Colonie Central High School - Rougetor Yearbook (Albany, NY)

Page 22 text:

,A Whispering Pine . . . Who liveth by the rugged pine Foundeth a heroic line. Emerson Such were the people who lived among my brethern in the Pine Bush, the Shakers. Brought to this area by an English blacksmith's daughter, known as Mother Ann Lee, the Shakers were a religious group. Their claim of Ann I.ee's divinity and their practices of worship enraged leaders of other sects and after much persecution, they set out for America. Actually the United Society of Believers in the Second Coming of Christ, those in the Pine Bush had many unique beliefs. In one book of Shaker rules, the religion is explained as the church which professed revelation, spiritualism, Come, life, Shaker life, come, life eternal, Shake, shake out of me all that is carnal. Night after night, anyone passing down the road could hear songs like this ringing to the rafters of Shaker dwellings. In one of the services, they extended their hands out from the elbows, palms upward to receive blessings in them. Be- ginning with a short trot, changing to a pe- culiar shuffle, they slid their feet along the floor, then would raise one foot about four inches, and bring toes down first. The rhythm would arouse their sensesg they would clap their hands, turn their palms downward to let the sins run from the finger tips. The dancing would end in the frenzied shaking of the carnal, . l I ,fs r ,, 4, ff' ' SX I -' 0' I' I X. 1- , B x N 'X X S N' In 4 ff 4 cl is if-f Qi .14 .- wqffuf i-5, 1: XL 1,fg.f's , -lm . ' 4'l'4l ,f . -A .A i '- .5 fl, Ha, f f X - ' f Will 4' N ---ss -Tg5.. i-'i-'2 fx' ' V 'i?, I - celibacy, oral confession, community of goods, non-resistance, peace, the gift of healing, mir- acles, physical health, and separation from the world. Of all these elements, to the people who watched the Shakers, the sharing of all goods and the custom of not marrying seemed strange. By taking in whole families as converts, the Shakers were able to increase their fold, but they are now becoming extinct because of this restric- tion. For many years, they opened their doors to orphans but state institutions took over this procedure. The weird aspect of the Shakers that permeat- ed through the Pines was the unusual ceremony they conducted to rid themselves of sin. The Shakers, nevertheless, will long be re- membered for many other things-unusual garden seeds, medicinal herbs, and many items for market such as bonnets, chairs, brooms and buttons. Today, Shaker Road and the Ann Lee Home are the two major reminders of the Shaker era in the Pine Bush. But as a whispering pine, I could tell many stories of virtue and fortitude that would make one realize that the women in the big bonnets and unadorned gray dresses with kerchiefs around their shoulders and the men with their simple work-suits and unstyled broad- brimmed hats were indeed among the heroic line who added much to the rugged pine.

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'R' i2 Qi'i:-QQ?,,H Elsie Docsar and Gertrude Lambert, Main Officef Dorothy Cline, Mr. Germondit Ofhce. Virginia Dries and Florence Hane, Board Oflire. Front row: M. jean Meara, Mathematics, Blanche Moses, Citizenship Educationg Fred Kershko, Administration. Second row: Robert Stimson, Mathematirsg David C. Preston, Commercep Richard J. Sauer, Citizenship Edu- cation. SECRETARIES H09- Seated: Muriel Ponce and Catherine Baird, Main Offce. Standing: Juanita Faas, Health Ofliceg Gertrude Mesick, Library. STUDE T TEACHER

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Ex ' gbfl .Q 4 1 L N r f ' w , A x X' w X Q , K N X y V 5 -xx V ',9' 'WWRNX if Q ' K A tree trunk is a nobler object than a prince in his Coronation robes. H V Y M n , ,F 'xt ' Q '61 r rx. , 'xx I 4- 1 ,Aisl- .. ' 1 A' 5 X 5 x U x , msgs . K i Q- ,. .- 914.1- - is e- s Q' .. -Sb w .es ..i--