Shaker Simply Beautiful

When July 9th "finally" arrived, we drove north 1.5 hours for

a very memorable overnight stay at Enfield Shaker Village.

(The red circles indicate our room's two windows.)

Pandemic circumstances had cancelled this trip earlier

in the Spring when we had booked an over-night room online in

the Great Stone Dwelling during a time when the site's

software was NOT supposed to let us through. So subsequent

conversations with Enfield staff allowed us "to name our own date".

Turned out we had jumped their re-opening date

by one week, and so we had the whole building to ourselves.

 Vince repeatedly referred to us as "the inn keepers", 

but it was more like a less-adventurous or non-spooky version 

of our own "Night at the Museum". 

I'll explain more about our experience, but first . . . 

. . . two mission-related filling of my lamp events to note.

Above, I am dreaming of toast and Stone Wall peach jam

after friend and mission angel Anita Nickulas left

"a little surprise" on my office desk on Tuesday.

That day we received an early morning call from Sister Beck

(Mission President's wife/companion) describing an urgent

need for help for the Portsmouth NH sisters foursome.

Again it felt like I am here for JUST THE RIGHT moment.

 Above, Sisters Goeckeritz and Hoisington look happy

as they hang the black-out over-curtains (our eventual fix). 

But the necessity was actually a bit threatening:

a probable "stalker" had become a potential "voyeur".

Vertical blinds so common in apartment living as
slider-door treatment of choice of landlords
leave undesirable gaps.

The request: would we be willing to risk the apartment

inspection/exposure to help determine a solution.

"Sure" we said. And I added, "this is right up my alley."

 As we measured the doorways in both living space

and adjacent bedroom space, our minds were busy and

our prayerful hearts open. Nearly instantly I realized that

the headrails of the blinds were metal. A quick trip to Lowe's

found ready-made panels, a dozen magnets, and hot melt glue.

Above, Sisters Prince and Erickson are attaching the magnets,

and finally, the protective layer could easily (and temporarily)

be installed as shown below. 

Thankful for quick inspiration, and useful past experience!

NOTE: tree was a "General Conf" reminder (Apr); it got knocked

down during the installation, and so has been retired.

Having passed the "Point of Interest" freeway sign repeatedly,

and then come even closer a few more times as we stopped

into the Lebanon Ward LDS Chapel building just across the lake, 

we finally visited in May. Online discovery by Vince soon surprised us:

we could actually book a room in the historic Great Stone Dwelling.

The Shaker legacy has long been close to my heart,

an interest I share with my furniture builder son Cory.

While the Amish offer lovely traditional quilts,

Shakers have left us simple, beautiful furniture.

Thomas Muerton delivers a phrase in the Ken Burns' film

on Shakers. "The beauty and grace of a Shaker chair is due

to the fact that it was made by someone capable of believing

that an angel might come and sit on it."

 Re-educating myself during this visit has reminded me

of their religious legacy as well. For many, what comes

to mind on the instant is "Simple Gifts" music or lyric.

(The Shakers did NOT use any instrumental music for
 worship - only vocals.) Introduction in the short paperback

 that we purchased in Enfield begins, "The Shakers:

a religious community in an American tradition."
("The Story of the Shakers" by Flo Morse)

Mother Ann from England was their leader and founder,

and brought her Christian beliefs and hope to America

 during the days of American Revolutionary fervor. 

Their true name is United Society of Believers in Christ's 

Second Appearing. Philosophically (in a nutshell) "they

lived simply and selflessly, were idealistic, believed in

equal rights for men and women, welcomed all races,

opposed war, strove for perfection in their work, and

danced in worship of Mother-and-Father God."

I would echo the author's sentiment that "the world

is a better place" because they were here.

(This image is from the first floor dining room, looking

toward the front entrance, showing built-in storage.)

Apologies that this post will seem like a travelogue again --

this is our means of documenting our adventure.

Pictured below is the most impressive building on the site, much

of which has changed since the Enfield community moved

and consolidated with Canterbury community (NH) around 1923.

Called the "Great Stone Dwelling", it was planned and built

in a time of relative prosperity with extravagant hopefulness

that the community would expand to inhabit its many "retiring"

(sleeping) rooms. Largest Shaker building ever erected.

Education guide Kyle explained that it took ONLY 3 years

to build, out of solid, thick granite blocks, and then three more

years were spent fitting out the interior with all its cabinetry.

(I balked at the idea that 3 years was fast construction,

and then I remembered that it was completed in 1841,

and NOT using modern equipment.)

In the center of the Dwelling, running full width there is

a dining room on the first floor, and a dancing and worship room

on the second. Everywhere we looked inside the building

there were peg strips along the walls. These, of course,

were a way of clearing the room space of chairs for

added functionality. Such a marvelous feature!

Here, below, is another "function" room, showing their skill at

cabinetry, and also their emphasis on clean, open living space.

This attention to detail, style, precision, excellence was life:

"Don't make something unless it is both necessary

and useful; but if it is both necessary and useful,

don't hesitate to make it beautiful."

