Darrow School - Shaker Post Yearbook (New Lebanon, NY)

Text from Pages 1 - 108 of the 1936 volume:

.ag-.green i v., -A 4-+ I A, I '11 , K Q 5. ,,-5, gp, N. ,,, iw. v:,4..': hiv V M ' w. .N .' 31 ' AK V 1 jg: , M L ws, , 1 NY, L-1 1 '.,,.,. AM' 'f,Zr, 'K ,,, , ww J 1 , Ax- V i'?'f X' ' 'fffiv wf, W , .. M ww . W ' Y nf, k P f , Q 5, . fy ,, ,.Q'.fB4, , , Ex , 1. 'iM'::'- ,..,+--1,1225 wigs' If i-fa sr H L1 , Q,I1LZ'L5i'S1 ,' ', ,. . LQ, QKHEFPJ R f i TO 4' 4 Q' Q 7-S H O Zllirzi Shaker Number 1935 In 1936 our school, then known as The Lebanon School, in its fourth year of operation, was a truly small school, with thirty boys and seven faculty members. Shaker Sisters Emma and Sadie Neale lived in Ann Lee cottage, a number of other Shaker brothers and sisters lived in the North Family section of the village. The Editorial Staff of THE PEGBOARD that year put together this remarkable issue as a tribute to the Shakers, who had built this village over the preceding century and a half. To the best of our knowledge, there are very few copies of this magazine available and now, thirty years later, a second generation of the school, with a fac- ulty of twenty-four and a student body of 190, wants to keep alive the memory of the roots from which our school has grown. Our appreciation for the work of our predecessors is real, our thanks go to The Lebanon School boys and men of I936. December, 1966 John F. joline, 3rd, Headmaster Earrnm Qrhnnl New llrhannn, N. U. Photograph by Winthrop B. Coffin, '36 THE MEETING HOUSE Ulu gnu, nur trienhs, tnhether in the flesh or in the spirit, who ante Iibeh here aah nom have gone forth, ine, the haps of The lebanon bthoul, behitate this little hunk, a plehge of nur affection anb esteem. Acknowledgements OR ASSISTANCE in preparing this Shaker number the Peg Board wishes to make grateful acknowledgement to the following: Sisters Emma J. Neale and Sadie Neale of the Church Family of Shakers, Eldresses Rosetta Stephens and Ella Winship, of the North Family of Shakers, Miss Olive Hand of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Mrs. Charles Hodge Jones and Miss Dorothea Hendricks of the Lebanon School, Mr. H. E. Palfrey, Chairman of the Governors of King Edwardls School, Stourbridge, England, Mr. E. A. F. Keen, Librarian and Secretary ofthe Public Library, Art Gallery, and Hastings Museum, Victoria Institute, Worcester, England, the Editor of the Birmingham Post, Birmingham, England, the Mayor of Worcester, Worcester, England, Dr. Edward D. Andrews of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Mr. Charles S. Haight of New York, President of the Board of Trustees of the Lebanon School, Mr. Austin D. Haight of West Lebanon, New York, Mr. Charles H. Jones, Headmaster of the Lebanon School, Mr. Richard Randolph Miller, Mr. P. W. Downing, and Mr. Sam- uel P. Cowardin Jr. of the Lebanon School faculty, and Mosley and Stoll, Troy, New York. Volume 4 New Lebanon, N. Y., June, 1936 Number 3 A Word from the President of the Board of Trustees DURING the depression of 1873, which followed the Civil War, my father's firm failed and he turned over everything that he had to his creditors and started life anew. The first thing that he did was to come to New Lebanon and rent from the Shakers the little white house which still stands opposite the residence of Mr. H. Cox. There my mother, my two older brothers and I lived for about three years, and it was due to that fact that my acquaintance with the Shakers, and especially with Sister Emma, began at the early age of three. My mother and Sister Emma had been friends, almost from girlhood, and in spite of the busy life which Sister Emma then lived, she used to find the time to come down and spend an afternoon with my mother, every once in a while. In that way it happened that I cannot remember the time when her Shaker garb and her serious mien were not familiar sights to me, but they were always tempered by her bright red cheeks and her .sparkling eyes and her slow and infectious smile. During my boyhood it was still my mother who kept me in constant touch with Sister Emma and the Shaker Store. Many a time I drove Mother up there to call. But later I began to go on my own account, for there was an atmosphere and an attraction about the whole Shaker village which appealed to me. You could not go among the Shakers without being conscious of the fact that they were different from other people. There was a tranquillity in their demeanor, an unhurried but sure precision in their movements, a certainty underlying their faith when they spoke of it and a love for perfection in their handiwork which set them quite apart from any other people whom I have ever known. Of course they were human and I suppose that some of them must have had short tempers, like the rest of us, but during the sixty years that I have known them I have never heard one of them speak a hasty word. Perhaps the most striking picture which stands out in my memory of the Shakers of fifty years ago is that of their Sunday services in the Shaker Meeting House of which we are still so proud. It was a thrilling sight to see the brothers and sisters from the different families march to the Meeting House, two by two-hundreds of them. Their ideas were different from ours and we knew it, but they were to be respected as one would have respected the early Pilgrims. During the 1 50 years that the Shakers have lived on the slopes of the Lebanon Valley they have been good citizens of the nation and a striking example to the community. I wish that every one who reads this number of the Peg Board might have known Benjamin Gates and Mary Hazard and many another Shaker of the earlier days, but most of you have known Sister Emma and Sister Sadie and they are true to the earlier traditions. It is fitting that we should have a Shaker number of our School paper, fitting that we should preserve the records of Shaker history and everything else which will keep alive the Shaker ideals of simplicity, industry, honesty, temperance, and clean living-ideals which have endured, for they were responsible for the founding of The Lebanon School. I like to think that it was Abner Hitchcock who penned our School hymn. He had known the Shakers much longer than I have, and he was himself hardly convinced of the spiritual truthsg and yet it was he who wrote: Those cloistered halls which knew of old The silence of the prophets' thought- Let not our tramplings overbold Efface the symbols that they wrought. O, Master, keep our wayward feet True to the paths thy servants trod, While we their votive pledge repeat Of Hands to Work and Hearts to God. C. S. H. 5 The Peg Board 1936 SISTERS EMMA J. AND SADIE NEALE 6 1936 The Pegfilaoafd The Shakers and Their Theology N AUGUST 6, 1774, there landed in New York from England six men and two women under the leadership of Ann Lee, a native of Manchester, and the foundress of the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, as the Shakers officially call themselves. Ann Lee was born on the 29th of February, 1736, in Toad Lane, Manchester, England. Her father, John Lee, was a blacksmith-poor, honest, industrious, and highly respected in his com- munity. She was one of eight children-five sons and two other daughters-and, at an early age, set out to work in a cotton factory, as a cutter in a hat-maker's shop, as cook in the Man- chester Infirmary. It appears that she distinguished herself in these various occupations for her neatness, faithfulness, common sense, and thrift. In fact, it appears that she was above her station in life and above her education, or rather her lack of it, for she could neither read nor write. Her relations with her mother seem to have been unusually close and to her she confided from an early age her doubts, her fears, and her repugnance to many features of the life about her. At the age of sixteen and in spite of her own disinclination, she was married to Abraham Stanley, a young blacksmith. From this union there were four children all of whom died in early infancy. In the year 1758, when Ann Lee was twenty-three years of age, she came under the influence of James and Jane Wardley, and joined their group of individuals who were apparently even then known as Shakers. The Wardleys, who were man and wife, were former Quakers, and the members of their society, we are told by the historian, were of blameless deportment and were distinguished for the clearness and swiftness of their testimony against sin, the strictness of their moral discipline and for the purity of their lives. Ann Lee herself, according to the same historian, Frederick W. Evans, thus describes the influence of this group upon her: I love the day that I first received the Gospel. I call it my birthday. I cried to God without intermission for three days and three nights that he would give me true desires and when I received a gift of God I did not go away and forget it and travail no further, but I stayed faithful day and night, warring against all sin and praying to God for deliverance from the very nature of sin ........ And when I was brought through and borne into the spiritual Kingdom I was like an infant just born into the natural world. They see colors and objects, but they know not what they see. It was so with meg but before I was twenty-four hours old I saw and I knew what I saw. Ann Lee was wrought upon after this manner for the space of nine years ........ By these means the way of God and the nature of his work gradually opened upon her mind with increasing light and understanding. Her mind, ...... ever intent upon the great work of salvation, was greatly affected concerning the lost state of mankind. Through these influences and through her own unusual powers, Ann Lee became the leader of this group, the origin of which is variously ascribed to the Quakers and to the Camisards of France, the little group of Protestant peasants of the Cevennes who, for some years after 1702 carried on military resistance against the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. There is little, if any, evidence as to the ultimate origin of the Shakers, but from the time of Ann Lee's association with the Ward- ley's in 1758, her course is well marked. Nine years thereafter Ann Lee was preaching her Gospel of sinlessness and celibacy in the neighborhood of Manchester, was persecuted, imprisoned, and, according to the record, met with supernatural experiences. She was charged with dancing, shouting, shaking etc. in the worship of God on the Sabbath Day. She was accused of blasphemy and tried before a court of four ministers of the Established Church who acquitted her. When they released her, they cautioned the mob not to molest her, but the mob took Mother Ann and her three companions and stoned them, happily and miraculously without unfortunate results. Efforts were made to banish Ann Lee and her disciples from the country, but in the last two years before their departure, their persecution seems to have ceased and they were enabled to practice their religion unmolested. On the 19th of May 1774, Ann Lee for Mother Ann as she was now calledj set out from Eng- land for New York accompanied by Abraham Stanley Cher husbandj, William Lee Cher brotherj, James Whittaker, John Hocknell 'and his son Richard, James Shepherd, Mary Partington, and Nancy Lee. 7 The Peg Board 1936 On the 6th of August in the same year they arrived in New York and the little company separated to find employment. Mother Ann remained in New York, as did her husband, Abra- ham Stanley, who, however, in the course of the year, married another woman and left Ann Lee free to pursue her calling. It appears that John Hocknell was a man of some means and not only assisted the little group in other ways, but enabled them all to cross the Atlantic and secured for them after a time a little holding at Niskayuna, now Watervliet, New York, across the Hudson River from Troy. Here in due time the members of the group, minus Abraham Stanley, gathered and were largely occupied with their own affairs for something over three years. In the spring of 1780, however, our little village comes into the picture. At the time -of a religious revival in New Lebanon, interest in Ann Lee was aroused and representatives of the various religious denominations in the village visited the Shakers, some uniting with them and others carrying back the Shaker gospel to their communities. Among the latter was Joseph Meacham, the Baptist pastor in the village, of whom more later. Ann Lee and her followers visited New Lebanon, were ridiculed and persecuted as is indicated elsewhere in this publication and finally, under the guidance of Mother Ann and of her staunch supporter and convert, Joseph Meacham, founded on the slope of the hill where now the school is located, the first Shaker community, dedicated to loyal service to God and to one another. They took as their motto and as their creed the words of Ann Lee which the school has been privileged to adopt, Hands to Work, and Hearts to God. From this original settlement and from Ann Lee's journeys in Eastern New England arose the other Shaker communities-at Watervliet and Groveland in New York, at Hancock just over the mountain from New Lebanon, Tyringham, Harvard, Shirley in Massachusetts, at Enfield Connecticut, at Canterbury and Enfield, New Hampshire, at Alfred and New Gloucester, Maine. Other communities were established in Ohio and Kentucky. Now there remain small groups at New Lebanon, New York, and Hancock, Mass., and communities of somewhat larger size in Canterbury, N. H. and Sabbathday Lake, Maine. The establishment of the New Lebanon community in 1783 about a year before Ann Lee died was due to the desire to separate themselves from the world and practice their religion in peace and in those difficult times by united effort to ease the problem of living. How much their desire to separate themselves from the world was due to theological causes cannot be asserted. It would seem not unreasonable to suppose that their theology was the outgrowth of their experience rather than that their religious beliefs determined their course of action. But it is only proper to say that certainly at a date later than the founding of this community their reason for separat- ing from the world was their belief that Mother Ann embodied the Second Appearing of Christ and that their communities were portions of Christ's Kingdom on earth. For the Shaker belief as we read it today postulated a two-fold God, a principle which they carried throughout all the Crea- tion. God was Male and Female-Father and Mother. God created Man in his own image, male and female, created he them. Christ was the human representative of the F ather-God, Ann Lee, the Messiah in the Female line. As Father, God is the fountain of intelligence and the source of all power ...... but as Mother, God is Love and tenderness. The Second Coming of the Messiah brought Heaven down to Earth where the members of the Shaker community were the sons and daughters of God, where there was no marriage, and no giving in marriage, where all lived a sinless, blameless life and kept themselves unspotted from the world. How they continued for ISO years, how they worked and worshipped is all told in the literature they have left behind them and is briefly outlined in other articles in this issue of the Peg Board. The reasons for their decline and their present almost total eclipse are to be found on almost every page of human history. Certainly they produced great souls, great spirits, who left an indelible impression upon our region and others. Under adversity they prospered, and under prosperity they declined. There seems little doubt that the prosperity which they attained in the middle of the last century was the primary cause of their dissolution. They found a ready market for their produce among the world's people or Adam's kind as they still call us. It appears that their leader- ship changed from a spiritual leadership to a leadership that was at least partly commercial. 