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The incredible
history behind Shaker Village
By Gail L.
Imagine for
a moment that you are eleven again. It's Christmas time, the
most magical time of the year. At least for most children.
But your
father has been out of work for the last few months, and your
mother has been in and out of the hospital fighting the last
stages of a cancer that has ravaged her body.
One day you
come home from school to find your father sitting at the kitchen
table, his head in his hands. Immediately, you know that the
dreaded phone call has come. Your mother has died.
The next
few days pass in a blur of tears, grief and hugs from a few assorted
relatives you barely know. Then comes the day of reckoning. Your
father pulls you to his side, wrapping his big arms around you.
"My darling girl, you know how much I love you how much
I loved your mother." A sob catches in his throat. You peer
into his face expectantly, waiting for the words that are so
hard for him to speak.
"I can't
raise you alone," he says, tears streaming down his face.
"I have no job, no money, nothing to offer you."
"Daddy!"
you wail. "Don't say that. I won't ask for anything. I only
want to be with you!"
It's enough
to bring a lump to your now adult throat. But scenes just like
the one painted above were played out numerous times during the
1700s on up through the Great Depression of the 1930s. In fact,
many families became so desperate in their financial struggles
that they often relinquished their children to a religious sect
known as The Shakers, a group who formed colonies of communal
living to embrace peace and live a Godly lifestyle. They devoted
their "hands to work and hearts to God" while striving
to make their villages an earthly heaven.
On a recent
visit to Shaker Village in Canterbury Village in New Hampshire,
I became acquainted (through a video production) with Alberta
Kirkpatrick, an elderly woman who had been adopted by the Shakers
as a child. Her father was forced to give her up after his wife
had died, and he thought the Shakers might be the best option
for his beloved daughter. Alberta is still alive and returns
to Canterbury occasionally to give lectures on her fond memories
of her life
with the Shakers.
The Shakers
originated in England and immigrated to American shores in 1774.
Visionary Mother Ann Lee brought the original group of eight
to New York and eventually settled near Albany, where they farmed
the land. They were known as Shaking Quakers or Shakers because
of their ecstatic and agitated movements during worship services.
Over the years, the Shakers' membership grew through recruitment
and adoption of children who otherwise would have been orphaned.
At their
peak, there were 18 communities from Maine to Kentucky. By choice,
the Shakers isolated themselves from the rest of the world. They
were deeply committed to a celibate lifestyle and simple living.
Like the Quakers, they believed in personal communication with
a God who was both male and female. They lived in segregated
dormitories, but gathered to eat, work and worship together.
Most of the
settlements are ghost towns today, except for those in Canterbury,
New Hampshire, and Sabbath Day Lake, Maine. Members live on small
plots while the remainder of the land is devoted to historic
preservation and museums.
A country
road leading to Canterbury is hilly, winding and picturesque
with its meandering icy streams veering off into the woods. Stark
white buildings in the Shaker settlement, 24 in all, rise up
against the gray-blue wintersky to meet visitors, their straight
lines a testament to the simplicity of the people who lived in
them. Trees, stripped of their leaves, are a grim reminder of
the struggle to stand tall and firm in times of desolation.
The 24 buildings
are carefully laid out over 694 acres of open fields, woods and
ponds. Among the buildings are a one-room schoolhouse, chapel,
bakery, bee house, dormitory and syrup shop. Initially, boys
attended school during the winter and girls attended in summer.
Eventually, both Shaker and Canterbury children attended together
year-round. Besides learning the three R's, children such as
Alberta were taught how to sew in what is called the Sister's
Shop. They also learned how to make bread and other baked goods.
In the upstairs room of the gift shop, Alberta's life is on display
in the form of letters she wrote to her beloved father. Though
she received loving care at the hands of the Shakers, she missed
her father deeply and kept their relationship alive through the
written word. The letters are tender accounts of her life with
the Shakers as well as her devotion to him. Shaker Village weaves
past and present by offering a close-up view of life as it once
was. To keep their skilled craftsmanship alive classes and events
are scheduled throughout the year for visitors to take part in.
A two-day
session, for example, might be devoted to making a cherry jewelry
box from scratch. The box includes hand-cut dovetail joints and
solid brass hinges, as well as a dovetailed small sliding tray
for the interior. Another workshop allows participants to join
a snowflake-making class. These ten-inch, two-sided snowflakes
are made of maple, cherry, black walnut or mix and match. They
are meant to hang in a window or against a wall. Other workshops
are scheduled throughout the year.
While touring
the village, stop in at the gift shop to admire the handiwork
of the Shakers. Here you will find dining table and chair reproductions,
candlestands, oval boxes, peg rails, baskets, books, teas and
herbs and a myriad of other items.
End your
tour by reserving a table at the Creamery Restaurant where you
candine by candlelight and sample homemade, wholesome food on
Friday and Saturday nights. Leave the madness of the world behind,
if only for a day. Add a visit to Shaker Village to your wish
list. Then pack up the kids and go.
Museum and
museum store open weekends 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Admission: $10 Adults; $5 children ages 6-15
Candlelight dinner at the Creamery Restaurant. By reservation
only for Friday and Saturday seatings at 6:45 p.m. Call (603)
783-9511 for reservations.
For more information, call 1-800-982-9511.
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