWOOD
Office Manager
North Carolina’s acreage allot
ment for the 1968 wheat crop
has been set at 451,645 acres.
This compares with the 1967 al
lotment of 519,587 acres and the
1966 allotment of 393,286 acres.
The 1968 national wheat al
lotment of 59.3 million acres
compares with a 1967 allotment
of 68.2 million acres and a 1966
allotment of 51.6 million acres.
As indicated in the announce,
ment of the national allotment
figures, the 1968 allotment—
with average weather — would
provide a crop of approximate
ly 1.5 billion bushels. A crop
this size will balance with es
- - - I,
the latter three mansions were
all designed by the famous
architect, Richard Morris
Hunt, who also did our near
by and famous “Biltmore
House,” at Asheville. All of
these homes are lavish with
marble, with tremendous elab
orate staircases and ceilings
and walls of the most ornate
frescos and painting, and are
furnished mainly from Euro
pean castles.
Despite the beauty and
grandeur of these over-elabo
ate establishments none, in
our eyes, can hold a candle to
the livability and unique and
unusual beauty of the ti-eas
ure trove called Chinqua
Penn.
Mrs. Barton
Buried Tuesday
Mrs. Minnie Faye Barton, 66,
of Brevard, route 1. died in a
local hospital early Sunday
morning after a brief illness.
She was the widow of Lewis
P. Barton and a member of the
Little River Baptist church. A
native of Marietta. S. C., she
had lived in Transylvania coun
ty most of her life.
Surviving are four daughters,
Mrs. Julia Hox:-*.. Mrs. Emily Me
Murray and Mrs. Ella Stepp, all
of Hendersonville, and Mrs.
Mary Garrett of Long Beach.
Calif.: four sons, Claude and Al
len of Brevard Rt. 1, Ralph of
Penrose and Walter Barton of
Pickens. S. C.; 17 grandchildren
and two great-grandchildren.
Services were held Tuesday
in Little River Baptist church.
The Rev. Jarvis Brock offi
ciated and burial was in the
church cemetery.
Frank Moody Funeral Home
was in charge of arrangements.
Science Writer
(From Front Page, Third Sec.)
tionable. The opera is a long
one.
A reviewer would be dere
lict in his duty if he did not
mention two other factors in
fluencing the enjoyment of
the operas.
First, many of the people who
came from warmer altitudes
had no wraps, and must have
been very cold, yet so good was
the production that very few of
them left. Perhaps something in
the publicity about the chilly
nights in the mountains would
be helpful.
Second, this reviewer has
never seen better organization
among the many people who
control the traffic and parking.
Parking, of course, is free, yet
the attendants direct it perfect
ly, both before and after the
performances.
“Opera at Brevard” will be
come a nationally loved cul
tural asset for Western North
Carolina if the present trend
and excellence are continued.
Except for occasional times
when the orchestra gets out
of hand, the productions equal
or surpass those in Cincinnati
and St. Louis.
The selection of the operas
has been good. “Faust” and
“Carmen” (Carmen will be sung
August 11) are two of the four
most popular grand operas in
the United States: “Aida” and
“Madame Butterfly” are the
other two. Selections other
years have been good.
This reviewer’s only com
plaint is that the opera sea
son is not longer in Brevard.
timated domestic use of 735 mil
lion bushels and an export tar
get of at least 750 million bush
els during the 1968-69 market
ing year which begins July 1,
1968.
The eligibility for price-sup
port loans and wheat marketing
certificates, as in previous years
will depend on farmers’ meeting
program provisions. Individual
farm allotments for the 1S68
wheat crop will be mailed to
farm operators by ASCS county
offices in the near future.
Other operating details for
the 1968 wheat crop will be an
nounced soon.
PAT’S 11th ANNUAL
SUMMER
IS NOW IN PROGRESS
See These And Many Other Fabulous Shoe Buys
For The Budget-Wise During Pat’s Annual
Summer Shoe Sale!
STACK HEELS
BLOCK HEELS
WEDGES
Such Famous Brands As
PARADISE KITTENS VITALITY FIANCEE
URBAN DEB OLE MAINE TROTTERS
and Many Others
Sizes 4 to 12 Widths AAAA to D
VALUES TO 17.95
2.98 to 7.98
FLATS
Such Famous Brands As
CAPEZIOS SPRITES
COVER GIRL SORORITY DEBS
and Many Others
Size 4 to 12 Widths AAAA to D
in Leather, Nylon Mesh & Patina
VALUES TO 12.95
1.98 to 4.98
HEELS!
Some of America’s Finest Brands
De Liso Debs - Troyling - Fiancee
Barefoot Original - Citations - Palizzo
And Many Others
Sizes Widths
4 to 12 AAAAA to C
Values To 27.95
2.98 to 8.98
LADIES’ IMPORTED
ALL LEATHER
SANDALS
FLATS & WEDGES
in White, Tan, Black, Brown
Sizes 4 to 10 Widths S, N. M.
VALUES TO 8.98
2.98 to 4.98
WOMEN’S
COUNTRY FAIR
CASUALS
By B. F. Goodrich
U. S. KEDETTES
Sizes 4 to 13
Medium & Narrow
Widths
Up to 5.98 Values
2.98 & 3.98
BOY’S
BASKETBALL
SHOES
HEAVY DUTY
White and Black
Sizes 10 thru 6
5.98 to 6.98 Values
3.98
LADIES’
KEDS GRASSHOPPERS
White, Beige, Light Blue,
Yellow, Black, Green
Sizes 4 to 10
Regular 4.98 Value
2.98
P. F. FLYERS
4 EYELET
White, Black, Navy,
Reel, Jeans Blue, Faded Blue
In Cotton
Green, Tan, Light Blue
Navy & White - In Poplin
In Medium & Narrow Widths
Sizes 4 to 12
3.98
Regularly
4.98 to 5.99
CHILDREN’S COTTON
P. F. FLYERS
All Colors
Sizes 4 to 12 - Med. & N. Widths
Regularly /■} /-no
4.50 to 4.98 Z.7O
MISSES POPLIN & COTTON
P. F. FLYERS
Sizes 12Yi to 3
Regularly o QQ
5.50 Value O./O
ONE TABLE
97c
ON THE SIDEWALK!
3 Tables, Including Camp Moccassins & Tennis Shoes
ONE TABLE
1.45
Kids! We Have The Famous Tiger Tooth
USE OUR CONVENIENT LAY-A-WAY PLAN
AND OUR FIRST UNION CHARGE PLAN
ONE TABLE
1.94
PAT’S SHOE MART
on North Broad Street—In the College Shopping Center
BREVARD’S ONLY DRIVE-IN CANCELLATION SHOE STORE