8 1936 The Peg Board Machinery and resulting cheap production provided competition they could not meet, prosperity in the world fatally limited the quality of the applicants for membership and from 1875 on the process of decay is apparent. But they made a definite and, I believe, a permanent contribution in their 150 years of existence. No one can walk through their villages today with- out receiving the impression of the stability, the industry, the consecration of the hands and spirits that wrought these works. We who live amid such scenes and among the few survivors here feel very strongly this influence as we breathe in daily the spiritual atmosphere of these things that are the source of strength and power. C. H. 7. The Persecutions at New Lebanon HAT Ann Lee should have made enemies in this country among the very people from whom she waswinning converts to her religious views was almost to be expected. She was an English woman, and she arrived in America on the eve of the Revolution. Through its entire course she steadfastly preached the doctrine of peace. Quite naturally it was often diflicult for over-zealous patriots to understand that she was bearing testimony against war in general rather than against the American Revolution in particular. As a result, many viewed her with distrust and some even suspected her of being a British spy, despite the fact that she prophesied the success of the American cause! Sometimes, moreover, her sincere but none the less radical opinions on the subject of marriage caused disagreements in families when one party to a marriage contract wished to follow her and the other refused? Therefore the wonder of it all is not that she was persecuted, but that in such times and circumstances she succeeded in establishing the Shaker church. In New Lebanon there was, besides, a local reason for enmity towards her. In September 1776 she had removed from New York with a small band of followers and taken up her residence in the woods of Watervliet, near Niskayuna, about seven miles North-West of Albany. About three years later a great religious revival took place in the town of New Lebanon, and some whom it had stirred deeply visited Ann Lee and were won over to her. Others, however, remained loyal to their own churches and their own beliefs. Then, almost out of hand, this persuasive stranger from across the seas converted the chief leader of the revival, Joseph Meacham,3 and in June 1780 she also converted Samuel Johnson, who a few years before had been the Presbyterian minister in the town! The effect of these conversions on the pride of Ann Lee's opponents can easily be imagined, but the actual outbreak of violence did not occur until 178 3. So far as the writer of this article has been able to ascertain, the only complete account of the New Lebanon persecutions is that preserved in the Shaker records. Writing in June 1826, john Farrington, an early Shaker convert, maintains that the persecutors were already, for the most part, either dead or scattered far from New Lebanon? Nevertheless, some statements from partici- pants in the attack have come down to us. Of these the aiiidavit of Colonel William Lee, sworn to before a justice of the peace, March 22, 1826, is fairly typical. Lee declares that the Shakers had been responsible for continual confusion in New Lebanon, that the authorities accordingly thought it expedient to interfere, that he went to George Darrow's house with an officer and others in pursuit of Ann Lee, the leader of the sect, and that on their arrival they had diiiiculty in entering. He then goes on to accuse Mother Ann of drunkenness and to vilify her character in words which are not fit to print here? 1. See A Summary View ofthe Millenia! Church, Albany, 1848, p. 25, and Testimonies of the Life, Character, Revelations and Doctrines of Mother Ann Lee and the Elders with Her, Albany, 1888, p. 79 and p. 87. 2. A typical case was that of Sarah Tumer and Jude Carter. See the Testimonies cited above, pp. 114 ff. 3. Richard Treat, one of Ann Lee's early adherents, refers to Joseph Meacham as our principal leader in the revival. See Testi- monies concerning the Character and Ministry of Mother Ann Lee, Albany 1827, p. 39. For an account of Joseph Meacham's early conversion, see Anna White and Leila S. Taylor, Shalcerism Its Meaning and Message, p. 39. 4. Samuel Johnson was a well educated man, having graduated from Yale in 1769 and received his A.M. degree two years afterwards. In the 1827 edition of the Testimonies, on page 109, he tells of his first visit to Ann Lee and her companions. When I arrived at Watervliet where they lived, he says, I was received with great kindn . T e leader oi this people was Ann Lee, whom they called M other: and truly she seemed .like a mother. Her countenance, and the countenances of those who stood as witnesses with her, shone with brightness and glory, as evidently as the shining ol the sun upon clear water. This confirmed me that the glo oi God was u on them. The first words I recollect hearing from Mother Ann were, 'James, take this man and let him ogen his mind. 'This was just w at I desired: and by this I perceived that she knew the state of my mind. I opened my mind and confesse my sins. 5. See the 1827 edition of the Testimonies, p. 18. 6. M. M. Dyer, The Rise and Progress of the Serpent, Concord, N. Y. 1847, p. 30. 9 The Peg Board 1936 All such charges are fiatly contradicted by the testimonies of many Shakers who were closely associated with Ann Lee during her ministry in America and of some who were present with her on the day of the attack. And the unprejudiced student of history will at the outset be inclined to put more faith in what the Shakers aliirmg for if Mother Ann was a woman of bad character, why did men like Joseph Meacham and Samuel Johnson-men of education and intelligence who were leaders in their respective churches-not only become her disciples, but even endure mob violence for her sake? The Shakers themselves admit that once, at least, they disturbed the unbelievers by their enthusiastic singingg' but no such minor offence could possibly justify the treatment they received, and as for the more serious charges, it seems reasonably clear that they were merely utrumped up as an excuse for driving Ann Lee out of town. That Mother Ann was assailed by a mob at the house of George Darrow, that she was hauled before a magistrate, that she furnished bondsmen to guarantee her appearance before the county court, and that she was then driven by the same mob to the Rensselaer Countyline, all the sources agree. In matters of minor detail the Shaker account may contain exaggerations, but even by the most skeptical it may certainly be considered more trustworthy than any such billingsgate as that handed down by the accusers. Let us then tell the story of what happened by using ex- tensive quotations from the vivid, coherent, and complete narrative of the Shakers. On Saturday, August 23, 1783 Ann Lee with some of her followers reached the house of John Bishop in New Lebanonf They were on their way back to Niskayuna after an absence of two years, in which time they had visited many New England towns. In the course of the ensuing week they were not molested by their enemies, but a storm of opposition to them was gathering. The last day of August they spent in Stephentown, where signs of open hostility began to appear, a number of young people jesting at them and mocking them. On the first day of September they returned to New Lebanon and stopped at Isaac Harlowe's. There until very late at night they were engaged in their characteristic religious exercises. Towards dawn Mother Ann, accompanied by the elders and some of the sisters, proceeded to George Darrow's house, which occupied the spot where the Shaker meeting house, now part of the Lebanon School, stands today. Shortly after daybreak a mob attacked them. The mob was composed of two parties which had advanced on George Darrow's house from opposite directions. The first act of its leaders was to arrest the owner, George Darrow, and also David Meacham, charging that they had abused David Meacham's own daughterf The two men prepared to follow their captors to the residence of the magistrate, Eleazer Grantg but be- fore leaving, Darrow put his property under the protection of his brother David, ' who lived just across the road. Meanwhile the friends of Mother Ann were also gathering and entering the house to protect her. Darrow and 'Meacham having been marched away, the mob began to assail the doors ofthe house in order to lay hands on Ann Lee, but here let us turn to the statement of an eye witness, Rachel Spencer: A I was very early in the morning employed in the kitchen, with a number of the sisters, in preparing breakfast and putting the house in orderg and we had nearly finished our work when the mob came. The house was at that time clean and decent, and all was still and quiet, when suddenly we were beset on every side by a large gang of unprincipled wretches in mob array. The principal rooms below were nearly filled with the brethren and sisters, who endeavored to keep the mob out, but regardless of remonstrances or en- treaties, they rushed in like furious tigers. A number of them burst into the kitchen and furiously assaulted the sisters who were collected there. We strove with all our strength 7. Testimonies of the Life, Character, Revelations and Doctrines of M other Arm Lee, Albany, 1888, p. 143. 8. John Bishop's house was incorporated in one end of the South Family's dwelling house in New Lebanon. This building stands on the old road to Pittsfield not very far from the Lebanon School. See the illustration in Anna White and Leila S. Taylor, Shaksrism Ita Meaning and Message, opposite page 73. 9. See Testimonies of the Life, Character, Revelations and Doctrines of Mother Ann Lee and the Elders with Her, Albany 1888, p. 145. 10. David Darrow had formerly been a lieutenant in the American army. 10 1936 The Peg Board to keep them back, but in vain. They seized and hurled us out of doors, one after an- other, with the utmost violence. I was thrown out and beaten so that my flesh was black and blue in spots all over me. Many others of the brethren and sisters shared the same fate. Several doors were broken to pieces, the ceiled partition of the little room where Mother had retired, was torn down flat to the Hoorg and she was hauled out and thrown into the carriage without any ceremony. Two of the young sisters followed her and sprung into the carriage. Q55 THE PRESENT-MEETING HOUSE This building stands on the site ofGearge Dano'w's house While the sisters were being driven from the house, the brethren were being handled even more roughly. The edition of the Testimonies printed in 1888 tells how they were treated and continues the story: They seized the brethren, one after another, and dragged them out with theamost savage violence. Richard Spier was three times thrown out of a back door, which was very high from the ground. Some were drawn out by the hair of their heads, some were taken by four or five men, one at each arm and leg, and pitched headforemost, with great violence, into a mud puddle near the door, some had their clothes badly torn. After a conflict of fifteen or twenty minutes, the mob succeeded in getting into the house. Mother, at this time, was in a back bedroom, separated from .the rest of the people by a ceiled partition. The ruiiians strove to enter the room where she was, but were kept back by the Brethren who guarded the door, after a considerable struggle they succeeded in tearing down the ceiling of the room, seized Mother Ann by her feet, and dragged her in a shame- ful manner, through the parlor and kitchen, to the door. Eliab Harlowe had made ready Mother's carriage, before the action commenced, and sat in it, before the door, where he had a fair view of the scene. Mother was pitched, head- ll Testimonies concerning the Character and Ministry of Mother Ann Lee, Albany 1827, p. 27. 11 The Peg Board 1936 long, into her carriage, Hannah Kendall and Lucy Wood followed, then gave her the reins, and as they were about to start, Mother spoke to Prudence Hammond, who brought her budget, and said, Prudence, keep along with us. They had not proceeded more than three or four rods, when the rufiians cut off both the reins of the bridle. Eliab then at- tempted to lead the beast, and proceeded six or eight rods further, when the mob sur- rounded the carriage, and beat him off, with many severe strokes, and undertook to lead the beast themselves, and drove on, very furiously, toward Grant's. Prudence Hammond, according to Mother's orders. kept close by the side of the carriage. A certain young man of the mob, observing her, exerted himself, very much to beat her off, and ride over her, but was not able, for Mother often repeated her order, Prudence, keep along with us, don't let your faith fail, which gave Prudence a degree of power which the world was not able to resist. At length, another young man said to his companions, These people have got a power that we know nothing about, it is the power of God that carries that woman along in such a manner. He then politely offered to take Prudence on behind him and carry her civilly. But, Mother cautioned her, saying, Prudence, don't be enticed by them, don't let your faith fail, and you will hold out to the end. So Prudence ran along on foot, still keeping close by the side of the carriage. Here let us interrupt the narrative and insert Prudence Hammond's own account of her experiences on that day. It was committed to writing in-Iune 1826: When Mother was taken from George Darrow's by the mob, and was so cruelly abused, I was there. By her direction I followed the carriage, and kept close by the side of it all the way to Grant's. Some of the wicked tried to beat me off and ride over me, ' but were not able. Mother often encouraged me to keep up, and not let my faith fail, and said, You will not be hurt. When she arrived at Grant's, the mob crowded around her. She requested them to stand off, but they refused. One man, in particular, was very rude and insolentf' But Prudence Hammond has carried us too far ahead and has omitted many incidents which occurred while the mob was progressing from George Darrow's to the house of the magistrate. The narrative, which was interrupted, continues as follows: In this manner they proceeded about sixty rods further, when they came to a narrow bridge, across a small rivulet, upon the side of a steep hill, which formed a dangerous pre- cipice. Here the inhuman wretches attempted to overset the carriage, but, were prevent- ed by Medad Curtiss, who, at that instant, saved the chair, but, in the struggle, Thomas Law, who was the most active in the business, fell down the precipice. Law was afterward heard to say, I should have finished the old woman, if it had not been for that devil of a Medad. 1' The bridge here mentioned has disappeared. The small rivulet, which, except in times of Hood is a mere trickle of water following a rocky channel down the side of a steep hill, passes under the road through a culvert. On the western side the road is now lined by a massive re- taining wall. The foot of this wall is only about ten feet below the surface of the road, but in the time of Ann Lee the drop to anything like level ground must have been considerably greater. From this place the Shakers were driven along to a spot where an interesting reminder of that day's work is still to be seen. By the side of the old roadway-long ago abandoned-is a large rock. Cut deeply into its face are the letters 7. W., the initials of Elder James Whittaker. Here Elder James was dragged from his horse by Thomas Law and thrown violently against the rock now marked with his initials: 12. See pages 146 and 147 of the 1888 Testimonies. 18. From the 1827 edition of the Testimonies, p. 53. 14. From the 1888 edition of the Testimonies, p. 147. 12 1936 The Peg Board Photograph by Winthrop B. Coffin '36 Photogmph by pyimhmp B. Coffin '36 THE RlVULET THE ROCK When they had proceeded about half a mile further, Law violently seized hold of Elder James, and pulled him from his horse, evidently intending to precipitate him, head- foremost, upon a rock, but, one of the Brethren instantly caught him upon the shoulders, and, by that means, saved his head, but he fell with his side upon the rock with such violence, that three of his ribs were fractured by the fall. By the assistance of some of the Brethren, he mounted his horse again, and rode on to Grant's. In driving from George Darrow's to Eleazer Grant's, which was about one and a half miles, the mob continually strove to keep the Believers back, by beating and abusing them, and trying to ride over them: but were not able to effect their purpose. Prudence Hammond kept close by the side of the carriage, the whole distance, and though the mob drove furiously, she was not in the least fatigued, nor out of breath.15 VN hen the disorderly throng reached the house of Eleazer Grant, which stood near the famous Columbia Spring, Ann Lee was roughly dragged before him. Grant was then trying the case of David Meacham and George Darrow. Mother Ann was held there until he had finished: When Grant had disposed of this case, he had Mother Ann brought before him, and called upon her to hear her indictment. But, instead of attending to the false accusa- tions brought against her by her enemies, and which it was in vain to counterplead, before a mob tribunal, headed by an unjust judge, whose sole object was to overthrow the work of God, she reproved him for sitting as a magistrate, and suffering such riotous mobs to abuse innocent people contrary to law, without attempting to suppress them. Grant, unable to endure this reproof, ordered his constable to take her to a new house, which he was then building, and put her under keepers. The constable and two other ruflians took her, and in a very abusive manner, dragged her out of the house, and along the street, about fifteen or twenty rods, to the new house. Mother felt extreme anguish, from the cruel abuses of these men, who vented their enmity by beating, gripping and pinching her, as they dragged her along. She cried out, saying, Must I give up my life in your hands? But regardless of her cries, they dragged her along into the house, and 15 From the 1888 edition of the Testimonies, p. 147. 