One Mystical Magic Morning

by Joan Stone

One Saturday morning in mid June, Lucy and I decided to go out for breakfast. It was cool and rainy with low clouds, and everything had a misty look.

After a nice hearty breakfast we decided to take a walk and headed for the Duke of Gloucester Street in Colonial Williamsburg.

The rain was just heavy enough to require umbrellas and at first we wished we had brought light jackets. However, as we walked we warmed up nicely.

There were not many people out walking and we saw only the security patrol and an occasional maintenance truck. As we headed toward the capitol building, we spoke to each of the few walkers we met.

It was very quiet and the heavy clouds muffled the traffic sound from the side street. An occasional jogger ran past and one person on a bicycle rode by.

When the street ended at the capitol building on the top of the hill, we circled around to come back toward Market Square, and at this moment, it appeared that there was no one else on the street.

It felt as if we were the only people here.

At this moment the town began to awake.

A few doors from us a man in colonial dress came out of one of the occupied homes and stepped onto the sidewalk to retrieve his newspaper. When we got near the courthouse we began seeing the costumed interpreters arriving to open the houses and getting ready for their day. They were in typical dress of the period.

The gentlemen in their brocade jackets with walking sticks in hand and the salesmen and waiters for the taverns in their white shirts and dark trousers. The ladies in their long skirts and aprons with their shopping baskets over their arms heading into the homes or stores along the street.

It was as if we had stepped back in time and were watching the village awaken, as it must have every morning in revolutionary times.

Further down the street, we began seeing a mixture of 21st century and 17th century clothing as folks walked toward the capitol.

In the shopping area at the foot of Duke of Gloucester Street a farmers market was opening with all the fresh fruits, vegetables, flowers and bakery goods for sale. The only part of the scene that was different from what we had been experiencing was seeing motor cars and trucks and people dressed 21st century style.

It was so special in the atmosphere of the 17th century and with the mist giving it an ethereal feeling. It was hard to return to our own time period.

It was a truly unique and special morning in Colonial Williamsburg.

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Updated: 05/08/04