Chinqua-Penn Celebrates
Elaborate Reopening
The clegani Rockingham County
home of Jeff and Betsy Penn is again
enteitaining scores of guests, much as it
did during the couple's heyday in the
1930s and '40s.
Chinqua-Penn Plantation in late June,
two years after a slate budget shortfall
forced North Carolina State University
to shutter the home, lodge and other
buildings «in the 22-acre historic and
artisti* site in Wentworth. I he longtime
tourist attraction's return was greeted
with a June 30 coming-out party that
mixed the glit/ of a debutantes' ball with
a down-home barbecue supper.
The party and the July I reopening
capped months of devoted work by vol¬
unteers and the plantation’s newly hired
professional management staff, says
Susan ( ;iine-< .ordonier. executive direc¬
tor of the Chinqua-Penn Plantation
Foundation. Since March, they worked
on numerous projects, including main¬
tenance on the long-closed home and
preparation of displays of the Penns’
extensive and eclectic art collection.
Most of the effort, however, was con¬
centrated on the large and diverse gar¬
dens surrounding the home, which vie
with the ai i collection as tin* plantation's
best-known feature.
“The foundation’s philosophy is to
restore the grounds to the 1930s and
’40s. the height of Jeff and Betsy’s time
here." Clinc-Cordonier says. "We've
gone from photographs from the 1930s.
. . . We dec ided that was the focal point
of the house."
The outdoor work ranged from clean¬
ing more than 30 statues to planting
more than 800 donated roses to rebuild¬
ing the cutting beds, which Betsy Penn
used to put Ircsh flowers in cat h of the
home's 22 rooms daily. An estimated
$50,000 in volunteer labor went into the
gardens over the last four months. Pro¬
jects still ahead include restoration of an
elaborate pagoda (which will remain
covered until work is finished m the next
two to three years) and the Lull on
greenhouses.
As a wealthy couple traveling the
world, the Penns acquired a large art col¬
lection. including items fmiii central
Europe. Scandinavia. Spain. Africa and
the Orient. |cff Penn was fascinated by
religions, leading him to buy numerous
The elegant Qiiiupta-Penn limitation is
again entertaining guests in Wentworth.
works based on holy themes. But the col¬
lection was not purchased for its value.
■They bought what they liked." Cline-
Cordonici says. "Some of the pieces they
bought have no historical value. Some
arc incredible in terms of theii appraisal.
They’re irreplaceable."
The collection is the stall’s next large
project. For now. members are taking
simple conservation steps silt h as remov¬
ing items from direct sunlight. Planned
are extensive fabric-preservation work to
protect and showcase the home's valu¬
able draperies and furniture, restoration
of interior-wall carvings and of the
kitchen, basement and far m so they can
be added to the plantation tour.
Const! uciion of the plantation started
in the early 1920s with the building of a
lodge. The Penns lived there while the
main house was built from 1923 to 1925.
moving in on Christmas Day of that year.
The plantation was a working farm —
unlike properties such as Bilimore
House near Asheville, which was a sum¬
mer residence — and the couple lived
there year-round.
Besides it' gardens, art codec lion and
home, ( 'ilinc-( lordonier wants ( ihinqua-
Penn to become known as a lear ning lab¬
oratory. Part of its marketing campaign
labels the plantation as The Global
Adventure."
The plantation's story and treasures
will soon lie taken to schools at otmri the
state by an interactive video presenta¬
tion. Clinc-Cordonier also foresees the
establishment of a private endowment to
assure the plantation's future and its use
as a ccntet to teach historical conserva¬
tion subjei is such as fabric and land¬
scape* preservation and restoration.
The plantation is located about five
miles north of RcidsviUe on N.C 87. It
is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.in. Tuesday
through Saturday and 1 to 6 p.m. on
Sunday. Admission lot the House and
Garden Tour is $7 for adults. $6 for
seniors. $2.50 for youths ages 6-18 and
free for children under age 6. For more
information, call (910) 349-4576.
— Ross Chandler
Renowned N.C. Journalist
Shumaker Honored At UNC
Well-known
North Carolina
journalist Jim
Shumaker, the
inspiration for
the nationally
syndicated car¬
toon “Shoe,"
will be filling
his own shoes
in 1994-95 at
the University
of North Car- ..
„
im. _
olina at Chapel
Hill School of Journalism and Mass
Communication. He has been named
the James II. Shumaker I ei m Professor
effective August I.
Since 1991. when a fund-raising drive
began, nearly 400 alumni and friends
have contributed or pledged more than
SI 50.000 to endow the professorship to
honor Shumaker, a veteran Tar Heel
journalist and editor who has taught
courses such as news, editorial and fea¬
ture writing for 21 years at UNC.
“Shu has inspired, encouraged and
motivated thousands of J -School stu¬
dents." says Rachel Pern , press secretary
for Governor James B. Hunt and one of
Shu’s former students.
Jeff Mac Nelly, co-chair of the Shu¬
maker Term Professorship Committee
and a three-time Pulitzer Prize-winner
for his political cartoons, took his first
professional job working for Shumaker
at The Chaff! HiU Weekly in the late 1960s
when he was a UNC art student. I Ic drew
on his experiences with Shumaker to
create the comic strip “Shoe" and its
main character. P. Martin Shoemaker.
Shumakei entered Carolina on the
G.l. bill in 1945. He also worked for the
Durham Morning Herald, a job that kept
him away from classes. He applied for his
к
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irnliru
SmStnini
The Statc
1994
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