13 The Peg Board 1936 up stairs, as though she had been a dead beast, and then thrust her into a room, where she sat down and cried like a child. The mob immediately surrounded the doors, and refused to let any of the Believers enter, though many of the Brethren and Sisters strove hard to get in. But Father William boldly insisted on going in, declaring that she was his sister, therefore he had a right, and would go in to her. The mob still obstinately opposed it, but, at length, he, and two of the Sisters, found their way in, and went up stairs to Mother. Soon after this, Mother Ann and Father William put their heads out at the window, and sung to the Believers without, who danced with great powers. In the mean time, Grant, and his wicked court, consulted among themselves, to know in what manner they should proceed, and having settled the point, Mother was brought back again. Elder James, during the whole time of trial had been kept under guard, in a room, in a house where Grant's Court was sitting, he was also called in, and a suit was now entered against them for a breach of the peace. They were accused of making dis- turbance, and breaking people of their rest, by singing and shouting along the road, at a late hour of the night. Grant inquired of them if they did not pass by such a man's house, Cnaming the manj to which Elder James replied, I 'never saw that man in my life, that I know of, but I sung and served God a great deal. Grant again asked if they did not pass by such a man's house, fnaming another manj, and received the same answer. Thus he inquired, concerning one house and another, but received invariably the same answer. Grant then made a pretense of binding them over to the County Court, and said they must be taken to jail, or get bondsmen for their appearance. David and George immediately offered themselves as bondsmen, and were accepted. The bondsmen then said, The prisoners are ours, and we have a right to take them where we please. It appears, however, that Grant did not give them up to their bondsmen, but they all went out, and Mother and Hannah Kendall and Lucy Wood got into their carriage. The Brethren, who were the bondsmen, considering themselves as having the right, attempted to lead the carriage, but were prevented by the mob, who had determined on taking the carriage themselves. Grant came to the door and addressed them thus, As a magistrate of the state of New York, I desire that there be no mobs, nor riots, and then added, Lay hands sudden- ly on no man. These words he repeated several times, laying a peculiar emphasis on the last words, no man. He then went back into the house, and was seen no more that day. This speech was evidently intended as a cloak, to cover his own hypocrisy, while it held out a license to the mob, to abuse Mother at their pleasure, seeing she was a woman. This was evidently well understood by the mob, for they took hold with increased zeal, and separated Mother from the body of Believers, and would not suffer them to come near her, but drove on, with great violence, toward Albany, still keeping the Be- lievers back, and threatening and abusing every one who attempted to go forward. Many of them were inhumanly beaten, some of those on horseback, besides being beaten them- selves, had their horses beaten with such violence that they several times nearly fell down. Thus they drove on about seven miles, over a rough and muddy road, over stones and stumps, seeking the roughest places in the road for Mother's carriage, which, together with many severe strokes, which she received from her drivers, greatly increased the fatigue and sufferings she had already endured. And, though several families of the Believers lived on the road, the mob would not suffer Mother to stop for any refreshments, although it was near sunset, and she had eaten nothing that day, except a few mouthfuls which she had obtained of Grant's wife, at the intercession of some of the Sisters. At length, about dusk, they arrived at a tavern on the road, and the Landlord, whose name was Ranny, hearing the tumult, and understanding the cause, came out, and with great authority of spirit, and keen severity of language, reprimanded the mob for such shameful abuse, toward an innocent and civil people, and boldly threatened them with the utmost rigor of the law, if they did not immediately disperse. This severe rebuke and bold threat from Ranny, greatly embarrassed the mob, and concluding they were near the 14 19-36 The Peg Board V l ELEAZER GRANTS SIGNATURE This was taken from an old document in the possession of Mr. Austin D. H aight. Here Grant appears as one ofthe original subscribers to a fund, for the enelion ofa boy's school which was established in New Lebanon over a hundred years ago. The school is no longer in existence. . 15 The Peg Board 1936 boundary line of the town, and night coming on, they said that all who belonged to N iska- yuna, might pass on, but those who belonged to New Lebanon, should go back. The Brethren, however, would not consent to this, but determined to cleave to Mother. After much wrangling, and some blows from the mob, they left the Believers, a few rods west of Ranny's, and near to Charles McCarthy's-a poor man, who lived in a little log-house, where the most of them retired, and took shelter for the night, Mother was very much ex- hausted, and passed the night under great distress and sufferingsl' Concerning Ranny, or Rany as the name is spelled elsewhere by the Shakers, no additional information seems obtainable. He may have been the bartender at Bigelow's Tavern, which stood on the Albany road not far from the Rensselaer County line. Charles McCarthy was doubtless a near relative of Patrick McCarty, the first settler in New Lebanon who is known by name, for the houses of the two men were situated in the same place or at least very close to each other, and the difference in the spelling of the name was clearly accidental. Some of the Believers slept on the floor of Charles McCarthy's log cabin, others in an old log barn. When morning came they held a religious meeting and then refreshed themselves with food brought to them by their friends. In the afternoon they went back as far as Nathan Far- rington's along the same road they had followed the day before: Mother and her persecuted little flock, passed the fore part of the day in serving God and comforting one another. In the afternoon they returned back to Nathan Farrington's where they spent the remainder of the day, and the following night. After they arrived there, Mother said, I feel now as though I could take some rest, and appeared in a measure, comfortable, considering the shocking scene of suffering and abuse which she had passed through the preceding day. But the enemies' of the work could never be at rest while Mother was within their reach. In the dusk of the evening, about thirty or forty heathenish creatures of the baser sort, collected around the house, in a mobbish manner. This collection consisted chiefly of a company of fellows from the town of Chatham, who, from the savageness of their manners, were styled the Indian Club. These ruH-ians demanded, in very rough and abusive language, to see the old woman. Nathan inquired what they wanted of her? They answered, She is an old witch, and she shall not stay here. Nathan replied, She is a woman of God, and you shall not see her in such a manner. On hearing the tumult, and perceiving that a mob had gathered, Mother wept, and said, This comes suddenly upon me, what shall I do? I do not feel as though I could endure any more! The mob threw clubs' and stones at the house, and threatened to break down the doors. Nathan boldly commanded them to desist, and threatened them with the penalty of the law if they attempted to break into the house. This, for a moment, seemed to check their rage, Nathan expostulated with them, and endeavored to show them the wickedness and folly of such conduct, and said, 'I have lived, as a neighbor with you a number of years, in peace, but now, because I have joined the people of God, according to my faith, and confessed my sins, as you ought to do, you come here to break into my house, and abuse my family. But the mob, being determined to break into the house, set reason and humanity at defiance, and with horrid oaths and blasphemies, continued to throw stones and clubs. The house being new, and unfinished, and one of the passages fastened up with loose boards they, at length, succeeded in forcing the boards down, and carried them into the street, but were still prevented from entering the house, by Brethren, who stood in the passage. Mother, who was at this time in the upper part of the house, sent for John Farrington, and said to him, John, can't you go and send these creatures off? Yea, Mother, repli- ed John. Go, said she, and shame them, tell them it is a shame for men to be around 16. From the 1888 edition of the Testimonies, pp. 149 ff. 17. Patrick McCarty is named and the position of his house is indicated in the original grant of August 4, 1743 through which Stesrhen Bayard und' others received part of the present territory of New Lebanon from George IV. See the Psp Buard Vol. 8, No. 2, April 19 5. 16 1936 The Peg Board NATHAN FARRlNGTON'S HOUSE after a woman in the night, but, if they will go off, and come peaceably, tomorrow, in the day-time, I will see themf' Accordingly, John went down in Mother's gift, and slipped out at another door, and was instantly seized, by two lusty ruffians. Love, said John. Love, replied the men, in a sneering tone of voice, and immediately gripped him between them with such violence that it seemed as though they intended to squeeze the breath out of his body. John held his breath, and, as they slackened their arms, he cried, More love, at which they renewed their hug, gripping him with all their strength. This was repeated a number of times till the men had wearied themselves in hugging and squeezing John, who received no hurt. Now, said John, if you have got through, I want to reason with you, as you are reasonable men, or ought to be. Why do you come here, in such a manner, in the night, after a woman? It is a shame, I am ashamed of you, that men should behave sol Do, for the honor of man, withdraw, peaceably, and if you will come again, in the morning, peaceably, when it is day-time, the woman is willing to see you. These words, spoken in the power and gift of God, completely vanquished their rage, and quelled their savage spirits, they immediately began to withdraw, and were soon all gone, so that Mother enjoyed the remainder of the night in peace. The next morning, only six or eight of them made their appearance. Mother, with john, and two or three of the Sisters, went out to see them. This is the woman that you pressed so hard to see last night, said John. What do you want of me? said Mother, I am a poor, weak woman, I do not hurt any body. The guilty wretches had no confidence to speak to her, nor to look her in the face, but hung down their heads, and began to sheer off. John then invited them to stay and take breakfast, but they declined, and soon went off. Thus did God frustrate the designs of the wicked, at this time. About ten o'clock in the morning, Mother took her leave of the Believers at Nathan Farrington's, and said she did not feel it to be best for any to follow her, excepting the Elders, and Richard Spier, because it would only tend to increase the enmity of the world. She then departed for Niskayunaf' 18 From the 1888 edition of the Testimonies pp. 158 ff. 17 H 'J' - '--1 0 E L ,b- E' 5,-- 4 ll ,IU E N 3, 2 -- ' I' cn R ,,-- UO- N. ,- '- X 'Z . lik fi n X V- ln- 3 4 4 lu H Il 5? va I ..... 'J l A W X 'Q' Q o-' C ll ql W LEBANoN CE -' ll. I N Na ' I 'Ln 7. If on Q, I L, ll Q fu' 5' - -xg lfr N -K, -555 Q I, A - ,NJZ NEW LEBANON ALONG WHICH ANN LEE WAS DRIVEN WO W CN 18 1936 The Peg Board Thus ended the New Lebanon persecutions. They were typical ofwhat Mother Ann suffered throughout most of her career as a religious reformerg and the fortitude with which she faced her tormenters in New Lebanon was equally typical of her character. Whether we agree with Ann Lee's religious views or not, we cannot fail to admire her magnificent courage. S. P. C., Yr. Explanation of the Map For this explanation the editors are indebted to Mr. Austin D. Haight, who drew the original sketch after extensive researeh in collaboration with Miss Olive Hand ey' Pittjield. The map was retraeed and prepared-for reproduetion hy Winthrop B. Cofn 136. I. The location of George Darrow's house, where the Meeting House now stands. 2. The bridge where the mob tried to overturn Ann Lee's carriage. 3. The rock against which James Whittaker was thrown. 4. The home of Eleazer Grant. 5. Joshua Bigelow's Tavern. 6. Charles McCarthy's House. 7. Nathan Farrington's House. NOTE :-In reaching this point Ann Iee traveled past the present location of the Episcopal Church and on down to a point near the present home of Allen Phelps. Here the road turned to the East and ran under the mountain and then north until it Joined the present road at Lebanon S rings, near the home of Mrs. Henry Rice. Thence it follow- ed the present line to the road known as the short hilli' to the Columbia Spring. Grant's house stood just west of the present home of Miss Matilda Gray on what was then known as the Indian Trail. There was no road at that time between Allen Phelps's house and where this trail joined the present road, now known as East Street. This point was near the house on the present road, now known as The Frank Myers House . From there it ran down to the present R.R. Station, westerly, past the old Mott Graveyard, crossed West Street and aassed the present Temple Farm, down the valley and over the hill past The Sanford Farm, now owned by rs. Chris. Crape, thence past the Carr Farm formerly owned by I. Royce and now by W. Gordon Cox: thence on westerly past the Horatio N. Hand Farm and then, bearing to the south, joining the present State Highway at the John Adams Farm. From here the road ran almost west to the tavern of Joshua Bigelow, which is unqu tionably the place spoken of in the testimonials as the Inn kept by one, Ranny. NOTE :-The home of Charles McCarthy stood about a quarter of a mile farther to the west, and is probably the same house located in a grant from George IV as being not far distant from where the Rensselaer County line crosses the Kinderhook Creek. Here Ann Lee remained over night. NOTE:-After leaving Farrington's Ann Lee seems to have followed the Indian trail that led from Grant's house and ran, through the village now known as East Nassau, on to Albany. Many sections of this road have long since been discontinued. ' are ii. T By Courtesy of Dr. Edward D. Andrews THE MUSEUM THE FIRST MEETING HOUSE The building on the left was the ,first Shaker Meeting House. It stood onthe :ite of the present Meeting H ouse and was moved when that building was erected in 1824. Remodeled as it appears in the out on the right, it became the Shaker Seed House, now our Museum. 19 THE PEG BOARD Volume 4 New Lebanon, N. Y., June, 1936 Number I I EDITORIAL BOARD Editor-in-Chief Art Editor L. SUMNER RICHARDS, JR. WINTHROP B. Col-'HN EUGENE S. WEST, Associate Editor Associate Editor Associate Editor DONALD MCCONAUGHY, JR. DOUGLAS H. WEST BUSINESS BOARD CHARLES H. RHODES, II, Business Mgr. fIss't Business Mgrs. WINTHROP ENDICOTT CHARLES T. DAVENPORT Published four times a year by the students of The Lebanon School, New Lebanon, N. Y. Price of subscription 51.00 per year. Single copy of Shaker Number 5oc. For advertising rates address Business Manager. . EDITORIAL Plans and dreams have been fulfilled with the release of this issue of the Peg Board. It has always been the desire of the students and faculty to devote an edition of our publication to an account of the Shakers who lived here in this valley before us. We have been brought into close Contact with these remarkable people, and we have come to have a high regard for their whole- some simplicity, their high moral code, and their many talents. . R All around us there is evidence of their existence here in the past. We live in what was their main dwelling house, surrounded by the numerous other buildings which they erected, and all these buildings and grounds are rich in examples of Shaker craftsmanship. Today we value immensely the interest shown towards us by those Shakers who still live in the valley. When negotiations were being made for the establishing of this school, their honest and generous methods of transacting the sale of the land and buildings now in the school'S possession clearly showed the founders that the Shakers would always be behind them. As we look back on the four years since then, we realize that we have had their full cooperation and staunch support and also tliat their unsellish interest has meant much in the success of the school. It is because of their gen- erosity and loyalty that we wish to dedicate this number to them to assure them that as long,as we are fortunate enough to have them with us theirs will be our most treasured friendship. The Prize Essays REALIZING that the preparation of articles for this Shaker Number of the Peg Board would give the writers valuable training in composition and'in methods of research, the editors wished to offer every boy in school the opportunity to make a literary contribution. However, 20 The Peg Board since the limitation of space would not permit the printing of all articles submitted, it was decided to divide the boys not on the Peg Board staff into five groups, assign a separate research project to each group, and give a prize-a one year's subscription to the Peg Board-to each boy who wrote the best paper on his particular project. The plan met with an enthusiastic reception on the part of the school. Accordingly a member of the staff was assigned to each group as a leader to work in cooperation with the English master, Mr. Cowardin. Then such material as could be obtained in the short time available was mimeographed and copies were distributed among the contestants for use as notes. Many of the competitors, moreover, were so deeply interested that they secured additional notes on their own initiative. When the papers were ready, they were collected by the respective group leaders. Thereupon a meeting of the staff was called, and each leader read his papers, designating them by numbers