craftygal porch - Interview with Winnie Lewellen, Hostess at Guest Home in Chautauqua

Chautauqua Institution web site

Athenaeum hotel

The Craft of Being a Great Hostess

by Christy

I couldn’t have asked for a more picturesque afternoon to spend on the grounds of Chautauqua Institution. A brilliant blue sky hung over the lake, and bold green trees were the only things that separated those two vast expanses of blue from one another. Winnie Lewellen, hostess at the Institution’s Wensley Guest House greeted me warmly on the steps of the home, and within minutes we were seated in the comfy wicker chairs on the corner of the second story porch with the lake as our only backdrop.

Winnie on the steps
of the Wensley.

For those of you unfamiliar with Chautauqua Institution, let me give you a brief background. Founded in 1874 as an experimental, vacation learning community, it is much more than a vacation destination. Visitors enjoy intellectual and spiritual stimulation and growth while on the grounds through the lectures, book discussions, and various visual and performing arts events. The nine-week season runs during the summer, and vacationers can also enroll in various classes on art, music, dance, theater, and writing skills. Be sure to check out the Institution’s web site for more history.

If a craft is something you indeed work at and hone, then being a good hostess (or host I must add) definitely qualifies as a craft. Winnie seemed to agree whole-heartedly with this concept, so without further delay, we got right down to discussing what she calls, "the best job on planet Earth!" And after spending an hour or so listening to her passion for this job, I’m inclined to believe her.

First off, she needed to establish for me exactly what the guesthouse’s function was. "The home is 127 years old and was gifted to the Institution by Mrs. Wensley for the express purpose of accommodating the performers and lecturers who come in and out of Chautauqua every summer." Mrs. Wensley believed that the guests should enjoy one another in a more relaxed environment (apart from the concert and lecture halls) and have an opportunity to mingle with folks from different disciplines.

"The accommodations are modest; there is no heat or air conditioning in the house," well, except for the extra quilts and airy windows in all nine guest rooms. "But what the house lacks in amenities, it more than makes up for in atmosphere, and stimulating interaction between the guests," and their more than apt hostess I must add. "I’ve been the hostess at the Wensley for 25 years, and just count myself lucky to be an observer of all the interaction between my guests."

What has come to be known as the Bill Clinton room, where the Clintons have stayed on a few occasions.

An average day for Winnie consists of being on hand to greet guests when they arrive, or see them off at departure, and making sure their needs are met in between those times. "The guests stay at the home as part of their contract with the Institution, so no money changes hands between the guests and me." There isn’t even a front desk as in most inns. "That helps foster the feeling that these folks are guests of mine in my home, and it makes my job that much easier." No food is served at the Wensley, so they take all their meals at the Athenaeum–the main hotel on the grounds of Chautauqua. There is a Wensley table in the dining room, so most guests also get to spend meal times together under the watchful eye of Winnie.

The view of the Athenaeum from the porch of the Wensley.

Part of seeing to it that the guests’ needs are met is making sure they have everything they need physically. She and her chambermaid spend their days accommodating her guests as best they can. Winnie relayed a story to me about a guest who let out a gasp when he first saw his room. She asked him what the problem was, and he told her, "You may think this is silly, but I have to fall asleep to the background noise of a television." She looked right at him and said, "No problem, we can take care of that." She goes out of her way to make sure that her guests are just as comfortable, if not more comfortable, than they would be at home.

The other part of being a great hostess, and the part that concerns we craftygals the most, is being in tune with the guests’ emotional and mental needs. The Institution expects Winnie to diffuse any potentially controversial or uncomfortable interaction between the guests, which she is quick to point out is a minimal part of her job, but a role nonetheless. "I am constantly gauging the guest’s varying comfort levels." A skilled hostess will know when her guests need space or when they need an unbiased ear to listen. One of Winnie’s favorite things about living on the grounds at Chautauqua is that it was founded on, and remains to be influenced by, religious principles. "There is a very strong moral, ethical, and civil atmosphere on the grounds, and I can use the Institution’s foundation to help stabilize any of my guests who are feeling off-kilter." She is quick to offer encouragement and wisdom from her own personal experiences to those who find themselves on her porch or in her parlor in need of a lift, or just plain in need of some comfort.

"One of my favorite guests was Barbara Bush. She visited the Institution to do a lecture while her husband was still serving as vice-president." No other guests were allowed to stay at the house that night, and she came with an entourage of service agents who did a background check on Winnie. "After her morning jog, Mrs. Bush came back to the Wensley, kicked off her sneakers, tugged off her socks, wiggled her toes, and then struck up a conversation with me. We talked about all sorts of things, from grandkids to education." She definitely left an impression on Winnie in order to be one of the guests she holds out from among the hundreds of others there have been.

Looking towards Chautauqua Lake from the house.

As we wrapped up our conversation, she told me that she likes the challenge that she’s presented with every day: "to see to it that people like one another in a comfortable atmosphere." Indeed, I think we would all agree that the best hostesses we have encountered have been able to blend an entire room of apples to oranges kinds of people. The greatest hostess will soften the edges of all of her guests so subtly and so craftily, that before you know it everyone is interacting swimmingly.

"I am no where near ready to give up the stimulation of meeting new, exciting, and vibrant individuals who have made a difference in the world socially." When I pressed her about the craft of being a good hostess, she was quick with her response. "It’s about having a sensitivity to people’s moods and to their willingness to socialize or not."

As I parted ways with Winnie and wended my way back up the grounds, passed the Amphitheater where the symphony was rehearsing for the evening’s performance, and passed Bestor Plaza where children were playing, adults were reading, and everyone was soaking in the atmosphere of Chautauqua, I really felt the spirit of the Institution as Winnie had so eloquently spoken of it earlier. Whether a guest at the Wensley due to an engagement at Chautauqua, or just a guest on the grounds for an evening performance, you can feel the attention and commitment to a more civil, moral, and ethical way of life. Very crafty indeed.