A foundation for prettiness

"The White Church'' in Grafton, Vt.

You want a pretty town? It helps to find a rich foundation.

Thus it was with lovely Grafton, Vt., where back in the' 60s the Windham Foundation set up a preservation program for the whole town that did such prettifying things as restoring old buildings and covered bridges and burying all electrical and telephone lines.

The foundation says it "strives to preserve Vermont's rural way of life'' and works "to enhance the social, economic and cultural vitality of Vermont's smaller communities.''

Its efforts in Grafton were helped by the fact that many rich people "from away'' have weekend and summer homes in the rather precious-looking town.

The Grafton Inn, founded in 1801, has hosted many famous people, including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Rudyard Kipling (who lived in Dummerston, Vt., in 1892-96; a battle with his alcoholic brother-inn-law drove him away) Theodore Roosevelt and other celebs down to the present day.