rather than by the names of the authors. Voting then by numbers in order to insure the greatest ossible fairness, the other editors selected the winners and awarded the prizes. The names ot? those who won and of those who received honorable mention are given below. The articles follow, printed in the same order: GROUP I Boys ry' the Lower Middle Year Winner SINCLAIR DANEORTH HAR'F Honorable Mention DU'r'roN SMITH GROUP II Boys of the Middle Year Winner SAMUEL PENDLETON COWARDIN, III Honorable Mention THOMAS MCLEAN GRIFFIN GROUP III Boys fy' the Upper Middle Year Winner NATHANIEL EDWARD GRIFFIN Honorable Mention JAMES OLMs'rEAD HALL GROUP IV Boy.: 4 the Upper Middle Year Winner HENRY MARSHALL COLVIN Honorable Mention RICHARD RICE HENYAN GROUP V Boy: cythe Senior Year Winner WILLIAM BRADFORD HALL Honorable Mention MURDOCK TOWER PEMBERTON, JR. 21 The Peg Board 1936 The Shaker Wash House By SINCLAIR DANFORTH HART, ,39 Prize Article in the Lower-Middle Group HE Shaker laundry, or wash house as it was called, was built in sections from time to time. For this reason it is difiicult to determine the exact date of its construction. I shall reverse the usual order and describe this building from the attic down, reserving the ground floor, on which most of the laundry work was done, to be considered last. In the attic the clothes used to be dried on racks. These interesting old racks are still to be seen. A number of old spinning wheels and hand looms are also to be found up there, but they must have been put there for storage. They could hardly have been used where they are, for it was too hot, and besides, the clothes would have been in the way. Most of the rooms on the second and third floors were used as workshops. In one ofthese shops weaving was done, in another the mending, and in still another the ironing. In the ironing room there is a stove shaped like a truncated cone. All around it run iron racks, each projecting out from it about two inches, and each about a quarter of an inch thick. The back ends of the irons were set on these racks so that the bottoms would rest against the stove. A fire was then lighted and the irons were heated. In one large room on the first Hoor of the building the laundry work was done. In the middle of this room are eight stone wash tubs in rows of four facing each other. Overhead is a barrel- shaped tank capable of holding ia great quantity of Water. It was heated by steam conveyed through pipes. The room was lighted by windows on the east and west sides. All the washing for the Church Family was done here. The Shakers would work all morning and stop at noon and have dinner. Often many things would go wrong. However, the sisters were never sullen. Perhaps a story of a washing day would show how the Shakers washed and what might happen. In the morning about five o'clock a large bell was rung to call the sisters to work. If one were late, she would make up for it by working especially hard all the rest of the day. Every sister, however, disliked to be tardy. In a little while many baskets filled with clothes ready to be washed stood by the Shaker washing machine, and there also stood as many as twelve sisters as assistants. But sometimes things went wrong. The pipes that held the steam might have frozen, and then, of course, no hot water could be obtained. While the engineers were fixing the pipes, the sisters would go off to do other things that had to be done before night. When they were through and the pipes had been put in order, they would continue their work. After a while a dense fog of steam might arise. The Shakers as usual had a remedy for this. They had learned from previous experience that if two doors opposite each other were opened, the draft would take most of the vapor away. But when they tried to open the doors, they sometimes found them frozen. Then a good fire would be made so as to melt the ice. All this might occur before breakfast, but not one sister would be gloomy. Their cheerful- ness in such 'circumstances was caused by the influence of their Sabbath devotions and the vows they had made. After they returned from breakfast, they might find the washing machine frozen, but a little oil and some hammering would soon put it in good shape. This machine, I must say here, was very useful to the Shakers. One of them once said, The Shaker Washing Machine has rendered too much valuable service in the last ten years to permit us to underestimate its many excel- lencies. The Shakers had only one article that was of as much use to them as their washing machine. This was the Shaker Laundry Soap. With this soap they were able to clean many things such as linens, woolens, and cottons and even the finer fabrics, silks, laces, and muslins. They have proved that paint and all kinds of ink and stains can be removed by the proper use of this soap. 22 1936 The Peg Board Photograph by Winthrop B. Coffin, '36 SPECIALLY DESIGNED STOVE FOR HEATING IRONS But I shall return to the story. For a long time things might go like magic, but then the wringer in the northwest corner might stop working. Neither oil nor hammering could repair this machineg therefore the sisters would have to pause and wait for a thorough mending of the wringer. Perhaps the main belt had been laced badly. When it was Hnally relaced, the wringer would start again. Then the sisters might be lucky for the rest of their washing day. When the work was finished, they would all enjoy a good hot dinner. This story shows what used to happen in the wash house and how the Shakers would over- come their diFticulties.' 1. The editors wish to note that Sinclair Hart's statements about the things which sometimes went wrong may be verified by con- sulting The Shaker, VII lMny 18777, 36. 23 The Peg Board 1936 i P r A SHAKER DOORYVAY 24 T936 The Peg Board The Inhrmary and Shaker Care of the Sick By SAMUEL PENDLETON COWARDIN, III Prize Article in the Middle Group CROSS from our school stands a medium-sized white building, plain and unpretentious, but embodying all the simple beauty which characterizes most Shaker architecture. This was the Shaker infirmary, which after its construction in 1857, served the whole Shaker community. We know of only one previous infirmary. Sister Emma tells us that this one stood near the spot where the dairy now stands. It was moved to a different place when the present infirmary was erected. The present inhrmary is of frame, two stories high, with a spacious attic and a large basement, Of the six rooms on the first floor the two which occupy the south end still contain things of in- terest which quickly arrest a stranger's curiosity. The walls of the first room are lined on two sides with shelves and drawers. The shelves are still well stocked with many carefully-labeled bottles of medicine, left there by the Shakers. The drawers, eighty-four in all, extend from the fioor to the ceiling, and are individually numbered. Next to this room is a somewhat smaller one, filled with many miscellaneous articles which a doctor or dentist might have used, such as charts of the human body, and an antiquated dental drill, operated by a foot pedal. Here also hangs the complete articulated skeleton that we all know as Sister Laura. The other ten rooms on the first and second floors were used largely for patients and are now bare, except for a few such things as beds and stoves. The basement is walled with stone and is noticeably cooler than the rest of the house, even on a warm day. In one very cool and narrow room in the basement is a well, at least two feet in diameter, drilled through the Hoor. The attic contains several rooms, some of which might have been used for storage. They are now filled with odds and ends of more or less uninteresting equipment. The infirmary was built in 1857 under the personal supervision of the Shaker physician, Dr. Barnabas Hinckley. It barely escaped destruction in the great fire of 1875 which laid waste THE INFIRMARY 25 The Peg Board 1936 eight other buildings. The fact that its walls were scorched shows how narrow was its escape. After a desperate struggle it was finally saved by the Shakers with the aid of the famous Housa- tonic Engine Company of Pittsfield, Massachusetts and of Mr. Henry Tilden of New Lebanon, who brought with him a large number of his employees in the Tilden Company with fire ex- tinguishers. The doctors and nurses who worked in the infirmary were all Shakers, for at the time when the infirmary was in use the Shakers did not believe in having an outside doctor. We find this information in an 1890 Manyfeslo which reads: The believers who formed the Society at the time of its origin, did not rely much on outward remedies and a physician not of their order was con- sidered very needless and unprofitable in most cases. 1 And they seem to have kept the same idea until some time after Dr. Hinckley's death. So far as we know, none of the doctors had dip- lomas from medical colleges except Dr. Hinckley, and the nurses were self-taught Shaker sisters, some of whom employed old Indian methods of nursing. As Sister Emma tells us, no major operations were performed in this infirmary, largely be- cause the Shakers did not then believe in cutting up people. The infirmary was used principally as a place where the aged and infirm, and those suffering from illnesses could go to rest. Sister Emma once said jokingly that sometimes the young people, when they were tired of work, would imagine that they were sick and would ask to be sent to the infnrmary. But there seems to have been very little sickness among the Shakers. This was probably due, among other things, to the fine climate which Mount Lebanon enjoys throughout the year. Since there was so little sick- ness, the two physicians, Dr. Hinckley and Dr. James Smith, were probably sufficient to care for the few cases they had. Not a great deal is known about these two men, but it would not be out of place to mention the few facts we do know about the more prominent one. Sister Emma says that Barnabas Hinckley was the only graduate physician in the Mount Lebanon colony. We have no inform- ation about his youth except that he was brought up among the Shakers. He took his medical degree at the Berkshire Medical College, a school now extinct, which was situated in the neighbor- ing city of Pittsfield, Massachusetts. His diploma, now in the possession of the Lebanon School, is dated November 23, 1858. According to Sister Emma, he also studied in New York. He also acted as dentist for the Shakers and many people from the village of New Lebanon came to him to have teeth extracted. Sister Emma relates an amusing incident of how he fooled her when she needed to have a tooth pulled. He asked her to let him look at the tooth, and took her head be- tween his knees to make the examination. Then before she even knew what had happened, he had jerked the tooth out. She says that she did not mind the pain, but was indignant at being fooled. This happened, of course, when she was quite a little girl. In 1861 Dr. Hinckley died suddenly of heart failure while helping to move a Shaker stove. He was very much beloved, and that the Medical Department was very fine while he was in charge is shown by this excerpt from an old Harperiv magazine: The Medical Department, under the charge of Dr. Hinckley, appears to be very perfect in its supplies of surgical instruments and other necessaries. A large portion of the medicines are prepared by themselves Ithe Shakersgl and Dr. Hinckley applies them with a skillful hand, under the direction of a sound judgment. He has a library of well-selected medical worksg and the system which he approves is called the Eclectic. 2 While speaking of the Shaker care of the sick, it seems opportune to say something about Shaker hygiene. Their zealous effort to maintain health was evidently the chief cause of their long lives. They kept in good health by doing such simple things as eating plain and wholesome 1. XX fSeptember 18907 2. Harper'l Magazine, XV, Uuly 18571, 175. 26 1936 The Peg Board ZTQLQW Q' Reproduced from Harpefs Magazine XV Uuly 18573, 176 The picture above shows Dr. Barnabas Hinckley at his desk. i The picture on the left is a view in the injrmary, i showing medicine shelves and an old dental drill. l Photographed by Winthrop B. Coffin, '36 food, working hard and paying special attention to ventilation. Concerning their regard for venti- lation, Charles F. Wingate, in the Yournal ay' H ygeio-Therapy, says: Slats are placed in every window to make an opening between the two sashes, so that there shall always be an infiux of atmospheric aid! Since it is evident that the twilight of this Shaker colony has come, it has been our wish ever since the Lebanon School was founded to preserve parts of the Shaker tradition, such as their simplicity, their perseverance, and their motto, Hands to Work, Hearts to God. The few simple health promotives which they employed could well be used by any one. Why, therefore, should we not add to the traditions we wish to maintain those simple but sensible ideas which we may borrow from the Shakers' practice of hygiene? 3. Quoted in the Manifesto, XIX CMay 18875, 114. 27 T H E P 8 Q EB Lffdm hA 'hs 'h'M5 'M ' W 1 Qigz THE MAIN DWELLING HOUSE 28 1936, The Peg Board The Main Dwelling House By NATHAMEL EDWARD GRIFFIN, ,37 Prize Article in Ihr Upper-Middle Group HH MAIN dwelling house of the Church Family of Shakers stands in what was the center of action of the whole Shaker community. By that I mean right next to the Shaker Meeting House, across the road from the old infirmary, near the main office building and the laundry. This building was erected after the old one had burned down in the fire of February 6, 1875. The fire was the work of an incendiary. As the old dwelling house was built of wood, it is easy to see that it was a complete loss. Although the fire was very costly to the Shakers, they managed to start this remarkable building and practically finish it that same year. They had dinner in it on New Year-'s Day, 1876. After the fire the Shaker community at Watervliet, hav- ing heard of the disaster through a newspaper man, sent funds and clothing to aid the Shakers here, as did many other societies. . The division of the building is a matter ofinterest. The brothers had the north end, while the sisters had the south. In the west wing-our present infnrmary-were a work shop, a tailor shop, and a dressmaking shop. Another fact of interest, although it is slightly off the subject, is that the deacons lived on one end of the first floor, while the deaconesses lived on the other. This building has a peculiar construction. It has brick partitions running up to the fourth floor, thereby rendering it more safe from fire. This extraordinary method of building partitions explains why each room between the basement and the fourth Hoor is of exactly the same dimen- sions as those immediately above and below it. The interior finishing, such as wood work, is in a perfect state ofpreservation. All the school did when it took over the building was to take down the stoves, and gas jets, and put in electricity, install showers, put in a new heating plant, and take down some minor partitions. The partitions of any size could hardly be removed, as they are made of brick. Brother ffeorge Wickensham in his room. This Room is now the Office of the Headmaster of the Lebanon School. 29 The-MPa-rig Board 1936 Photographed by' Winlhrop Coffin, '36 SHAKER COOLING SYSTEINI This plmlogruph, when in the buxemenl ofthe .Vain Building, shows Ll kind ofbrick poolfed by a spring. This was med by the Shakers as a refrigerator. DINING ROOM OF THE CHURCH FAMILY This is now the dining room of the Lebanon School, though il has, of course, been modernized. 30 T936 The Peg Board The construction of a room is not so important as some other things, but it deserves mention. Let us begin with the Hoor and work up. The floor has rather a rough finish, the boards, which are made of hard pine, not being Fitted very closely. The walls were made of plaster painted white, but the school changed their color to yellow as far up as the peg boards, and from there to the ceiling a lighter yellow to relieve eyestrain. The ceiling was also made ofplaster painted white, but was made a light yellow by the school. There is another little thing which I forgot to mention and that is that the peg boards, from which the school paper gets its name, encircle the entire perimeter of each room. The dining room still enjoys the peace of its former days, its walls not having been operated upon. In fact it had only one flesh wound, and that was the removal of a sink which rested in the center of the room. The places where the water pipes came up and the drains went down are still visible under Mr. R. Miller's table CMr. Miller is the modern language masterl. All the kitchen suffered was the removal of its west partition so as to increase its size. There is only one classroom on the ground floor. It was made out of two closets, like many ofthe boys' rooms. That may seem tiny, but it really isn't as each closet was quite large. The rest of the classrooms are on the fourth Hoor. THE GIRLS' SCHOOL The Educational System of the Shakers By HENRY MARSHALL COLVIN, '37 Prize Article in the Upper-Middle Group EFORE the organization of the Shaker community at Mount Lebanon the Shakers living in the vicinity had to rely upon the district schools, which were very deficient, for the edu- cation of their childreng but after the gathering of the Believers into organized societies,1 much 1. The organization began in 1787 and was completed by 1792. See A Summary View of the Millennial Church, Albany 1848, p. 59. 