Pine Knot’s preserver

By David Maurer

Published: October 7, 2008

Sometimes the first act of preservation is realizing, and then convincing others, that something is worth saving.

When Roger F.H. Leclere and his wife, Martha, initially laid eyes on Pine Knot in the mid-1990s it was in rough shape. Theodore Roosevelt’s rustic getaway near Keene had never been more than a humble, two-story cabin in the woods.

The 26th president of the United States had called the dwelling “a delightful house, to us at least, although only a shell of boards.” Time and weather had rotted away some of those boards, and the chimneys that flanked each side had pulled away from the structure.

The late William H. Harbaugh had managed to staunch the deterioration, but he needed help if the house was to be saved from ruin. The University of Virginia history professor and author of the acclaimed 1961 biography “Power and Responsibility: The Life and Times of Theodore Roosevelt” turned to Leclere for assistance.

Leclere and his wife had moved to the area in 1988 after he retired from a 34-year career in top management at Colonial Williamsburg. Harbaugh had asked the UVa law school graduate if he would head up a committee to investigate the possibility of restoring Pine Knot and opening it to the public.

The earnest request prompted an inspection tour of the property. Although much of the flooring on the front porch was rotted, and the structure sagged on its foundation, Leclere and his wife were immediately enchanted by the place.

“The first time Roger and I walked into Pine Knot, he said, ‘You know, I can see Roosevelt,’” Martha Leclere said of her late husband, who passed away on Dec. 6, 2007, at the age of 83. “‘I can just see him. I can feel him.’

“Roger admired Theodore Roosevelt extravagantly, in part because he went against the flow of his party, which Roger seemed to be constantly doing as well. He also admired Bill Harbaugh.

“And there’s a magic to Pine Knot — I feel it whenever I go there. When somebody asks you to do something, you say, ‘Oh, Lord yes, because I have a feeling about the place.’

“Roger had that sort of feeling for Pine Knot.”

Service to honor Leclere

This Sunday afternoon, a memorial service to celebrate the life of Leclere will be held at Pine Knot. The event is open to the public, and those who wish to share a thought or two about him will have the opportunity.

The lovingly restored cabin and surrounding acres are the result of much hard work put in by many volunteers. Harbaugh and Leclere, each with their own gifts to contribute, led the effort.

“Roger was critical in the saving and restoration of Pine Knot,” said Paula Beazley, chairwoman and president of the Edith and Theodore Roosevelt Pine Knot Foundation, which has been entrusted with the care and operation of the house and surrounding 90-plus acres. “He was a very intelligent man, and he had experience from Williamsburg in terms of historic structures and how to get things done.

“I think he was able to accomplish some things Bill could not. Bill did a wonderful job in terms of having the vision and foresight of what Pine Knot was all about. And he had the understanding of its history, and he shared that history with us.

“But Roger managed Pine Knot through some of its most difficult years when the renovations were being planned and then done. He kept Pine Knot together in those years, and also brought a group together to continue and further its purpose.”

Edith Roosevelt purchased Pine Knot and 15 surrounding acres for $195 in 1905. The haven for “rest and repairs” was far enough away from Washington to escape the constant demands of the presidency, but near enough to make long weekends doable.

The first lady added another 75 acres in 1911 when she thought her husband would run and win a third term in the White House. That didn’t happen, and Roosevelt never returned to Pine Knot after leaving office in 1909.

Although Pine Knot was a long ways from the Roosevelt’s home in Oyster Bay, N.Y., Mrs. Roosevelt didn’t want to part with it. It wasn’t until 1941, seven years before her death, that she sold the southern Albemarle County property to George Omohundro.

The cottage and acreage returned to the Roosevelt family in 1989 when George Omohundro Jr. sold it to Roosevelt’s great-grandson Theodore Roosevelt IV. In 1992 he turned it over to the Theodore Roosevelt Associ-ation. “The association increasingly felt they couldn’t manage Pine Knot from a distance,” Beazley said. “Roger recommended, and they encouraged him to put together a local nonprofit that would care for it.

“Roger and Martha brought a group of us together at their house for lunch in March 2001, and told us of his intention to form this nonprofit. He wanted us to consider being on the board, and he wanted me to chair it.

“I knew very little about Pine Knot, and frankly, very little about Teddy Roosevelt. But Roger and Martha were quite persuasive, and I agreed to do it.”

Roosevelt IV got Pine Knot placed on the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places. He also placed the land in a conservation easement.

The stories it could tell

Through the efforts of many people, Pine Knot survived the perilous period when historically significant places can easily perish for lack of a champion. Harbaugh shared the stories that made people realize the historic worth of the woodsy refuge, and Leclere guided the preservation effort.

“From my observation Roger was the main person to really keep Pine Knot together, and he saw that it should be kept together,” said Charley Mott, a member of Pine Knot’s board of directors. “Pine Knot can tell us a lot about Teddy Roosevelt, and what a genuine person he was.

“When you learn he hauled water to the house from 200 yards away, that tells you something about the man. That he hauled in all the firewood and did almost all the cooking there, and loved it, says something as well.

“When I’m there it gives me a strong feeling for this guy. And like Roosevelt, the first word that comes to my mind when thinking of Roger is ‘genuine.’ He was intensely interested in preserving history, and had a lifetime of appreciating history.”

‘A very happy life’

Leclere was born and raised in Beaumont, Texas, but fell in love with Virginia during his time at UVa. During World War II he served as a communication officer on a Navy gunboat, participating in the battles for the Marianas, Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

After again serving in hostile waters during the Korean War, Leclere joined the legal staff of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in 1954. Although he eventually became chief financial officer and senior vice president of Colonial Williamsburg, he never allowed himself to become staid and stuffy.

“Roger had a deep love of opera, but he was also a lover of contemporary music,” Martha Leclere said. “By that I mean he was a big fan of Bruce Springsteen, Mike and the Mechanics and all that music from the 1980s.

“He was a wonderful family man and a doting father to our five children. He was the kind of person who all of a sudden would say, ‘We’re going to go up and see the ballet in Washington, or a museum.’

“He always said he had had a very happy life, and not to mourn him when he’s gone. Toward the end of his life I remember him waking me up at 3 in the morning and telling me he wanted to be cremated and have his ashes scattered.

“He then said, ‘I think I’ve left enough money so you can have a nice party.’”

On Sunday there will be the nice party at the retreat Leclere did so much to preserve. There will be food and in honor of Leclere’s love of wine, a taste of that as well.

In life Leclere often took solitary strolls around Pine Knot. His widow said he could think more clearly about what the place needed when he was there.

“What happens to all of us is that if you’re around Pine Knot enough, you fall in love with it,” Beazley said. “Roger absolutely adored the place, and he was very essential to its continued existence.”

Under Leclere’s guidance Pine Knot was repaired, its chimneys straightened and its hue returned to the original ochre it was in Roosevelt’s day. Tours are arranged by appointment and about 500 people visit it each year.

Touching the past

Today Pine Knot stands as a testament to the worth of preserving historically significant things. The majesty of the humble, tree-shaded dwelling is found not in its architectural grandeur, but in the invisible things that touch the human heart and elevate the spirit.

When Pine Knot touched Leclere’s heart, he set to work to ensure future generations would have the opportunity to be moved and inspired by it as well. In so doing he helped provide a priceless gift that invites hands to reach out and touch the past.

“Everybody who knew Roger had a great deal of respect for him,” Mott said of his departed friend. “He left a lot with a lot of us.”

The celebration of Roger Leclere will take place at Pine Knot at 2 p.m. Sunday. From Charlottesville, take Route 20 south to Keene. Turn left on Route 712, Coles Rolling Road, and follow for 1.5 miles to a T intersection. Turn left and go a short way and then turn right on Route 712. After about a half mile Pine Knot will appear on the right.