The College of William and Mary Deferred Me
As I recall, it was in the Spring of my junior year at Washington-Lee High School (W-L) that my mom and dad said it was time to start thinking about going to college. Well, I let them know right away I already knew where I wanted to go and that was the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg–“lock, stock, and barrel”!
I just loved Williamsburg and still do to this day. My parents must’ve enjoyed Williamsburg as well since we’d head down there several times a year for a long weekend all through the 1960’s. We always stayed at the Williamsburg Lodge where I have so many fond memories. My dad was a member of the Civitan Club as many of the trips over the years were to attend an annual Tri-State Civitan Club Convention which always turned out to be a “lost weekend” if you get what I mean!
The Williamsburg Lodge was very nice, but certainly not “over the top” like its counterpart across the street, the Williamsburg Inn. After a nice breakfast, I’d head to the large and comfortable lobby at the Lodge and enjoy some decent people-watching until it was time to head to the historic area for some sightseeing.
I digress as we’d always stopped by the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center when arriving to Williamsburg in order to purchase our Patriot Pass. Of course, it was mandatory to watch the “must-see” historic 1957 movie orientating you to the history of Colonial Williamsburg entitled “Williamsburg: The Story of a Patriot” starring Jack Lord (later of “Hawaii Five-0” fame). Honestly, I’ve seen that movie so many times I could recite every line before it was actually spoken.
My favorite places to visit in the historic area along Duke of Gloucester Street were the Capitol, the Magazine with its musket-firing demonstrations, and Raleigh Tavern Bakery to enjoy fresh-baked Gingerbread Cookies and hot mulled Apple Cider. I also enjoyed visiting the Governor’s Palace on Palace Green Street.
Mom, being the “shopaholic” she was, got her fix at Merchant’s Square. While she shopped, my dad and I would get a small bag of peanuts from the Peanut Shop of Williamsburg and “plop” down on one of the many wooden benches to feed the birds–we might have even had a few ourselves. As we left Merchant’s Square, we’d have to stop by the Wythe Candy and Gourmet Shop for some Chocolate Cashew Clusters and a few Chocolate Covered Strawberries. If we happened to be at Merchant’s Square around lunchtime, the Williamsburg Cheese Shop (original location) might be a spot to pick-up a delicious sandwich. Another spot we’d often eat at for lunch was The Trellis Restaurant where my mom had to always enjoy the infamous “Death by Chocolate” dessert.
I so remember the delicious meals we enjoyed in Williamsburg. For lunch we enjoyed some colonial dining at both Chowning’s Tavern and the King’s Arms Tavern. At Chowning’s, I’d enjoy the BBQ Sandwich on a Tavern Roll with Chowning’s Coleslaw or the Welsh Rabbit. Another neat spot for lunch was sitting outside at the Golden Horseshoe Clubhouse Grille overlooking the little pond filled with the largest Koi fish at the 18th green where you could watch the golfers finishing their round. After lunch the waitresses would give you some bread so you could go down and feed the Koi fish for some added fun.
Dinner at the colonial Christiana Campbell’s Tavern was always good with its menu filled with many seafood offerings. A Friday evening “must” was enjoying the fabulous (and I mean fabulous) Chesapeake Bay Seafood Feast Buffet at the Williamsburg Lodge where the offerings were plentiful and first class all the way. Saturday evenings were always reserved for fine dining in the Regency Room at the Williamsburg Inn. Beforehand drinks were always a must at the Williamsburg Inn Lounge where my dad would enjoy a gin and tonic with a small bottle of Schweppes tonic being provided for you to pour how much of it you desired to have in your drink.
As a sidenote, the mature matriarch who seated you at the Lounge “back in the day” was such a majestic lady always so elegantly dressed and so well “put together” with a wondrous mane of silver hair. Extremely professional yet polite she so reminded me of, Josef, the most wonderful maître d’ at the Top of the Town Restaurant atop the Prospect House in Arlington. There was a strict dress code while dining at the Williamsburg Inn requiring ladies to wear a fancy dress or slack suit and gentlemen to have both a coat and tie preferably a suit. If, by chance, a gentleman forgot his necktie, one would be generously provided for you to borrow while dining.