31 The Peg Board 1936 better educational advantages were provided? Some of the brethren were made responsible for the instruction of the boys, and some of the sisters for teaching the girls? The schools thus taught were opened and closed as circumstances demanded. Sometimes they were in session only for a few weeks. They taught the usual subjects such as reading, writing and arithmetic. In 1808 better privileges were secured for the pupils, and the teachers began to pay more attention to the correct use of language. The sessions also became more regular, and a night school open to any of the brethren and sisters who cared to attend, was established. In 1817 a public school was opened for the benefit of all the children in the community. It operated under the Lancastrian System. Its teacher was a member of the Church Family and it was directed by that same family. A two-session scheme was instituted, one being held in the summer for the girls, and the other in the winter for the boys.4 Instruction was provided in reading, spelling, writing, geography, arithmetic, grammar and other miscellaneous subjects. This school moved along prosperously for some eighteen years until, in 1835, it was decided to establish other district schools that the burden of teaching might be lessened? In 1839 a schoolhouse was erected, in which the Shaker school continued in operation for many years. Here summer and winter sessions of four months each were maintained regularly. To the list of subjects already taught were added others, such as music, algebra, astronomy, and agricultural chemistry? Many good reports were made of this school. Among others we have the report of a man who visited it during a summer term, a few years before the Civil War. I quote his words: With Dr. Hinckley I visited the school for girls, and was surprised and delighted by the exercises there. It was composed of thirty-three girls, varying in age from four to fifteen years, dressed in the costume of the Shaker women, with the omission of the cap, for which a black net was substituted. The system ofinstruction is the same as that pur- sued in our best common schools, and all the children in the community are supplied with a thorough common English educationf Another extremely favorable report was that written by the School Commissioner, Isaac T. Haight in 1882.8 It reads as follows: I visited this school on the I3 of Jan. I found everything in perfect order, and can speak in the highest terms, both of the teacher and scholars. The school-room was in perfect order, supplied with globes, charts, maps, Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, and every thing that is needed for teacher and scholars. The order was perfect and recita- tion superior to schools in Columbia County. The attendance was the best in the Second Commissioner's district, being 95 per cent. The teacher's success did honor to himself as a teacher,'and honor to the Society. Penmanship was one of the good qualities of the school, but reading was a success. The pronunciation was clear and distinct. Each word was accented correctly, and the scholars understood what they read. I was well pleased with the reading exercises. 2. The Manifesto, XX fApril 18901, 73. 3. Edward D. Andrews, The Community Industries of the Shakers, Albany, 1932, p. 283. 4. In The Manifesto, XX C April 18907, 73 it is stated that a session was held in the summer for the boys and in the winter for the girls. This is aplgarently a mistake, for it contradicts the notes furnished the Peg Board by Sister Emma J. Neale of the Church Family of Shakers. Besides, r. Andrews prints on page 284 of his Community Industries of the Shakers a statement of tuitlons owed the Church Family by other Shaker societies. Under December 31, 1833 are listed charges for tuition of boys during the last winter, and girls during the summer. In the iournal of Elisha Blakeman, just discovered by Sister Emma and made availa le to the Peg Board, this notation occurs under November 18, 1867: Boys commence going to school for this season. This is additional proof that the boys went to school in the winter. The reason for sending the boys to school in the winter term was, it seems, that they were needed for work out of doors in the open summer months. 5. The Manifesto, XX tApril 18903, 74. 6. The Manifesto, XX CApril 18901, 74. 7. Harper? Magazine, XV CJuly 18575, 175. 8. At this time the school of the Church Family was part of the public school system of the state ol New York. - 32 1936 The Peg Board , ' ', . , , ,af . ' . JH.. Photograph by Winthrop B. Coffin. '36 The picture on the left shows the interior of the Shaker schoolhouse when it -was in use. From left to right are Brother James Culver, Sister Amelia Culver, Elder Calvin Reed, and Sister Emma J. Neale. The picture an the right shows the exterior of the Shaker schoolhouse as il is today. The interest the Shakers take in education is very commendable. I regret that more ofour Public Schools do not take a deeper interest in our schools and bring them up to the standard of the school at Mt. Lebanon. The teachers attend the Institutes and Association, and are ready to catch every new idea or new Methodg therefore their teachers are well posted in all the New Methods now in use. Isaac T. Haight, School Commissioner' Although the Shakers had many trials and tribulations, they also had their share of blessings. The Manifesto, one of their publications, tells of the bravery of one of the sisters, Ada Brown, in extinguishing a fire in the schoolhouse-a fire that might have spread into a conflagration: Among the special blessings we have to recount is the preservation of the village school house with its valuable furnishings of books and charts. On November 26 a little past the noon hour as the teacher, Sister Ada Brown, entered the school room Ca little earlier than usualj, she was startled to see smoke and flame coming up through the register. Through her presence of mind in immediately closing doors and windows and throwing on the water at hand, she was able to check the flames and summon assistance, barely in time to save the building. Cause of Ere was large unprotected wood casing too near the large new furnace. Repairs have been made with greater security for the future. ' An amusing incident that occurred in the schoolhouse was told us by Sister Emma. One day while she was a teacher there, she was trying to get the floor particularly clean. The water, which she used a little too freely, seeped down into the basement, where at that time the wool and felt hats were manufactured, slightly wetting some of the stores of felt. The hatters were con- siderably perturbed to Sister Pfmma's chagrin. 9. The Manifesto XII lSeptember 18821, 207. 10. See Vol. XXVII C1895-J. 33 The Peg Board - 1936 And now in 1936 how does the old schoolhouse appear to our eyes? Its rooms no longer hum with drowsy tones of boys and girls studying their lessons aloud. The harsh snap of the teacher's ferrule does not resound through the rooms. Instead, the patter of the tiny feet of mice, the whistle of the wind through the broken windows, and the slow sounds of decay that foretell the ruin of all structures are the only sounds that disturb its sacred atmosphere. But let us hope that the fine work once done there will be perpetuated by our Lebanon School. Photograph by Winthrop B. Cqffin, '36 SPECIMENS OF SHAKER HANDICRAFT IN THE SCHOOL MUSEUM Various Industries of the Mount Lebanon Shakers By WILLIAM BRADFORD HALL, '36 Prize Article in lhe Senior Group ITH the organization of the Shaker community on the slopes of Mount Lebanon it became necessary to provide financial resources for the colony! As a result, the Shakers gradually entered into many varied industries. Prominent among these were the raising and sale of garden seeds, the gathering and sale of medicinal herbs, and the preparation and sale of medicinal ex- tracts. By 1800 the garden seed business at Mount Lebanon had already reached considerable pro- portions, and its importance increased rapidly. At one time the seeds were distributed through the United States and were even sent to Europe, and in 1858 the business was one of the most profitable sources of income for the Church Family at New Lebanon. At the time of the Civil 1. The gathering of the society at New Lebanon began in September 1787 and by 1792 the church was established. See A Summary View ofthe M illennial Church. Albany 1848, p. 59. 34 1936 The Peg Board War and for a number of years thereafter the industry sufferedumany unlooked-for reverses. 2 It continued, however, until the late 80's or early 9O,S.n3 In a letter from one young believer at home lEmil Bretznerl to another in England, and dated January 7, 1871, we find the follow- ing comment on the seed business: If you had only known how much trouble we take about those seeds you helped us gather in last fall, you would have considered more than once before going to England. When we get the seeds threshed and well cleaned, we take them to the shop and put them up in little paper bags to send to our customers. What a job that is! One cuts the bags, another folds them, a third one prints, a fourth one pastes thim, a fifth one puts in the seed, a sixth seals them up, a seventh puts them in the boxes a d off they go to our great rejoicing. One more has to go and collect the money for them, and that is the worst of all.4 Along with the garden seed industry came the business of drying sweet corn for the wholesale and retail markets. This was started at Mount Lebanon in 1828 and continued throughout the century. After the cobs had been boiled in great iron kettles, the kernels were cut off with hand knives and then dried in the sun. At a later period steam-operated machines were intro- duced for cutting the corn, and thus the amount of labor required was reduced considerably? In 1866 the price for a barrel of this corn was 520. During the early 80's outside competition made heavy inroads on the business, but it was not discontinued until about 1900. Exceedingly important also was the medicinal herb industry. The Shakers state that the cultivation of herbs and roots for sale began in 1820. Up to that time only wild herbs had been gatheredf' In 1826 the demand for Shaker herb preparations had become so heavy that it be- came necessary to use herbs imported from outside as well as those grown in the Mount Lebanon gardensf In 1850 large additions were made to the buildings and machinery. These fa- cilities made it possible for the Shakers to increase their output greatly. A gentleman who visited Mount Lebanon in 1857, or slightly before, has left us the following description of the building in which the Shakers prepared their herbs: The Herb House, where the various botanical preparations are put up for market, is a frame building in the center of the village, one hundred and twenty feet in length, forty feet in width, and two stories and an attic in height. There are some spacious out- houses connected with it. The lower part is used for the business oHice, store-rooms, and for pressing and packing the herbs and roots. The second story and attic are the drying rooms, where the green herbs are laid upon sheets of canvas, about fourteen inches apart, supported by cords. The basement is devoted to heavy storage and the horse-power by which the press in the second story is worked. That press is one of the most perfect of the kind. It has a power of three hundred tons, and turns out each day about two hundred and fifty pounds of herbs, or six hundred pounds of roots, pressed for use. This performance will be doubled when steam shall be applied to the press. The herbs and roots come out in solid cakes, an inch thick, and seven and a quarter inches square, weighing a pound each. These are then taken into another room, where they are kept in small presses, arranged in a row, so as to preserve their form until placed in papers and labeled. During the year 18 5 5 about seventy-five tons of roots and herbs were pressed in the establishment. About ten persons are continually employed in this business, and occasionally twice that number are there, engaged in picking over the green herbs and cleansing the roots brought from the 2. The Manifesto, XX CMarch 18901, 50. 3. Edward D. Andrews, The Community Industries of the Shakers, Albany, 1932, p. 81. 4. The Shaker, II flfebruary 18727, p. 16. 5. The Community Industries of the Shakers, 82. 6. The Manifesto, XX' September 18907, 195. 7. The Community Industries of the Shakers, p. 92. It is interesting to note that the Shaker uphysic gardens were scattered all over New Lebanon. 35 The Peg Board 1936 THE EXTRACT HOUSE Reproduced from Harper's Magazine XV Uuly 1857j, 173. medicinal fields and gardens. The extra laborers are generally females. These fields and gardens cover about seventy-five acres, a portion of which is devoted to the cultivation - s of various herbs and vegetables for their seeds. This building was used by the Shakers until 1875. On Saturday, February 9.7 of that year, at eleven o'clock in the morning, Fire broke out in the press room. After about half an hour s ' h l l' ht battle, in which Sister Emma Neale had an important part, it was extinguished wit on y s ig damage, but two hours later fire was again discovered in the same building, which this time was totally destroyed' Unfortunately, there was no insurance. The making of extracts must have begun before 1832, for the Manyesto tells us that in that year a large building was demanded for the trade. ' This was known as the Extract House. The same writer who described the Herb House has left us an interesting sketch of the work which went on in the Extract House and in the Finishing Room, which was in an adjacent building: The Extract House, in which is the laboratory for the preparation of juices for medical purposes, is a large frame building, thirty-six by one hundred feet. It was erected in 1850. It is supplied with the most perfect apparatus, and managed by James Long, a k'llf l h ist and a member of the Society In the principal room of the laboratory the s 1 u c em , . chief operations of cracking, steaming, and pressing the roots and herbs are carried on, to- gether with the boiling of the juices thus extracted. In one corner is a large boiler, into which the herbs or roots are placed and steam introduced. From this boiler the steamed herbs are conveyed to grated cylinders, and subjected to immense pressure. The juices 8. Harper's Magazine, XV Uuly 18571, 172. 9 This tire occurred only a few weeks after the great fire of February 6, 1875, which destroyed eight buildings. Sister Emma tells ll! that it has been proved conclusively that both were of incendiary origin. 10. XX Kseptember 18907, 194. 36 1936 if 4 TT if iiiTheiiPieig Board ix THE LABORATORY Reproduced from Harpefs Magazine, XV Cjuly 18575, 173. thus expressed are then put in copper pans, inclosed in iron jackets, in such manner that steam is introduced between the jackets and the pans and the liquid boiled down to the proper consistency for use. Some juices, in order to avoid the destruction or modification of their medical properties, are conveyed to an upper room, and there boiled in a huge copper vacuum pan, from which, as its name implies, the air has been exhausted. This allows the liquid to boil at a much lower temperature than it would in the open air. In a room adjoining the vacuum pan are mills for reducing dried roots to impalpable powder. These roots are first cracked to the size of samp in the room below, by being crushed under two huge discs of Esopus granite, each four feet in diameter, a foot in thickness and a ton in weight. These are made to revolve in a large vessel by steam power. The roots are then carried to the mills above. These are made of two upper and a nether stone of Esopus granite. The upper stones are in the form of truncated cones, and rest upon the nether stone, which is beveled. A shaft in centre, to which they are attached by arms, makes them revolve, and at the same time they turn upon their own axes. The roots ground under them by this double motion are made into powder almost impalpable. In a building near the Extract House is the Finishing Room, where the preparations, already placed in phials, bottles, and jars, are labeled and packed for market. This service is performed by two womeng and from this room those materials, now so extensively used in the materia medica, are sent forth. These extracts are of the purest kind. The water used for the purpose is conveyed through earthen pipes from a pure mountain spring, an eighth of a mile distant, which is singularly free from all earthy matter. This is ofinfinite importance in the preparation of these medicinal juices. They are, consequently, very pop- ular, and the business is annually increasing. During the year 1855 they prepared at that laboratory and sold about fourteen thousand pounds. The chief products are the extracts 37 The Peg Board 1936 VACUUM PAN AND CRUSHING MILL Reprodured from Harpefs Magazine, XV Cjuly 18571, 174 TUE HYDRAULIC PRESS. Erplamrtzkm of the Press.