Parke S. Rouse Jr.

Infobox Writer
name = Parke S. Rouse Jr.
pseudonym = Parke Rouse
birthname = Parke Shepherd Rouse, Jr.
birthdate = 1915
birthplace = Smithfield, Virginia
deathdate = March 5, Death year and age|1997|1915
deathplace = Williamsburg, Virginia
occupation = Journalist, Historian, Author
nationality = American
subject = Virginia History
influences = Virginius Dabney

Parke Shepherd Rouse Jr. (1915 - March 5, 1997) was a journalist, writer and historian in Tidewater Virginia.

BIOGRAPHY

Early life

Parke S. Rouse Jr. was a native of the Town of Smithfield. [citation|title=Jamestown's Story: Act One of the American Dream|pages=7.] He spent most of his childhood in Newport News, Virginia and was a 1937 graduate of Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. [citation|title=Jamestown's Story: Act One of the American Dream|pages=7.] He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II on the staff of Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. [citation|title=Jamestown's Story: Act One of the American Dream|pages=7]

Journalist

During his early years as a journalist, prior to World War II, Rouse worked for the "Newport News Times-Herald" and for the "Richmond Times-Dispatch". [citation|title=Jamestown's Story: Act One of the American Dream|pages=7.] After the War, Rouse returned to Virginia, where he served as an assistant to the "Richmond Times-Dispatch's" editor, Virginius Dabney, and later as the paper's Sunday Editor. [citation|title=Jamestown's Story: Act One of the American Dream|pages=7.] In later life Rouse wrote a weekly column about Tidewater Virginia for the Newport News "Daily Press". [citation|title=Jamestown's Story: Act One of the American Dream|pages=8.]

Author

Rouse combined his love of early Virginia history with his exceptional writing skills to produce 22 books and hundreds of newspaper columns on Virginia history, all marked by their author's innate grace, humor, and storytelling talent. Among Rouse's best-known works were a biography of James Blair, founder and first president of the College of William and Mary; a history of the college president's house; and a popular chronicle of Williamsburg's history before and during its restoration as Colonial Williamsburg by John D. Rockefeller Jr., Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, and the Reverend Dr. W.A.R. Goodwin.

Colonial Williamsburg

In 1953, Parke Rouse became director of publications for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and worked closely with eventual president and chairman of the Foundation, Carlisle H. Humelsine. [citation|title=Jamestown's Story: Act One of the American Dream|pages=7.]

Commonwealth of Virginia

Throughout his adult life, Rouse served in several public positions. In 1950 he joined the Virginia Chamber of Commerce. [citation|title=Jamestown's Story: Act One of the American Dream|pages=7.] In 1954, he became the first executive director of Jamestown Festival Park and later the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation [ [http://www.jamestown-yorktown.state.va.us/ Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation website] ] , a post he held for 26 years until his retirement. [citation|title=Jamestown's Story: Act One of the American Dream|pages=7.] He served as the director of Virginia's official celebration of Jamestown's 350th anniversary in 1957. [citation|title=Jamestown's Story: Act One of the American Dream|pages=8.] From 1974 through 1980, Rouse also served as the Executive Director of the Virginia Independence Bicentennial Commission and assisted in the planning for the 1976 visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Jamestown and Williamsburg. [ citation|title=Jamestown's Story: Act One of the American Dream|pages=7.] Virginia Governor Gerald Baliles proclaimed Rouse a "Virginia Laureate" in 1988 in recognition for his "contributions preserving the Commonwealth's heritage." [citation|title=Jamestown's Story: Act One of the American Dream|pages=8.]

In 1998, the Virginia General Assembly passed a posthumous Resolution commending his contributions to the Commonwealth. [ [http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?981+ful+SJ42 Virginia Legislative Information System 1998 Resolution adopted upon the passing of Parke Rouse Jr.] ]

Partial Bibliography

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Notes

ources

* [http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?981+ful+SJ42 Virginia Legislative Information System 1998 Resolution adopted upon the passing of Parke Rouse Jr.]
* [http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/VA-Pilot/issues/1997/vp970306/03060382.htm Obituary, The Virginian-Pilot, March 6, 1997, p. B9]