Columbus Pilgrimage Jubilee of Homes is finishing up its month of activities with several tours this weekend.
This week’s activities kicked off Thursday with Lunch and Learn, during which people ate food at Zachary’s while Steve Pieschel, professor emeritus at Mississippi University for Women, talked about famous playwright and Columbus native Thomas Lanier Williams III, more commonly known by his pen name Tennessee Williams.
Like many of the Pilgrimage activities held between March 24 and April 16, the Lunch and Learn was sold out, said volunteers with Preservation Society of Columbus, which organized this year’s Pilgrimage.
Pieschel said he taught Williams’ plays at The W but didn’t start researching the Pulitzer Prize winner’s life until his own retirement, about 20 years ago.
“His plays are revered internationally, around the world,” he said of Williams.
Williams’ life through May 1952, when he visited Columbus as an adult, was highlighted in Pieschel’s talk. Among the interesting notes of Williams’ visit was staying at Errolton, on Third Avenue South, the current home of Mayor Keith Gaskin and Gaines Gaskin.
In a letter about his 1952 visit, Williams wrote, “It is a strange part of the world, and I feel as if I had always known it and I suppose I have …”
“His life is an interesting story of a person persevering through a difficult childhood by doing the thing he does well and is important for him to do, which is writing,” Pieschel said.
While Williams was the topic of the Pilgrimage’s last Lunch and Learn, the other weeks included a look at disenfranchised citizens — women, Native Americans and African Americans, according to Preservation Columbus cofounder Kathy Novotny.
She noted that this year’s Pilgrimage was attended by several school groups, which hasn’t happened in many years.
Brenda Caradine, founder of the Tennessee Williams Tribute, as among those attending the Lunch and Learn. She noted that she enjoyed Pieschel’s presentation. The next Tennessee Williams Tribute is set for Sept. 8-10.
This weekend’s Pilgrimage activities include several tours.
The Maroon Tour — featuring Whitehall and White Arches in South Columbus — will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday and 2-5 p.m. Saturday. The Orange Tour — featuring Baskerville Manson and Shadowlawn — will be held from 2-5 p.m. Friday. The Purple Tour — featuring The Haven, Temple Heights and The McGahey Apartment — will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Tickets cost $35 for adults and $25 for students. They can be purchased online at preservecolumbus.com or by going to 512 Main St.
Preservation Society of Columbus is a nonprofit. Its board is made up of owners of historic homes in Columbus and preservation experts.
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