 I also loved these built-in window shutters, below, which

are split into lower and upper, fold back at vertical

"centerline", then fit neatly into casements at a lovely

"bay" angle for a flush wall. Even the windows themselves

were innovative, with weight and pulley system.

Another philosophical quote: "Do your work as though

you had a thousand years to live and as if you were

to die tomorrow."

Our visit to the cellar revealed the stone

foundation and thick archways that supported

the immense load above, while allowing for

useful space. This area (wood stove was removed

in this "collections" image but present when we toured)

houses a room-sized smoking oven behind the brick

wall seen beyond the arch. So nice to be down there

and out of the July heat and humidity upstairs!

We relished so many vintage Shaker pieces, lots of which

were original to the site, returned by collectors to benefit all.

This drop-leaf table in the simple style looks almost

mid-century modern.

 Here, below, a plain dry sink still has intriguing style.

(This one was captured by Vince, whose 6 ft 2 inch vantage

is a bit too high to capture the profile that I want.)

Shaker furniture and style is only one of their legacies.

The communities expressed their ideal as

"Hands to work, Hearts to God". 
Work was worship and all labor was consecrated. 
Shakers have blessed society with

many inventions, including: mail order seed packets;

shaker chair; circular saw blade; flat broom; wheel-driven

washing machine; condensed milk; many farm tools including

the rotary harrow and a threshing machine; tilting chair;

and shaker peg. In fact . . .

 . . . a subtle reminder of the peg's importance was

included as the "fob" for our room key, #15.

 Inside our lodging room was this classic, tri-pod

"candle-stand" table (hoping to add one of these

to our dwelling back there in Lehi sometime soon).

Our atypical "hotel" experience began with a packet LEFT

on the front hall shaker cabinet, with hand-penned name.

There is not an innkeeper on-site.

(The book is one we purchased at the gift shop,

with the top-side-down hanging shaker side chairs.)

Our room included peg strips, of course, where I

hung our recent brethren's straw hat purchase.

Here is a better view of the room itself, 

spartan-ly simple, but comfortable enough.

At the end of the lodging room floors (3rd & 4th), 

a comfortable sitting space welcomed me for my

typical pre-dawn designing work period with laptop.

You get only a peek of the wooden handrail stairways,

mirror imaged on both front AND back of the building.

The Shakers lived a strictly celibate lifestyle, where there

was only minimal, prescribed interaction.

Half of the building was for men; the other half for

women - hence separate staircases and facilities. 

Leadership roles were held equally by elders and eldresses,

deacons and deaconesses.

 Classic (can I over-use this term?) shaker rocker

with herringbone woven fabric tape seat and back.

This is the view of the hallway on fourth floor

where our room was.

Here is a modern view of what is left of the village.

The Great Stone Dwelling is on the right.

At center is a discordant Catholic stone church structure,

de-sanctified and now used for community functions.

Left are two of the wooden workshop buildings,

moved when the Dwelling was planned and built.

This picture was taken in "close up" focus from a hike

up the mountain Friday morning.

 Compare the changed village, absence of tree interference

and beautiful Mascoma Lake in this vintage photo

that I discovered through a Google search.

Can you locate the Great Stone Dwelling near center?

Another eye-catching but de-commissioned building

is this two-level, drive in barn - huge!

Here is a morning peek of the barn's upper interior.

An informational sign in the barn was enlightening.

I loved how it suggests "oxen learned quickly

and did not need to be handled roughly."

Across the highway we walked in search of the hiking trail

that promised a great view from the low side of Mt. Assurance,

stopping to explore this "stone mill" building.

(You can see Vince in his red shirt on the right.)

We admired the beauty of the irregular 

and high contrast stonework.

 Here Vince gives me his "so you want me to SMILE"

expression as he sits on the broken mill stones nearby.

 Later on our hike - long and beautiful -

he wanted me to capture him "holding up"

this colossal fallen tree.

Though the low contrast in the shade may not show it well,

we came across this probably eighteenth-century stone wall.

As I reach the final picture of this thirty-five image long

post, I conclude with this one, of a Shaker eldress wearing

an elaborately pinned kerchief favored for the first 100 years

in Shaker communities. Viewing a sample on display in

an artifact room at Enfield, I asked Kyle about the pleating,

and how it was fastened (my Clothing & Textiles background

coming through, I guess). "Pins?" I guessed. Yes, he said,

reminding me that the Shakers did not use buttons.

"Straight pins," he said "were all they used as fastenings."

I can't get that image out of my head: working, eating, walking,

living, laying down, and more, in a dress fastened with straight pins!

As parting thoughts, I direct any continuing interest

toward the Ken Burns documentary film on the Shakers.

Memorable quotes and important information contained therein,

including a historian responding to a question about whether

the Shakers "were successful". Communal living worked better

for them and longer than any other contemporary attempts.

The "gifts" they gave America are numerous!

My heart and designer-mind will always praise and respect

the workmen and women who produced the near perfect

Shaker furniture.

Lastly, their suggestive nickname "Shakers" has an explanation

that intrigues and inspires me. Unintentional that it endured,
its genesis was the notion that they hoped to "shake" away sin.

I applaud any effort to shake off our "natural man".

Our lamps have be filled and filled and filled.