Stars shine at Poplar Forest gala

Thomas Jefferson, one of the country’s greatest leaders, came to dinner at Poplar Forest last night through Robert Duvall, arguably one of the country’s greatest actors.

And Jefferson’s granddaughter, Ellen, through actress Connie Britton, painted a portrait of what everyday life was like 200 years ago when the third president took refuge at his Bedford County retreat.

They were joined by actor/director Scott Cooper and approximately 200 donors at a dinner under a white tent on the lawn outside the octagonal house. Candles flickered on tables set with fresh flowers at which men in black ties and women in little black dresses talked and ate. During the evening, all raised their glasses to Jefferson.

The dinner marked what has been accomplished so far in the ongoing and now 25-year-long effort to rescue and restore the property. The fete was the first since completion this spring of work on the exterior, which now appears as it would have when Jefferson last rode up to the door.

Jefferson often brought his granddaughters with him to Poplar Forest.

Ellen wrote about typical days with “Mr. Jefferson,” as she called him. His life elsewhere was filled with bustle and hurry and endless company. Here, he found rest and leisure, she wrote.

They spent “cheerful, uneventful” days reading, eating and talking. Jefferson seemed to enjoy his granddaughters, Ellen wrote, “as much as if we were older, wiser people.”

When he arose at 10 p.m. to go to bed, she said they felt like “blessing God for such a friend.”

Duvall was to read from the letters of Jefferson. During an interview, Duvall, who lives in Fauquier County, said he shares in the “distant respect (for Jefferson) that’s kind of a collective thing in the United States.”

Duvall, who won the Academy Award for “Tender Mercies” and starred in such cinematic classics as “The Godfather” and “Apocalypse Now,” played in the Emmy Award-winning “Broken Trail” with Cooper, an Abingdon native. Cooper recently made his writing and directorial debut with “Crazy Heart,” the fall release which stars Duvall, Jeff Bridges, Colin Farrell and Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Britton, who currently stars in NBC’s “Friday Night Lights” and has also appeared in “Spin City” and “The West Wing,” came to live in Lynchburg at the age of 7 when her father, the late Allen Womack, moved his family to the area so he could take the helm at the former BWXT, now Babcock & Wilcox. Currently playing in a remake of “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” Britton’s film work includes “The Brothers McMullen.”

For Britton, there was an extra connection. Her father was on Poplar Forest’s board.

“I know he would be so proud, as we are, to know Connie is here tonight,” said Judith Greer Schulz, president of the board of Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest.