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The qualities that drew Bessie Bucholz Hudgens (Col ’11) to UVA and keep her connected to her alma mater—history, beauty, community—are the same characteristics that she helps to perpetuate through her family’s support of the University’s historic preservation efforts.
Despite growing up in Wyoming, Hudgens continued a family legacy of attending college in Virginia. Her mother, Laura Bucholz, went to Hollins College near Roanoke and visited Charlottesville often. Bucholz encouraged her sister, Claire Liedtke Alexander (Col ’80), to attend UVA.
When Hudgens visited Grounds during high school, she was hooked. “I could really imagine myself there,” she said. “And as time would reveal, it was such a great match for me.”
HISTORY LESSON
Once she began at UVA, Hudgens immediately sensed the contrasts to her rural hometown and her high school graduating class of 20 students. “It was more of an academic shock than a cultural shock,” she said. She was also struck by the history the University. “To be in this living, breathing historic place was really fascinating. We’re not looking at the objects in the museum, we’re living inside it,” she said.
Hudgens joined a sorority and became active in the University Guides. Although she enjoyed admissions tours, she especially looked forward to leading historical tours. “I just loved sharing the Jeffersonian vision and that history with people,” she said. “Sharing that time and again really endeared the Academical Village, and the philosophy behind it, to me even further.”
PRESERVING THE PAST
Based on Hudgens’ undergraduate experience, which included a minor in landscape architecture in addition to her art history major, it’s not surprising that she, her mother, and her aunt decided to donate to historic preservation. One of the earliest projects the Gretchen Swanson Family Foundation supported was restoration of the ceilings of the colonnades using traditional materials. The project was part of a larger effort to return the Lawn to its Jefferson-era appearance.
The foundation also helped fund restoration of Pavilion X. The wooden parapet concealing the pavilion’s pitched roof was restored and the building was returned to its original color scheme featuring sand-colored trim and columns. This project was especially important to both Hudgens and her mother.
“The pavilions exemplify the Academical Village concept that Jefferson had where teachers were living upstairs and then teaching downstairs,” Hudgens said.
“They contribute to such a sense of community,” Bucholz added.
Most recently, the foundation made a pledge to restore the serpentine walls surrounding the pavilion gardens. These engineering marvels have captivated Hudgens since her University Guide days. “I loved talking about the serpentine walls,” she said. “That always got people excited and they would say, ‘Wait, they’re only one brick thick!’”
BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS
Now a realtor in Bozeman, Montana, Hudgens maintains connections with the University and the people she met there. “I’m still on a text thread with 16 of my best friends from UVA and it’s going off daily,” she said. She also helped to found the UVA Club of Montana, bringing together fellow Wahoos to learn, cheer on the Cavaliers, or reminisce.
And like many alumni, Hudgens feels that the UNESCO World Heritage Site’s buildings are the soul of the University. “I certainly find the historic beauty of the school to be one of its greatest assets,” she said. “And so, I’m always happy to be a supporter of historic preservation.”
