Much-needed
Bed and breakfast provides comforting outlet from dorm atmosphere, real world

Compared to waking up in a warm, quiet bed to the smell of mother’s pancakes, crawling down from a lofted bunk seven feet in the air to the smell of your roommate may be disappointing.

To get away from college life for a weekend or to have a quiet evening of rest, bed and breakfast hotels can provide the traditional house, a comfortable bed, quietude and mom’s cooking — a home away from home.

Bed and breakfasts can be used by graduate business travelers, parents and siblings, stressed students during finals or by couples.

“I wouldn’t go during finals week,” freshman pre-major Sara Hamilton said. “I would go just to relax and enjoy sleeping all day in a comfy bed.”

One bed and breakfast hotel in Fort Worth is The Texas White House Bed and Breakfast, built in 1910.
The White House was owned by William and Carolyn Newkirk who raised four boys in the home, the third of which, Richard, became mayor of Fort Worth in 1981, said Grover McMains, who runs the business with his wife, Jamie.

The house was sold in 1967 after both William and Carolyn Newkirk had died. It then became a series of small businesses and was a restaurant called the Texas White House before the McMains’ bought it in 1994.

After renovations, it reopened in 1996 to once again be lived in as a home nearly 30 years after the Newkirks’ stay.

Entering the house, at 1478 8th Ave., from the porch, there is a small living area with antique furniture that opens into the dining area where breakfast is served. The stairs lead to the three bedrooms — The Land of Contrasts, Tejas and Lonestar.

The entire house has wooden floors and each room has it’s own private bath. The Land of Contrasts room has white wicker furniture and a light feel with several windows, a white tile floor, a claw-foot bathtub and a pedestal sink.

Tejas was Richard Newkirk’s bedroom and is decorated in deeper relaxing greens and ivy. There is an antique desk and trinkets around the room.

Lonestar was the master bedroom and is decorated with a south Texas decor and a queen-size oak bed.
Each room is $125 a night and $105 a night for two or more nights.

The price includes the room, fresh-baked cookies and coffee and a breakfast served — not buffet-style — at a time of the customer’s choosing, McMains said.

“Our breakfast includes a beverage, usually a baked-egg dish and a fruit plate,” he said.

The personal attention is what makes bed and breakfasts different from larger hotels, McMains said.

“There will always be people who appreciate personal attention and service,” he said. “At other places they try, but it is very difficult once they get past a certain size.”

Many students’ parents are more familiar with the bed and breakfast atmosphere than the students are.

“My parents stay in them a lot when they are on business trips,” sophomore elementary education major Abbey Radabaugh said. “They feel like they are part of their family.”

The owners also provide additional services at customers’ requests.

“Whatever you can conjure up, we can do it,” McMains said.

If you need dinner reservations, tickets to Bass Performance Hall, a chilled bottle of champagne already in the room or a snack platter delivered in the evening, the McMains will make arrangements to meet requests and only charge for supplies.

“That, to me, epitomizes the luxury of personal attention,” he said.

But for some guests, the “personal attention” is more than what they thought they were paying for.

In the Lonestar room, there are stories of a ghost that guests say watches them while they sleep, McMains said.

The presence is believed to be William Newkirk, who died in the master bedroom in 1957 at age 97.
There have been three instances where separate guests have reported sensing his presence — none of which knew anything about the history of the room or the other instances, McMains said.

“There is a common thread that runs through all the stories,” he said.

The only reported instances were by women staying alone in the Lonestar room.

The first woman to report the presence said she awoke in the middle of the night and felt someone laying beside her in bed at her back, McMains said.

The first woman waited until she felt the presence get up to look and see who it was, but no one was there. A few seconds later, the overhead light came on and stayed on for about 2 to 5 seconds and then went off, he said.

The second woman did not turn over, but when she felt the presence get up, her cell phone started beeping for a few seconds.

“They say they (ghosts) have an electromagnetic field around them that might trigger such things as lights turning on and cell phones going off,” he said.

The third incident happened last weekend, he said.

“A woman came down for breakfast and said, ‘You didn’t tell me about the other guest,’” McMains said.

t first he said he had no idea what the woman was talking about, until she explained how she felt someone watching her in the middle of the night and moving around the room.

But the McMains have decided not to advertise their bed and breakfast as “haunted.”

“There is always the power of suggestion and it might freak some people out — or might make more people want to stay,” he said.

The Texas White House books rapidly on weekends, so it is suggested that reservations should be made two weeks in advance.

“We have people that book their reservations for the next year when they check out,” McMains said.

Guests from 43 different countries and 46 states have stayed at the White House. For more information, call 923-3597 or go to (www.texaswhitehouse.com).

Alisha Brown
lishakat@aol.com.

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