August 2020

Saving Monticello: The Newsletter

The latest about the book, author events, and more

Newsletter Editor - Marc Leepson

 

Volume XVII, Number 8                                                               August 1, 2020

“The study of the past is a constantly evolving, never-ending journey of discovery.” – Eric Foner

 OPEN: My old friend and colleague, the writer and documentary filmmaker Steven Pressman, paid a visit to Monticello in late July with his girlfriend Lisa Stark. I asked Steve if he’d give me a report as I have not been on the mountain since the reopening, and he graciously agreed.

“I’ve visited Monticello several times over the years, but I particularly wanted to go back now because of a new policy that allows visitors to take photographs inside the house,” Steve said.

“One of the tour guides said the new photo policy had been under consideration even before the pandemic, but I’m guessing the timing also was designed as an added encouragement for folks to come to Monticello now that the house has been reopened to visitors.” 

Photos aside, Steve said, “I was really impressed with the manner in which Monticello has reopened—especially given the need for social distancing and other necessary precautions required in this Covid environment. Despite the 90-plus-degree weather, I was only too happy to comply with a strict mask-wearing rule. I have great empathy for the Monticello employees stationed outside at the Visitor Center who, likewise, were masked up as they greeted visitors in the sweltering summer heat.

“The safety procedures also include strict limits on the number of people allowed into the house at any given time—limits that also apply to the shuttle buses that took us from the Visitor Center up the mountain to the house. 

“Inside the house, visitors are now permitted to wander through the public rooms on their own. In other words, no groups huddled together in the company of a tour guide. This made it much easier to walk through the house and maintain adequate distance from others, especially given the small number of overall visitors allowed inside at any given time. The added benefit, of course, is a greater sense of intimacy and relative solitude while inside the house.”

Monticello, Steve said, “has occupied a special place in my heart for years and years, and I'm grateful to the staff there for the care and thoughtfulness that has gone into its reopening in the midst of the pandemic. I’m already thinking of making plans to return again in the fall—not only because the weather will mercifully be cooler, but the house and surrounding grounds will be even more spectacular with fall colors.”

You can get details on the visiting procedures now in place at Monticello at this page on the Thomas Jefferson Foundation’s official Monticello website: https://bit.ly/MontReopening  To order tickets online, go to https://bit.ly/MontTickets

If you’re sticking close to home, there are two ways to take virtual tours of the house and gardens at Monticello. As in the past, the Monticello website offers a self-guided tour. And now, because of the pandemic, the Foundation has begun offering a one-hour guided intimate virtual tour. For info on both ways to see Monticello from home, go to https://bit.ly/MontVirtualTours

LIVE-STREAMING: Another way Monticello has positively responded to the pandemic is through its new livestreaming programming from the Mountain via Facebook, the Foundation’s website (Monticello.org), and YouTube. The livestreams, which began April 21 feature Bill Barker, the great Thomas Jefferson interpreter, as well as other experts on many aspects of the house and Thomas Jefferson. For more Monticello livestreaming info, including videos of the previous programs, go to https://bit.ly/MontLiveStreams

This Just In: We just confirmed that I will be doing a livestreaming Q&A on the Levy Family’s stewardship of Monticello from Monticello on Wednesday, September 23, at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time. More details in next month’s newsletter. 

DOCUMENTARY NEWS: Did I mention that Steve Pressman is a documentary filmmaker? His first film, 50 Children: The Rescue Mission of Mr. and Mrs. Kraus, premiered on HBO in 2013. In it, Steve tells the little-known, amazing story of Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus, a Jewish couple from Philadelphia who traveled to Nazi Germany in 1939 virtually on their own and spirted 50 Jewish children out of the country and into safety in Philadelphia. 

His new doc, Holy Silence, focuses on Pope Pius XII, Hitler, and the Holocaust. The film in particular concentrates on American officials—from priests to presidents—who worked behind the scenes to influence the pope to take a stand against Hitler and fascism. More info on that film at http://www.7thart.com/films/Holy-Silence

News Flash: I am extremely happy to report that I have been working with Steve on his next film, which will tell the story of the Levy family and their stewardship of Monticello. The good folks at the Thomas Jefferson Foundation have agreed to help with the doc. Steve and his small crew started production last fall. The pandemic has put a hold on things, but production will pick up once life returns to what will pass for normal. Stay tuned for updates.

EVENTS: My scheduled live events for the spring and summer have been canceled or postponed due to the pandemic.

But I will be doing a Zoom talk for the New Market, Virginia, library on Saving Monticello on Saturday, August 8, beginning at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time, featuring my PowerPoint with rare vintage photos of the house and grounds. It’s free and open to the public. To register, go to  https://bit.ly/SMTalkRegister

To check out my scheduled late 2020 events, go to the Events page on my website at http://bit.ly/Eventsandtalks

If you’d like to arrange an event for Saving Monticello, or for any of my other books, feel free to send me email at marcleepson@gmail.com  For info on my latest book, Ballad of the Green Beret, go to http://bit.ly/GreenBeretBook

GIFT IDEAS:  Want a personally autographed, brand-new paperback copy of Saving Monticello? Please e-mail me. I also have a few as-new, unopened hardcover copies, along with a good selection of brand-new copies of my other books.