-A, the cylinder: B, the platen: C, the hopper into which the herbs are placed, and fall through the platen upon the movable bed,A turned by eogsg D, a. plunger which presses the herbs: e, the orifice in the platen through which the plunger drops: h, another plunger that pushes the preued herb-cake through the lower bed, i, into the trough, K: n, m, apparatul con- nected with the power below: 0, the driving-wheel. Reproduced from Harper's Magazine, XV Uuly 18573, 172 38 1936 Theimgindarid Ti 1 i 3' THE TANNERY Reproduced from Harper's Magazine, XV Uuly 18575, 175 of dandelion and butternut. Of the former, during that year, they put up two thousand five hundred pounds, of the latter, three thousand pounds.1' One of the most important industries at Mount Lebanon was that of tanning leather. In the first year of the community's organized existence, says Dr. Andrews, a small building was utilized for finishing leather. Here Root, the tanner, ground his hemlock bark by horse power on a simple circular stone. This primitive method was employed until after the turn of the cent- ury. 12 The development of the tanning business is described thus in the Mangfesio: . . . .After the introduction of a cast-iron bark mill, which was driven by water power, the business was greatly facilitated. In 1807 more additions were made to the buildings, and machines added for rolling the leather. In 1813 a machine was added for splitting leather. The business had so much increased by the year 1834 that still larger buildings were needed and more ample provisions made to meet the growing demand. By this change the vats were placed in the basement of the building and numbered not less than thirty-two. Every thing on the premises was made to correspond with the amount of the business, as well as the quality of the work demanded. The hides at this date were softened in a common fulling mill, but in 1840 a wheel or cylinder was used and considered a great improvement. As the sales increased, the old process of tanning leather in cold vats was by far too slow to suit the sellers and buyers of this: fast age, and a steam boiler was in- troduced in 1850 for heating the vats and leaches, in order to force the hides more ex- peditiously through the process of making leather.1' 11. Harper? Magazine, XV Uuly 18573, 173. ff. 12. The Community Indsutv-in of Nu Shaken, p. 121. 18. The Manifesto, XX QMsy 18903, 97. 39 The Peg Board 1936 Out of the tanning business such occupations were developed as the making of saddles, harness, and shoes. Sister Emma has given us these interesting notes concerning the leather industry at the Church Family: It was carried on until about 1890, as long as there was any profit in it. By that time many of the brethren were dead and it became necessary to hire outside men to do the work. Frederick Sizer was one of the leaders in this industry. Many young men started work in the tannery and later branched out into other occupations. All the leather goods for the Church Family were made here, even the shoes. The Shaker shoes were all of leather, except for the cloth tops of the sisters' shoes. All articles of leather in excess of what the Shakers needed for themselves were sold to the outside world, and leather from cowhide down to the finest calfskin was sold to outside merchants. Cloth was also made, but apparently not on a very large scale. In 1787 it was wholly the work of hand looms, and these continued to be used for many years.14 In 1793 Benjamin Bruce invented a machine for setting card teeth,15 and in 18oo another machine, which was accepted as a great advance, was invented for shearing the cloth. The first spinning jenny was purchased in 1812, after which date the large spinning wheels were for the most part put aside. By 1834 cloth had been made so cheap by the establishment of cotton factories in this country that the Shakers began to purchase it outside,16 but the Shaker looms continued in steady use until slightly beyond the middle of the century. After that time, though the production of cloth was lessened at Mount Lebanon, the Shakers did not give up their weaving entirely. They made material for chairs, mats, toweling, serge trousers, linen frocking, worsted gowns, cotton handkerchiefs, carpets, spreads etc. '7 The Shakers engaged, besides in the making of hats, bonnets, cloaks, gloves, and baskets. Of the hat industry the Manyesto has this to say: Experienced hatters were among those who accepted the faith of the Believers, and the manufacture of fur and wool hats began with the beginning of the Community. These were made not only for New Lebanon, but for the Believers in other States and for persons not of the Society. After a few years the business was all given in charge of the Society at Hancock, and for twenty years no hats were made in New Lebanon. This branch of industry has never been attended with that success which one might wish, and diminished gradually from year to year till it finally closedfg Dr. Andrews notes that as late as 1830 a few hats were still being made at Mount Lebanon, and that after the Civil War the Mount Lebanon Society again made hats of fur and wool. Sister Emma tells us that the lower Hoor of the schoolhouse was used as a hatter's shop. The manufacture of straw, and palm-leaf bonnets was an important industry at Mount Lebanon. Sisters Emma and Sadie Neale inform us that these bonnets were made not only for the Shaker sisters, but also for sale to the general public. As many as a hundred dozen were sometimes sold in one winter. They were made in five sizes, and small ones for dolls. The palm leaf was brought from the South. The sisters wove them on small looms, and then they worked a braided trim around them. The Kentucky Shakers made them of silk and grew their own silk worms to produce the silk. 14. The Manifesto, XX CMay 18901, 98. 15. The Manifesto. XX fApril 18905, 74. 16. The Manifesto, XX CSeptember 18903, 194. 17. The Community Industries of the Shakers, p. 187. 18. XX CMay 18903, 97. 19. The Community Industries of the Shakers, 175. 40 1936 The Peg Board 'CQ-J. pq, SISTERS CUTTING OUT CLOAKS Left lo right: Sister Ann Maria Greaves, Sister Emma J. Neale, Sixler Alire Cary Wade, Eldress Augusla Shine, and lildress Harrie! Bullard. A considerable business in cloaks was also developed at the Church Family. Sister Emma founded this business. The first year, as she tells us, four cloaks were soldg the second year, thirteeng the third year, thirty-sixg and later on, as many as three hundred and seventy-five in one year. Many were sold in Maine and in the Adirondacks. A modiste tried to copy the Shaker cloaks, but she could not get the hoods right, as only the Shakers knew the secret of their construc- tion. A great department store in New York also tried and likewise failed. Among the most celebrated of the Shaker products were their coon-skin gloves. From Sisters Fmma and Sadie of the Church Family we learn that these gloves were sold at one time to Budd of New York. Furs were also prepared for the Greely Relief Fxpedition. Basket making began early in the history of the Mount Lebanon community. The Manyerlo states that they were made for sale in 1813 and that the business increased rapidlyfu Dr. Andrews carries the date at which this occupation was followed even farther back, quoting a list which indicates the sale of four baskets in I8OQ.21 Sister Fmma owns a Shaker basket which is more than one hundred years old. She says that the Shakers made both palm-leaf baskets and straw baskets, that they kept two or three looms busy at this work all the time, and that they sometimes sold as many as four thousand baskets in a single year. These Shaker baskets were of widely varied design and were manufactured in many different sizes. Equally famous are the Shaker boxes. They were made in numerous shapes and sizes, but the most interesting of them perhaps are the oval ones. The llflarzferlo comments thus on the oval boxes: The Manufacture ofoval boxes began as early as 1800. Although not a very extensive branch of business, it has been a source of small income from year to year. At first the 20. The Manifesto, XX KSeptember 18905, 194. 21. The Ccrmmunitu Industries uf the Shakers, p. 166. 41 The Peg Board 1936 rims were cut from a log in a common saw mill, which did the work very imperfectly. The heads were planed by hand. In 1832 a buzz saw did the work of cutting out the rims, and in 1832 a machine was brought into use, and from this date the rims were also planed by machinery. It is impossible in the short space available here to discuss anything like all of the articles made and sold by the Shakers of Mount Lebanon, but brief mention should be made of their wines, sauces, jellies, and preserves. The Shaker apple sauce especially was widely known. It was prepared by first drying the apples and then boiling them in cider. Catsup was also put up and sold in gallon jugs. To the Shakers goes the credit for making a great number of useful inventions. In 1828 the first foot lathe used by the Shakers was invented. It was employed in turning and drilling? It is said that the idea of making cut nails was suggested to the Shaker mechanics by one of the sisters. In any case the business of making wrought nails and cut nails was for a number of years profitable to the Shakers. It was abandoned about 1830 because of outside competition. In writing about the history of the Watervliet colony Elder D. A. Buckingham mentions a number of inventions credited to the Shakers. The parts of his statement relevant to Mount Lebanon are as follows: The Hrst matching of boards and planks by machinery in this country, was enacted at Mt. Lebanon, N. Y., by Henry Bennett and Amos Bishop in I8I51tl'1Cy using vertical rollers to hold the lumber straight and ropes and windlass to propel the same over circular saws-first making the groove, then the tongue .... We might mention with exceedingly large credit the machinery invented and manufactured by Elders D. Boler and D. Cross- man, for splint-making, basket-working and box-cutting apparatus, at Mt. Lebanon .... We recall the skill of Bro. G. M. Wickersham, as applied to a summer covrringfor a .rad iron slave, by which the hotter the fire, the cooler the room! 24 The Shakers made brass buckles and for a time manufactured and mended all of their own tinware. At an early date, 1795 to be exact, they began to fashion buttons for the garments of the brethren. These were made of the horns and hoofs of cattle.25 In 1812 the war with England brought about a scarcity of wire, and the Shakers had to manufacture their own.26 Clocks were made by the Shakers very early in their history. The Lebanon School possesses a fine Shaker clock made at Watervliet in 1806 by Benjamin Youngs. The increase in the number in use in the Church Family at New Lebanon is thus described in The Manyeslo: At first the knowledge, as well as the machinery and tools were very limited. When the Society was organized, only three clocks were in use in the church family. In 1796 the number had increased to seven. The first alarm clock was made in 1812 at Watervliet, N. Y., and was sent to New Lebanon as a present. There has been a gradual increase in the number of clocks till at this date, 08585 we have some eighty-five in the first familyf' As the manufacture of clocks outside increased, the Shakers found it unprofitable to make them and chose to buy them instead when they were needed. The use of watches was discouraged and at times prohibited. The reason for this was, as Sister Emma explains, not that the Shakers 22. The Munijcllo, XX fSeptember 18901, 193. 28. The Munifsllo, XX fApril 18901, 74. 24. The Slmlur, CNovember 18773. 86. 25. The Manifulo, XX September 18903, 193. 26. TM llanifcdo, XX fAu3ust 1890l, 170. 27. Th udkfflllb, XX fAllClllt 18901, 169. 42 i936 The Pegmsoara QW, Photographed by Winthrop B. Coffin, '36 Shaker clock made at IfV11ler1fliet, N. Y. in 1806 by Benjamin Youngs. This clock now stands in the common room oflhe Lebanon Srhool. 43 'i'hFeFPFEgTii0afd FF ni ' I 1936 had anything against watches, but that they were deemed a needless expense. Even as late as 1860 only six watches were in use in the Church Family. The Shakers also manufactured brooms. In the early days a small number were made with the help of rude machines. Later, machines were invented by which one man could make from six to eight dozen brooms a day. These as well as hand brushes were sold extensively by the Society until about I845. i Chair making was one of the earliest of the Shaker industries. Dr. Andrews quotes from the daybook of Joseph Bennet, proving that chairs were sold at Mount Lebanon as early as I'789. ' The sale of chairs and some other articles of furniture was for a long time a flourishing business at the South Family. Even as late as 1895 we find the following statement about Shaker furni- ture: There continues a constant demand for the famous Shaker chairs, sofas, footrests, and numerous other articles .... We are quite positive that the South Family at Mount Lebanon is the champion chair maker of the world. The work is of the very best and it is well known that They're useful,-ornamental Two grand principles combined. You may search the whole world over, Nor better chairs you'l1 find. Then their sofas and their footrests Are the best the world can giveg Do not try to find their equal, For you cannot while you live. The chair business did not continue for a very great length of time at the Church Family, but at the South family it was kept up until quite recently. The last person to pursue chair making there was Sister Sarah Collins. In some respects the most interesting of the Shaker chairs are those which have a kind of ball roller ir the rear posts. In these chairs one can tilt back comfortably. They have been described thus: At an undetermined date, probably in the first quarter of the last century, if not earlier, a large percentage of the common Shaker three-slat sidechairs became equipped by some ingenious mechanic with the famous ball-and-socket device at the base of the rear posts, an example of the many instances in which the active Shaker mind improved on the status quo. The device consisted of a wooden ball fastened on the back posts by a leather thong knotted at one end and fixed into the post by a wooden dowel. By this arrangement one could tilt back or rock in one of these sidechairs without danger of slipping, the wear on the carpets was likewise prevented. As the Shakers began to decrease in numbers, their activity in all these industries began to diminish. Now, except for the making of an occasional cloak and a few small articles such as baskets, and except for the sale of the widely known extract, Norwood's tincture of verairum viride, nothing remains of the Shaker industries at Mount Lebanon. The surviving Shakers give their attention to agriculture and the raising of fruit. This survey, although it is necessarily incomplete, will, it is hoped, give some idea of the busy life once led here by the Shakers-of the scope and variety of their industries. 28. The Manifecto, XX fAuzust 18907, 170. 29. The Munifealv, XX fsepfember 18901, 193. 80. The Community I ndullries of the Shakers, 233. 81. The Manifeatu, Uuly 18953, 162. 82. The Community Industries of the Shaken, p. 280. 44- 1936 The Peg Board ORRIN HASKINS' WORKSHOP Photograph by Winthrop B. Coffin. '36 BRETHRENS' WORKSHOP 45 The Peg Board 1936 L X M . lx -ASQ SOUTH END OF MAIN DVVELLING HOUSE 46 1936 The Peg Board Courtesy of The Merreely Bell Company Our School Bell By NATHANIEL EDWARD GRIFFIN, '37 hortly after the fire of February 6, 1875, on which day the old Shaker dwelling house of the Church Family burned down, the Shakers started a new building on the same site. This is our present school building. The Shakers realized that they needed a bell to go with so fine a building, and on February 27, 1875, their business manager, Edward Fowler, purchased the bell which we use today. He bought it from Meneely and Kimberly, whose foundry was and still is situated at 22 River Street, Troy, N. Y., although the Firm is now known as the Meneely Bell Company! Even though this five-hundred-and-eight pound bell is cursed by the entire student body every morning when it calls them out ofbed, it is a very fine bell. It has a clear, piercing tone which can be heard for a distance of over three miles. The chief reason why the tone of this bell is so pure is that it is made out of an alloy called bell metal, the tone qualities of which have been proved over a period of many centuries. This alloy, which is better for its purpose than gold or silver, the metals that the early bell makers considered best, is composed ofseventy-eight per cent copper, and twenty-two per cent tin. Another reason is that this bell is equipped with steel springs, mounted inside, which push the steel hammer away after it has struck the bell and prevent any disagreeable jarring sound. The third reason is that it was beautifully cast. ltifhad been cast with any blemishes, the fault would have shown up during the past sixty odd years ofits constant 1. In Anna White and Leila S. Taylor's Shalcerism Its Meaning and Message it is stated on p. 211 that the manufacturers presented the bell to the Shakers. This is evidently a mistake, for the writer of this article has visited Troy and seen a. record of payment for the bell. This record was shown him by Mr. Meneely, the present head of the company. 47 The Peg Board 1936 service. The word ball is related to the Anglo-Saxon bellan, which meant lo roar or bellow, but our bell has such a lovely tone that this meaning of the word does not apply. Its pitch is that of Middle C, or 256 vibrations per second. Although the price for the bell would now be 32.50 a pound Cestimated on the price of a ten- pound bellj the Shakers paid only 3.35 a pound. The total cost of the bell, including the charge for mounting-a very complicated maneuver-, was 521180. One can easily picture the appearance of our bell from the accompanying cut. Ours is exactly the same except for an inscription, WE PRAISE THEE, O GOD. Another thing which is not visible is the rotary mounting -a special feature of the bells cast by this company. While interviewing Mr. Meneely, we found that his company had had a very interesting career, of which any bell foundry would be proud. The highest bells in the world were cast by Edward L. Kehn who has been working for this foundry since 1888 and is still going strong. His bells have gone to both poles of the earth. One rests on the restored frigate, Con.vlilu!ion, commonly known as Old Ironsidesf' Also the old Liberty Bell which was cracked while being used as a Fire alarm, was replaced by one from this foundry. v .- .. 2 - THE MEETING HOUSE AS IT USED TO BE The Meeting House By VVINTHROP B. COFFIN, '36 HE OLD Shaker Meeting House, erected in 1824, is one of the most noteworthy buildings in this community. It was designed by Moses Johnson, who, before he joined the Shakers, had been a builder residing in Enfield, Connecticut. It stands on the site of the original Shaker Church, which was moved to make room for it. The entire job of building it was done only by Shakers. It rests upon massive foundation walls and supporting piers of stone cut from the neighboring hills. In the northwest corner, however, the piers are supplemented by heavy wooden posts set 48 . Fl 1 A. w vi' ,. T .. , V ,.,. ,.,, , . . W, , , ML, l..Jv',,. . ,. .HMLW ., , - a , , +p,.,.q.,,n . .V W i M,?,,:, Xu' 1 hx' 1 . . . .N L-,X 1-, '1-.U . ..,...a.. , ., 1 'A NWW, .L ,X , . .. 1, T, 11' . .. L, .W Ni A , 1 Jw- ' ,.f, .N . , .,v -Y ly , , Aim, xx V , 4 vfdsrnat. flow? ROOF Covemna .Ma 11zu.s,s ,,2',fL',, E 774' key Galvin, If N. wsu mm pens.- f 911.7-en uni bjiuovad ,,.'-JQX fi K, X 1 any loy Iaardhi., ,gif ,491 1 ' ,f' JWWN 9' 'FIMVM5 I ,1: 'f ,f ' . ' ' ' ' F7773 -60 Jn! clkvlfnllllil I' Z f ' XX? gg z69:'.:h:?:a:lX5 8 fmmnvsfm- ' , . X fig-fwdfwrf .za ' f ' 'M Ma -9-W-M' on-run. on , wyffqfllu. ff' N ax f ' K ' A . H , PRINCIPAL ' f ' f ' Z . f X . ..5 2 '-:EE RAP1' f' f ff X f ' Z 'ff ' -ff '1' ' A W F 5 X, fx 45'-Z s ' ' . ':'f , . ' HW V 42 4'v . 335-'O 2' M' f g wx 3 fm- 'Fu f 2 ,Zh IIION mm .run 4 . , ., N X' X K lvngquah fy ff? povrngvfnvlloy Z 10510 ,, - X I Zrqgf J, 7hw'u m mfmuou: 4 X PRINCIPAL .X f 7 'N NET- VN D , gl .hz 3.9.0 1,-A' Zhu. ac zbrwifn, M tiff! X 1547- -'ff' V. Nffbl. fmglfu il 4192 0. Janine! HX 'XV Jscumvg an-mar. N , M455 'ix J. 2 .ily Q- - X yxifinc 1:7-5.4: 611,510 IIJCIIIJ 9, -3 as M . ' A xml- ' 'U lk- 9' Y li G f X N 'ff ' ' fm '- i X' 'LX X Il llllii ll M . 1. . N W 1 I ' P Ag- I ' X ,fxg 5' I l I ' Wm N X. - S W 7 :' -2 Uh'l'l'?L :E W ' jg! if? !y Q' ' ?' f x , 'Q I : 55 E Aff 1. .. A,.. w ..,. V .- V -5 M - ' N . 1 - t- Q Zyf l i: QW DE1'AlLIovj if ar 1 M xl I . fW... ff.: 'Sew W f M M K- - . , . f , , ' , i ' - . , .- 1 , g 'M : Xl. ffyf T ff.-M1533 3,I'ZJ?'f5..'3L'3.? w ' N nr A . ,, ,. 5, . Q J L fb '21i','533 ,,q5,5f nfl. ::FT1?EfiE3!L2 --. ! - X, i J' '1 an-l:?2?Tx6'Mi'..: ?f?Y Jgifz I ' 2 ' 'f e ff '- ,--lf2L.1.h- :AH 3 I H ff! , Y MM... A I L Y vu A 'LA-lYlg Clll-IIG Iunomk F Us ff! :vnu Q M0 Arr 00-Qckn' cm' , f ff X' 0 4F'QvrofLo4Jaff9 4530 f ff, V. W... .1 K . - H 1 U' ll! ll? df fgb f 1 X V, .M .. . QL' ff ff 1? 3-nj wi .-i -Sh If .ffgl 1 lgif. .W-,ffffffy X - . - . f- vp , nc HQ A -- -1 . ,VA My ...ara x.. F, fx6'0MPu V iiggzl Y. X ic: mg' lad af' ca-I j . ,. . ' aw-ffw -1 f ,J , x x..f ,, f ,131 X X 4.01 fnonfagff. K 7 X X Y ,fb r QXQ i , -Q61 Illulnw rnmclru. nrng. or noun. 21 I9 Puma X X X K. 7Xzjlu-'git 70' Wt Hill!! f fig R XA .-GM !t!I'. 'g'm lx axnw . rea- ffm'- ' X s X xX X M X . -fm-of Nga- en I0 f 'fda ov.yq.f-L :Ji .. X mon Jfngb A'- 'faviqg lfbltnf -f .715 Banu' 9' cmfmvu dm' fi f '- -1- f Fl 9 1 I-. . in ' X : .L . 5 ,aa h 'Q-' 1 fmr 1 Q ' - Q 171' , .,.....,..,,,., Conf ay!! aaffvln f , f i .lIL2!! 4 I f 7 7 Q, I If 'N Q wx N ll If I sl f f if Aw f I ' ' ' X wnfnf 7i7i,n.i,u, X .3-me uf' 1 . . - f, - fu ' -V slcnfai or4r.f PRING -X X --f . fm ' rv-ffvlwvwrfvlf H--fm .. . ...T .f 1 Q.-.., or murun. .surron-mm ., :za 4' ,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,. , , , ,, Lgmngfgo Pmnclrm. HAPTER. .X '55, . ' A -------- -- 1-ua'rwoMr.MseaTm BEAM 5,-s, 'ug 454418 - u!4:uu:l:r117'Zo1lv 01-us CEILING :Arran . V me 335:-:fo .W ,H 9.1 U . , men .Pen-Ln. '?fi'J 'Q ' X JJ- Tao Zyfau nw. ' ' fffz- 1- E -:f . ix. 4 ? Z' l' p.q....,'D d..l..e W. any u-.rf-:aired .r -7 . ,m gf p?fZl:5Slbf7 of fwsky :Sr Sfaff 2-BTA' neon aol.-r.: vsrnuu- I M M IIIII X 'ro noon 3211: - t-! 9Zr5MM-t?f ' Q ., . ' Mf ..,,z xxx., 113,32-ggi R n- 51-41 '75 ,' A I I Q ,gm ,ww f , y NwR:.xN I -,' S , , J' ii: S fZ .k, L ,-3I.',. I I ' I -Any- , ' K I I I XX I ,W if . . X I ' I - If I ily V, I X an 500 fffflf fl -: E C 1051 XSQ I - owl I OD - R.AMi - ss uPPo 'ruua IN-C En!-ED I OOF fb PL TER. ' ILIN ff: , at - 0 - . gig L fy QQ P ' ,..Q 5. - f 1 - noi Jiri -'7lf',A -4..,g--..,FL L.. .- .- !,,,,,,I --,' -N--- tam gf! , : B I ' I ff-it S -'--'- ----Q - . ,T . 5 f I Il. If . . .QI f : 1, -ff+5a'?-?E.f:i-igi I .2- - Q - f f ' z S953 - I E - I if .Q ,,, , V- -1-, .. . :.. .! - - - ' - 1 IB' I ' I! f-f I, I I I I 1 g m u I' ' ' , 740994 X I 1 L Qi ', I 'fx I Ii, f 3 I V444 I2 ,f,, 1414 fffffffffff ffffff, fff fff 1 .fffff I f-ffffffff I- ffffff Pfflnfn r-11 dgcicfv ,fzmrffz Ciffznvf' A Const'-uetzon. uhnlls In fq, yn: madonna X f 0 ' 'O M i gi, 2. I B sq' w as .ludnfon m f r 1 I 4 nn- ' Mil- ' ' qfiiif I ' IQ gg M1110 .206 05003 sitf 5 , 'fl0f : gg Jo I Flin- fp Itfzf -'W 1? I Z'5l.W.Ifl,'I'l-1' , l'Jlfil'97ll?i 7 1 1936 The Peg Board on a stone foundation. The joists under the main floor are flattened tree trunks. All the frame- work that carries this floor, on which the dancing and marching prominent in the Shaker ritual took place, is exceedingly strong. At the south entrance are three doors. The one in the middle was used by the Ministry, the one on the right by the Shaker women, and the one on the left by the Shaker men. The women's door leads into the women's cloakroom, the men's door into the men's cloakroom. Around the walls of both, as in many Shaker rooms, run triple rows of peg boards. The world's people, as those not belonging to Shaker orders were called, entered by doors on the east side of the building , Above the cloakrooms are the quarters occupied by the Ministry until 1875, when the brick Ministry House was built. The Ministry was composed of two elders and two eldresses. The two elders shared a study and a bedroom on the second floor, directly over the cloakrooms, while the two eldresses shared a similar study and bedroom on the third Hoor, directly above. The Ministry did not attend those services at which the world's people were present, but there were latticed windows on the second floor through which the elders could look on, and narrow slots through the walls at the third floor for the use of the eldresses. The auditorium is eighty feet in length, and sixty-five feet in width. The lightly constructed segmental ceiling twenty-five feet above the floor stretches across the room in one clear span. Most interesting is that which is above this segmental ceiling and hidden by it. Seven two-ply laminated beams form lintels spanning the distance between the posts to which are fixed the lateral walls of the building. The segmental ceiling is hung from and the roof supported by these massive beams. The ceiling has a radius greater than the roof. To maintain the relation be- tween these elements, and to offer support to them, sixteen radiating prince posts are mortised into the laminated beams. The ends of these prince posts are anchored by pegs into the ceiling rafters and principal roof rafters respectively. In the central portion of the building where the ceiling almost touches the cross beams, the prince posts ,are kept firmly in place by diagonal braces. Between the two vertical central prince posts runs a boardwalk, the full length of the building. Further particulars in the structural elements of the Meeting House are shown more plainly in the blue print reproduced by the kind permission of Messers A. K. Mosley and D. C. Stoll. We are also indebted to Professor Karl Weston of Williams College for his analysis of the functions of the various parts of the building. Perhaps more interesting than the material description of the Meeting House would be a description of the use for which it was erected. An article from the July 1857 issue of Harper? Magazine written by an eye witness provides a vivid account of a meeting : Opposite my lodgings was the house for public worship, a spacious frame building, painted white, with an arched roof. At its southern end is a smaller building, which they call the Porch, in which the chief ministers, two men and two women, reside. This edifice, built about thirty years ago, is a few yards from the first Shaker meeting-house erected in new Lebanon, and which is yet standing. The hour for the commencement of worship was half past ten. Half an hour earlier a long wagon arrived, in which were two brethren and several sisters from the East Family, who reside partly over the mountain. At the same time vehicles came with visitors from Lebanon Springs, and soon the seats between the entrance doors, called the lobby were filled by The Gentiles, the sexes being separated, the men on the left of the women. The floor, made of white pine, was as clean as a dining table. On the side of the room opposite the seats of the strangers were rows of movable benches, and upon them the sisters who came from a distance began to gather, after hanging their bonnets upon wooden pegs provided for the purpose. In the ante-rooms on the left, the brethren and sisters of the village were assembled, the sexes being separated. At the appointed hour they all came in in couples, stood a moment in silence, and then sat down, the men and women facing each other. Adults and children were dressed precisely alike. With the ex- ception of the resident elders and some visiting brethren, the men were in their shirt sleeves. 49 TI i5fPOE?BO6B fd A 19 3 6 Photograph by Winthrop B. Coffin, '36 Photograph by Winthrop B. Coffin, '36 BOARD WALK AND DIAGONAL BRACING THE CEILING SEEN BETNVEEN TIE BEAMS F- 4:5 K 5 ,...o.1..N.,.L. W. -sig - A-nl! IQLDIQRS' WINDOXV FOUNDATION AND PIERS ,.. l uv' Photograph by Winthrop B. Coffin, '36 Photograph by Winthrop B. Coffin, '36 PRINCE POST AND ROOF THE FORET 1936 The Peg Board The worshipers soon arose, and approached from opposite ends of the room, until the two front rows were within two yards of each other, the women modestly casting their eyes to the floor. The benches were then instantly removed. There they stood in silence, in serried columns like platoons in military, while two rows of men and women stood along the wall, facing the audience. From these came a grave personage, and standing in the centre of the worshipers, addressed them with a few words of exhortation. All stood in silence for a few minutes at the conclusion of his remarks, when they began to sing a hymn of several verses to a lively tune, and keeping time with their feet. In this, as in all of their songs and hymns, they did not pause at the end of each verse, but kept on without rest and with many repetitions until the whole hymn was completed. Elder Evans then came for- ward, and addressing a few words to the audience, asked them to regard the acts of worship before them with respectful attention. This request was unnecessary, for there was nothing in the entire performance calculated to elicit any other than feelings of deepest respect and serious contemplation. After two other brethren had given brief testimonies, the worshipers all turned their backs to the audience, except those of the two wall rows, and commenced a backward and forward march, or dance, in a regular springing step, keeping time to the music of their voices, while their hands hung closely to their sides. The wall rows alone kept time with their hands moving up and down, the palms turned upward. The singing appeared like a simple refrain and a chorus of too-ral-loo, too-ral-loo, while all 'the move- ments with hand, foot, and limb were graceful. The worshipers now stood in silence a few moments, when they commenced singing another hymn, with chorus like the last. When it was ended, they retired to each end of the room, the benches were replaced, and the men and women again sat down opposite each other. Elder Evans then came forward, and, in an able discourse of almost an hour, expounded the peculiar doctrines of the Shakers, especially that which relates to the duality of God as male and female, and the second advent of Christ upon earth in the person of Ann Lee, the founder of the Society. When he had ceased all the worshippers arose, the benches were removed, and they formed themselves into serried ranks as before. Then, with graceful motions, they gradually changed their position into circular form, all the while moving with springing step, in unison with a lively tune. In the centre stood twenty-four singers in a circle, twelve men and twelve women, and around them, in two concentric circles, marched and countermarched the remainder of the worshipers, the men three and the women two abreast. A brief pause and they commenced another lively tune and march, all keeping time with their hands moving up and down, and occasionally clapping them three or four times in concert. The women were now three and the men two abreast. When the hymn ceased, with a prolonged strain, they all turned their faces toward the inner circle of singers. After another pause the worshipers commenced a hymn in slow and plaintive strain. The music was unlike any thing I had ever heard, beautiful, impressive, and deeply solemn. As it died away, the clear musical voice of a female was heard from the external circle, telling, in joyful cadence, how happy she felt as a member of that pure and holy community. To this many among the worshipers gave words of hearty concurrence. Another sweet female voice then commenced a hymn in which Mother Ann was celebrated. The entire body of worshipers formed into a single line, marched slowly around the central circle of singers, and as the strain ceased their hands fell gracefully to their sides, their bodies were inclined gently forward, and their thin hands were slowly raised and clasped over the waist. After a brief pause they commenced singing a lively spiritual song. The worshipers now formed four circles, with the singers as the central one, and held each other by the hand, the men and women separately. These circles symbolized the four great Dispensa- tions-the first from Adam to Abraham, the second from Abraham to Jesus, the third from Jesus to Mother Ann, and the fourth the present, which they hold to be the mil- lennial period. In this hymn they sang of Union, as exhibited by their linked handsg and when it had ceased they all lifted up their hands, and gave a subdued shout-the shout of victory-the final victory of Christ in all the earth, and the triumphs of the Shaker, or Millennial Church. 