The Times from Shreveport, Louisiana • Page 72

From helicopter to horse and carriage is the switch at Williamshurg, where every year kings and queens, presidents and prime ministers see a picture of America as it used to he as their first glimpse of our country. VIPs arei often amazed at the colonial city restored with Rockefeller monev. If mfH 1 'U3 By HARRY NASH Associated Press Writer versmith, apothecary and printing shops in which costumed craftsmen use hand methods and tools of the 1700s to fashion articles like those made long ago. Humelsine likes to tell of the occasion when Churchill's host in Williamsburg asked the prime minister if he would like to visit nearby Yorktown, scene of General Cornwallis' surrender in 1781. "Why would I want to go to Y'orktown?" the great British leader retorted.

Most foreign dignitaries who come for brief visits see the colonial capitol, the governor's palace, the public magazine and a mood-setting motion picture, "The Story of a Patriot," which has sound tracks in Italian, Russian, German, French, Japanese, Spanish ond English. Tours for those here on longer visits include restored and reconstructed 18th Century residences; acres of manicured gardens and greens; and gunsmith, sil To stroll the streets of Williamsburg is to step from the 20th Century to the 18th Century and see an American community as it really existed 200 years ago. Almost. Because while the visitor may be transported in horse and carriage, in typical 38th Century fashion, the 20th Century intrudes unexpectedly. King Faisal of Saudi Arabia was involved in the most recent example.

He had been brought to Williamsburg, which has become a standard tour site for notables visiting Washington, to see a living example of American heritage. In olden days, they traveled by horse and carriage and so the king got into a carriage, too. Suddenly, a helicopter came overhead, frightening the horse. It threw its rider. The king quickly lowered the carriage steps and moved safely to the ground.

"I've had some experience with horses," he explained. Twenty years earlier, Winston Churchill and Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower chatted comfortably as they rode in a horse-drawn carriage. Their nemesis was not the helicopter, but another 20th Century invention: the photographer's flashbulb.

When the bulbs flashed, the horses reared and tried to bolt. Churchill puffed harder on his cigar and held up two fingers in his victory gesture. Eisenhower grinned. Strong men subdued the horses. Churchill and Eisenhower resumed their tourafoot.

The horses have hauled many kings and queens, prime ministers and presidents since the U.S. State Department in 1953 adopted a suggestion by Carlisle H. Humelsine, president of Colonial Williamsburg, a former deputy undersecretary of state, that Williamsburg be added to tours of the United States by foreign leaders. "I had a feeling that many of our foreign visitors were unaware of the interest of Americans in their heritage," Humelsine explains, "that they tended to think of this country only in terms of our material accomplishments, and huge metropolitan areas such as New York, Detroit and Miami. "By visiting Williamsburg, dignitaries are made aware of an important chapter of our history.

They are surprised and relaxed by the tranquil, non-industrial, noncommercial atmosphere; and, of course, they discover another side of America." Early in the Kennedy administration, Humelsine says, the president and then chief of protocol Angier Biddle Duke decided to make Williamsburg or Philadelphiaaccording to the visitors' preference the first stop. "Since then most have come here," Humelsine says. "If they want rest they get it. If they want to see the restored area we show it to them. They have a chance to get a good night's rest, talk together and relax before going to Washington to meet the president." Yugoslav President Tito, a visitor in 1963, asked Williamsburg Mayor H.

M. Stryker the age of a building. "Several hundred years," said the mayor. "In my country we hove buildings several thousand years old," said Tito. "Give us time," responded the mayor.

Thailand's King Bhumibol, here in 1960, had fun taking pictures of tourists taking pictures of him. His wife, Queen Sirikit, delighted in gathering shells on the bank ot the James River. Foreign visitors who stirred great enthusiasm were Britain's Queen Elizabeth; her mother, who was here in 1954, and Queen Frederika of Greece, who accompanied King Paul in 1953. And, of course, large crowds followed Churchill and Eisenhower in 1946. When a foreign leader remains several days in Williamsburg, Winthrop Rockefeller comes from his home in Arkansas to be host.

He is a son of John D. Rockefeller Jr. and a brother of Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller of New York.

His father spent more than $74 million in the restoration of Colonial Williamsburg. Winthrop Rockefeller is chairman of the board of Colonial Williamsburg, which with 2,000 employes and an annual operating budget of some $10 million, maintains, operates and interprets the historic portions of the city. AP Photos King Baudouin of the Belgians, at left, received a silver pipkin made in a Williamsburg, silver shop from Winthrop Rockefeller, center, chairman of the board of Colonial Williamsburg, and the master silversmith, William deMatteo, who made it, during his visit to the old city. 6-F Sunday, Aug. 21, 1966 The Shreveport Times.