Pink, blue, yellow. That was the color progression of Pilgrimage dresses for little girls growing up in the Beneke household in the mid-1970s to 1991. There — just as for many bright-eyed youngsters and their mothers who served as hostesses — spring Pilgrimage heralded hoop skirts, petticoats and an almost surreal step back in time.

“We had a pink dress, then you grew up to the blue and then finally the yellow,” said Lynda Beneke Rood, who made all the Pilgrimage frocks for her daughters, Tory and Bishop, as they grew ever taller. “The yellow was your last opportunity to serve,” she smiled. .

“And we used to get out of school for it,” grinned Bishop Beneke Chavers Tuesday, standing in the entryway of Riverview, one of several historic homes returning to Pilgrimage for the 70th anniversary April 5-17.

Now a resident of Birmingham, Ala., Chavers, 36, and her two children, 9-year-old Reagan and 7-year-old Reid, joined Rood and Patty DeBardeleben in the grand Greek Revival mansion. DeBardeleben, then Patty Murfee, was mistress of the home when the women graciously greeted pilgrims there together almost two decades ago.

Coming back

In a week”s time, they will reunite once again to open Riverview, a National Historic Landmark also known as the McLaren-Murfee House, located at 511 Second St. S. and owned by Riverview Investments LLC.

“I”d wanted my children to have the Pilgrimage experience,” said Chavers. Thanks to that inspiration, and Rood”s extensive efforts in contacting them, many of the home”s former hostesses, including Tory Beneke of Chicago, are returning to serve again.

“I would start them out as litty bitty, taking up tickets or playing in the yard, until they”d get big enough to talk about one thing in the house,” DeBardeleben recalled, strolling through the beautifully-furnished house listed on the National Register of Historic Places. “Then, they”d get big enough and say, ”Miss Patty, I want a whole room!”

Riverview, like several other homes featured in the first-ever Pilgrimage in 1940, is re-joining the tour for this special year.

Columbus Cultural Heritage Foundation Director Nancy Carpenter said, “Pilgrimage any year is a great year, and to have homes that were on the first spring Pilgrimage open again to welcome guests from across the country and even the world, is really amazing.”

Other 1940-Pilgrimage sites included in the 2010 tour are Hamilton Hall, Rosewood Manor, Shadowlawn, Snowdoun, Temple Heights, Twelve Gables, White Arches, Whitehall and Colonnade”s garden. In all, Pilgrimage offers 20 impressive homes, churches and gardens on tour, as well as a roster of special events.

Riverview

The imposing symmetry of Riverview”s circa 1850 matching front and back porticos opens to an elegant interior. Exceptional plasterwork in the front parlor crowns antique furnishings carefully chosen by DeBardeleben and then-husband, Dr. John Murfee, now deceased.

“We started acquiring things for the house even before we knew we would be here,” she shared. “John fell in love with this house when he came down here for a Boy Scout outing, and he never wavered. … We actually moved to Columbus because we knew the house would be available.”

A stunning four-story mahogany staircase in the center of the home gracefully curves toward Riverview”s cupola, where past homeowners including the late John Gilmer, of the Gilmer Hotel, could look out to the Tombigbee River. The third and fourth stair levels are free-standing, leading to a stained glass skylight, researched and replaced with help from Sam Kaye and Carolyn Haney of Columbus after fierce straight-line winds severely damaged the original.

Abundant artwork, vintage books and curios of the era make Riverview seem much as it might have appeared in 1852, when a glowing account of its architecture and furnishings was published in the newspaper.

DeBardeleben stressed the importance of passing on an appreciation of historic homes to younger generations. “And it”s wonderful to have those who served as hostesses here as children want to come back with their children,” she said.

Rood added, “It”s been fun recreating the group and having my daughters and grandchildren excited to do this with me one more time. The response has been great. Everyone has been so excited about reliving the legacy of Riverview.”

Friendly City welcome

While hosts for all the historic homes are busy with final touches, city personnel and volunteers are also preparing to welcome several thousand visitors.

“This would not take place without the generous homeowners,” stressed Carpenter. “And Columbus Air Force Base is supplying us with more than 65 percent of our hostesses; they”ve worked tirelessly.”

The Heritage Foundation director also praised Columbus officials, public works, the police department and all those readying for the event expected to exceed $650,000 in economic impact.

“I really feel like we”ve pulled out all the stops,” she enthused. “What a great 70th anniversary celebration we”re going to have!”

Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.

READER FAVORITES

• 

  Overpriced beach bar vibes (at home)

  By Ashlynd King • 1 day ago

• 

  Summer’s simplest salmon

  By Ashlynd King • 1 day ago