Dinner at the Regency Room was always one of my most favorite dining experiences ever! The service provided by the waitstaff was “top notch” always being “on point”. One of my all-time favorite entrees was the exquisite Chateaubriand for Two served tableside. It was irresistibly “magnifique”!!
Another hotel owned by Colonial Williamsburg was The Cascades located by the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center noted for its colossal and wonderful Hunt Country Breakfast Buffet. Not only were the many offerings fresh with items like pancakes, waffles, and omelets made for you as you waited, but you certainly earned a nap after having returned to the buffet time, after time, and after time again!
While visiting Williamsburg, golf was a must as the Golden Horseshoe at the Williamsburg Inn has always been my most favorite place to play with its beautifully laid out traditional tract. I’ve had the distinct opportunity to be so fortunate to have played a round or two of golf at many wonderful courses yet still the Golden Horseshoe tops the list as my favorite. Yes, we’d usually also take in a round at Kingsmill along the James River which made for an enjoyable day.
More fun in Williamsburg would be had as we would head off to Busch Gardens for a day of fun and festivities. It was a lot of walking, but each country you visited offered a variety of rides, good food, and entertaining shows as the grounds were always immaculately kept. Somewhat enjoyable but not for all the hours my mom would spend there becoming what was an all-day visit to the Williamsburg Pottery established in 1938 which, “back in the day”, was always jam-packed with shoppers. I’m still perplexed as my mom could always fill so many shopping bags with “crap” each and every time we would visit.
Of course, either heading in to or leaving Williamsburg required a mandatory lunch at Pierce’s Pit Bar-B-Que which is a Virginia tradition. Hey, I’m not saying the BBQ is the best I’ve ever had, I’m just saying heading there becomes a family tradition.
So, there you have it and now you can easily see and understand why my college of choice would be the College of William and Mary due to my love of Williamsburg. I knew getting accepted wouldn’t be easy, but I felt I had the credentials to at least give me a decent chance having good grades, a good score on the SAT, participated in athletics, was a member of several high school clubs, and took part in other extracurricular activities.
Well, guess what? The College of William and Mary deferred me to the waiting list and I’m still “bummed out” over their decision. Yeah, yeah–I know–attending Vanderbilt University isn’t a poor second choice as it’s an outstanding school, but the “dream” school for me was William and Mary. I recall it being said if you were an out-of-state female your chances of getting into William and Mary were “slim or none” unless you had a “slide rule for eyes”. Being an in-state male, with what I thought were decent credentials, gave me a good chance of being accepted–or at least that’s what I thought–NOT!!
Just to make my point, other than Vanderbilt, I was also very fortunately accepted to Washington and Lee University (all-boys), Randolph-Macon College (all-boys), Georgetown University, and both Brown and Harvard out of the Ivy League. Still, not William and Mary. Huh?
I visited both Washington and Lee and Randolph-Macon for football, but with them both being all-boys then and with my liking for the opposite sex I certainly wasn’t headed to either of those schools. Vanderbilt came to W-L for a football visit with Coach Wisler. Georgetown was just a little too close to home although a great school.
My getting into the Ivy League schools was due to Coach Edsel Martz, a reborn Christian, renown baseball coach who was “tough as nails” although extremely caring, and baseball scout for both the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Ivy League. Coach Martz was a real “character” and a man who easily earned your respect. For some unknown reason, he saw something in me as a baseball player and a human being, having kept up with me throughout high school and summer baseball. One thing about Coach Martz was when he took “a liking” to you, he was extremely persistent and you could count on him either visiting you or giving you a call almost daily. Even when I made my decision to ultimately attend Vanderbilt, Coach Martz, although disappointed, was still a consistent communicator keeping in touch for many years. Saying he was quite a gentleman would be quite an understatement!
In closing, still, after 55 years, being deferred by the College of William and Mary has been extremely disappointing, Yeah, sure, for the most part everything has worked out okay–I get that. But what I still don’t get is not being accepted to William and Mary. Huh?