51 A The Peg Board 1936 Three or four more songs and hymns, withgraceful dances or marches, and the ceremonials drew to a close. While singing the last sweet song, the men and women took their respective places at each end of the room, and stood facing each other. Elder Evans then addressed a few words of encouragement to them, and stepping forward, thanked the audience for their kind attention, and informed them that the meeting was closed.' THE RELIGIOUS MARCH Reproduced from Harper's Magazine, XV Uuly 18573, 169. The Ministry House By VVINTHROP ENDICOTT, ,37 HE SMALL brick house to the right of the Main Dwelling House, which is now occupied by the headmaster of The Lebanon School and his family, was, in the days of the Shakers, the home of the elders and eldresses. The elders lived on the north side of the house, and the eldresses on the south side, which is warmer and more sheltered. The house still has many of its original furnishings, and those which are not original are at least of Shaker workmanship. There are numerous old chests, chairs, tables, beds and boxes which make the bedrooms and living rooms very attractive. Perhaps the most interesting article in the house is an old Shaker box, similar to the smaller ones which are quite common as sewing baskets today, lined with what appears to be an old Shaker herb and medicine catalogue. In- teresting also are the typical Shaker beds. They are small, almost like trundle-beds, and have wheels on each leg, so that they can be moved about without scratching the Hoors. The house itself, as has already been mentioned, is a small brick house. It was erected in about 187 5, replacing a former frame Ministry House which stood on the same site and was burned down in the great fire of February 6, 1875. The elders and eldresses took all their meals with the other members of the family, in the Main Dwelling House, so there was no need of a kitchen. Where the kitchen is today were formerly two workshops. The attic of the house was used merely 1. Harpefs Magazine XV CJuly 18573 pp. 167 ff. 52 1936 The Peg Board as a storing place for extra things that were not in use. Appearing quite small from the outside partly because it is dwarfed by the large Dwelling House on its east, it is a well designed building characteristic of the Shakers' simple, sturdy type of construction. THE MINISTRY HOUSE The Great Fire at Mount Lebanon N FEBRUARY 6,1875 a great fire, the work of an incendiary, destroyed eight of the buildings belonging to the,Church Family at Mount Lebanon, including that family's main dwelling house. The Shakers were aroused by the ringing of the bell, and found their dwelling house on fire. They hurried to do all in their power to fight the flames. Their efforts, however, were in vain, The building was totally destroyed and others along with it. The Shakers lost most of their personal belongings and many valuable records of the society. Sister Miranda Barber, who was turning the Bible into verse and had gone through Deuteronomy, lost seven of her pre- cious volumes of manuscript. The other families at Mount Lebanon and elsewhere came quickly to the rescue and aided the Church Family generously with contributions of clothing and other necessary supplies. In commenting upon the fine spirit of cobperation which was shown, Sister Emma remarked wittily, We did not have to go to Washington for help. Through the courtesy of Mr. George W. Edman of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, we are able to reprint the complete story of the fire published on February II, 1875 in the Btfktfhifd Evening Eagle. The footnotes were written by Sister Emma J. Neale, the only surviving sister of the Church Family of Shakers who was present at the time. The Fire as Reported in the Eagle Between twelve and one o'clock, at midday, on Saturday, news was received in town that a a great fire was making devastation among the buildings and personal property of the Lebanon Shakers, and there was almost as much excitement over the report as there could have been had 53 i The Peg Board 1936 CHURCH FAMILY DWELLING HOUSE THE HERB HOUSE The central building in the left-hand picture and the building in the right-hand picture were both destroytd. the fire occurred within our town limits, for the fraternity is so well known here, and their quiet village so often visited by our people in the summer season, that they seem quite like our own citizens. Though eight miles away, and beyond a great mountain, the smoke of the conflagra- tion was plainly seen from our streets, and even before the news of the disaster reached us, people were watching the thick clouds roll up over the western range, and had concluded that a large fire, and probably a disastrous one, was raging in that vicinity. About one o'clock a telegram called for help, and the old Housatonic hand-engine, with a supply of hose, accompanied by a dozen or more firemen, was promptly forwarded, and notwith- standing the bad condition of the roads, Nash's four horses-drawing the engine, which was loaded on a sleigh-made the trip in about an hour. It was a terrible and sad scene that met the view of these helpers as they rushed down the steep mountain side to the stricken village. Hundreds of excited men were darting about, slipping over the ice and plunging through the snow, the Hames were rolling high from burning buildings, and huge masses, bunches of fire-they can hardly be called sparks -,were being blown great distances in the air by the strong bitter wind that swept over the unfortunate settlement? With a cheer they hurried down to give a helping hand, and they were received with a responsive cheer from the almost discouraged and worn-out workers who had been fighting the destroyer so valiant- ly but vainly. A hundred willing hands quickly get the little machine in a suitable place for operations, and in spite ofthe intense frost which soon lined the hose with ice, water was thrown freely and copiously and was of much service in preserving threatened structures. The Origin and Progress The fire occurred in what is known as the Church family, in the immediate vicinity of the Shaker place of worship, and it was first discovered in the building called the Sisters' Shop. Contrary to established rules some one had emptied, near the building, a lot of ashes fresh from the stoves. The lower story was almost filled with seasoned firewood, and there were apertures left in the arches where the doors were situated, for the air to enter and circulate for the purpose of seasoning the wood. This Scplains the beginning of the mischief. There were 75 cords of this wood on the lower or ground story, all sawed, split, and piled, and pretty thoroughly dried. The same amount was piled outside, the whole forming a formidable starting place for a fire. The hot 1. The thermometer stood at six below zero. 54 1936 The Peg Board ashes, with sparks and burning cinders all through them, were sent by the wind Hying into this pile of combustible material, and most calamitous was the result? The building was 8o by 30 feet in size, and in the rooms above the store of wood the sisters did their tailoring, dressmaking etc.,3 and ,there a large number of them were gathered, engaged in their quiet occupations when the alarm was given. The consternation can be imagined. The flames leaped into the upper stories almost simultaneously with the alarm. There was no time to save even the smallest article. One sister was just going through that fascinating exercise, trying on a new dress, and a group about her were chirping about the bit to be let out in this place, the seam to be taken in in that place, and the garment was being smoothed about the happy maiden's form when the cry came, and she was compelled to rush away half nude. The whole building was almost immediately in Hames, and there was consumed with it all the paraphernalia of a woman's workshop, a thousand dollars worth of cotton and woolen cloth, stocking yarn, clothes, and six sewing machines, tables, furniture etc. There was not time to save even a spool of thread or a pair of scissors, but all the contents were utterly destroyed with the building! The Dwelling House About two rods east of the shops , stood the family dwelling house, with its dozens of busy inmates just at this time on the point of sitting down to dinner. The meal was spread on the tables, and the first dinner bell had rung when the fire-fiend struck the structure. It was one of the best buildings owned by the fraternity, 80 x 60 feet in size and four stories high, besides a roomy garret. 'It was covered with a slate roof, but that was not enough to save it, and in about half an hour from the time the shops were in a blaze, the dwelling house was a mass of fire. A small amount of bedding and clothing from the second story was saved, and that was all.5 As the roaring Hames mounted up through its stories and burst out of its many windows, it was an appall- ing sight. The people forgot that frost was biting them and the freezing gale that rushed down from the northwest, and stood terror-stricken, looking at the destruction that was going on. All the wearing apparel, the house-keeping utensils, food, crockery, furniture, were burned and melted in the awful heat. The building alone cost thirty thousand dollars, and among the provisions destroyed were loo bushels of potatoes, IO barrels of flour, 6 barrels of sugar, large stores of tea, butter and other groceries, zooo pounds of cheese, sauces, preserves and canned fruit. It was a scene to be remembered for a life-time. In the midst of all the terror there was a new alarm. One of the sisters was in a room in an upper story, cut off from escape! Elder Daniel Crossman gallantly rushed to the rescue. A ladder was obtained with all haste, and instantly raised, and Sister Harriet Goodwin was glad, for once in her life,'to trust herself to the brave elder's arms as she made the descent! We are sorry to hear that Mr. Crossman was afterwards quite seriously hurt by falling from a roof. Andrew Barrett had his collar bone broken by a fall at the same time, and Elder Daniel Boler' was badly burned and nearly lost his life from suffocation in trying to save property. Other Buildings Burned The huge dwelling house furnished clouds of cinders and sparks to start fires among other buildings in every direction, and the house occupied by the ministry very near the church edifice, was soon on fire.' That fell next, and the meeting house was only saved by the greatest exer- tions. lt was considerably damaged. While the efforts were being directed to the saving of these, 2. This was one explanation given at the time, but later it was definitely proved that the hrs was caused by an incendiary. The regu- lations were to empty ashes only in a iireproof building provided for the purpose. 3. Also basketwork. 4. After the fire Sister Sarah Bates said, I haven't even a thimble left. 5. This is a slight exaggeration. Some of the sisters' meeting dresses were rescued from the attic, but not much was saved. 6. She crawled down by herself. She had gone in to save the Covenant, a book in which membership in the society was recorded. 7. If it had not been for Dr. Broyer, a physician from Australia who was visiting here, he would have died. 8. The old Ministry House was a frame building. It stood on the site of the later Ministry House, now the residence of the Headmaster of the Lebanon School. It was used by the Ministry as a workshop. 55 The Peg Board 1936 the fire unobserved had lighted the combustibles in a barn about IO rods from the road, on the east side.' Instantly there was a rush in that direction, but the fire had got a hold that could not be loosened. Twenty tons of hay, a new wagon, tools of all sorts, two oxen, and a tool shed Ioo feet long were consumed by the fire in that locality. Clustered in the vicinity of the dwelling house and the sisters' workshop, were the ice house, gas house, and store house, which were all destroyed. The latter contained quite a large quantity of kerosene, flour, etc., but they were removed before fiames reached the building. On the east side of the road is the infirmary, with all the conveniences needed for a hospital, and valuable in its contents as well as the structure itself. This was scorched and blackened, but saved by our fire engine and the extinguisher from Tilden's works. Altogether there were eight buildings des- troyed, and the trustees estimate the total loss at flO0,000Qm and there is not a cent of insurance to recover. Items and Incidents In the midst of their distress the Shakers did not forget to be hospitable, and the people from Pittsfield, firemen and others, were most generously served with an abundance of substantial re- freshments. They speak in the highest terms of the Shaker kindness in this respect. The firemen returned to town about 9 P.M. and the engine was brought home on Sunday morning by Shaker teams. Of course there was the most distracting confusion in the village during the fire. Goods of all kinds were piled in the church, making a collection never before seen in a house of worship. The sisters lost all their clothing except what they wore, and one young woman was seen going about the church looking for a shoe to match the only one she had time to put on in her flight from the dwelling. The famous big barns of the society, where 200 tons of hay are stored, were in great danger, and it seemed at one time as though they could not be preserved, but the wind blew from them and thus they were saved. About Ioo people were made homeless by the fire, but the adjacent families kindly took them in, and they are still provided for by them. The question of rebuilding is yet to be decided. The Shakers, though wealthy in real estate are not supposed to have a large surplus of money, and the loss will be severely felt. Elder Evans is a confirmed spiritualist and believes in materialization and all that. The question is now asked why didn't the spirits tell him the great fire was about to happen? It was a perfect Chicago fire to the Shakers. Not exactly caused by a cow kicking over a lamp, but by a mule dumping hot ashes at a wood-house door.11 It took the daily papers till Monday to get an account of the catastrophe and then, such accounts as they had! Here is a sample which we clipt from the Boston Herald:- A fire at New Lebanon, N. H. about noon Saturday destroyed two dwelling-houses, two barns, and a shop belonging to the Church family of Shakers. An engine was sent from Housatonicf' One of the sisters, whose names we could not learn, was determined to secure a box in the upper story of the main building, which, at the time, was not safe to enter. The men had been driven out by the fire and smoke. But she felt courageous, and in she went followed by Wm. Fromly, who was seen coming out with the sister under one arm, and the box under the other, hav- ing passed through great fiame and smoke in so doing. That woman's life is due to Mr. Fromly.U While John Connor was engaged in getting out the cattle at the barn, which was burning fearfully at the time and when all but two were let loose, a man on the outside knocked in a window, which made a good draft, and Mr. Connor came near losing his life by the smoke and 9. This barn stood behind the Shaker school. 10. This estimate is too conservative. The loss was nearer 5200,000. Cf 2 11. . Note . 12. This was Sister Elizabeth Sidle, a deaf woman, who was going back after her things. 5 6 1936 The Peg Board flames which immediately filled the stable. Had the window been let alone, it is likely the two cattle would have been saved. While talking with a young brother in regard to the unsafe condition of the village, etc., such a time as this, he remarked that they had trusted too much in the Lord. If they would trust a little more in a fire engine and not so wholly in the Lord he thought they would have been better of that night? It was a noticeable fact that the Shakers, both men and women, were the least excited of any present. All seemed to be good-natured and to look at the sad sight as if it was an event that they had expected, and were bound to take it coolly and make the best of it. It was thought by some that the younger part of the society had not enjoyed themselves as well in a long time. Just as the world's people were leaving, Elder F. W. Evans thanked them very kindly for their assistance, and hoped that neither would have to call on the other for similar help, in many a day, which sentiment was heartily acquiesced in. Statements in regard to the origin of the fire are conliicting. A member of the Church family was in his office on Tuesday, and stated that it was his belief that the fire originated in a chimney. The hot ash theory is, however, most generally accepted.15 The Shakers feel under deep obligations to Mr. Henry Tilden, for the valuable help he furnished from his manufactory in men and fire extinguishers. He was himself one of the hardest workers, and it was through the services of his machinery and corps of assistants that the infirmary and other buildings were saved. If the infirmary had not been saved, the fire must have swept from it to half a dozen other buildings in the vicinity, and the loss would have been almost double even the great figure it now reaches. The Church family is one of the richest, if not the richest of the Shaker societies, and had about a hundred members. They own a vast tract of land, cultivated and in wood, and if the fire was to happen, it could not have struck a family better able to bear the loss.m The Social Gathering By SISTER A. ROSETTA STEPHENS IN THE remote days of the last century,-in the seventies, eighties and nineties-, there was held by the Novitiate Order of Mt. Lebanon Shakers, a yearly festival called, The Social Gather- ing. It was held in September, and was for the express purpose of bringing the people together to give praise and thanksgiving for the bountiful harvest from farm, field and orchard. The Novitiate Order comprised the North Family, Mt. Lebanon, Upper Family, Canaan, also, and the Lower Family where now is situated the Berkshire Industrial Farm, and numbered about one hundred members. When the idea was first conceived there was a great deal of cogitation about where it should be held. So our mountain climbers, who knew the lay of the land, were sent out to reconnoiter. They soon found a most desirable place on the Lower Family's property. Rising from the shore of Lake Queechy, is a hill the summit of which forms a plateau which gently slopes to the road and is surrounded by pine trees. The natural beauty of the place, the pungent odor of the pines, and the woodsy fragrance of low growing things, combined to make this the ideal spot. This spot having been found, another group was sent out to clear the ground of brush and brambles, for there must be a oneness of spirit. 13. The Shaken trusted not only in the Lord, but also in their great earefulnesa. 15. Cf. Note 2. 16. The Shakers had land, but not much ready cash. The Church Family was certainly not prepared to meet such a Hre. 57 The Peg Board 1936 4 M SISTER EMMA Al the an offorly-lilo 58 1936 The Peg Board Order is heaven's first law. This the early Shakers taught. When a group of men and women are gathered together to work out high ideals, a concert of action to make their efforts successful, and this spirit of orderly cooperation entered into all the minutiae of their lives. And now come the carpenters, or, rather, skilled cabinet workersg a New Deal for them to come down to making picnic tables and benches, but, in the true spirit of cooperation they gave their service for the good of all. - Another primal principle of the people is, simplicity of life, the plain sincere Truth expressed in all things, no glitter or false show. Well, living at the Canaan Family was a brother named George Smart, a rugged Scotchman, who had been a surgeon in the Spanish army in Cuba. He possessed great versatility of talent as a poet and artist. Brother George was to be our decorator. He interlaced the evergreen boughs to form bowers, placing a bunch of red berries here, a sprig of blue there and a premature autumn leaf somewhere else, and, mingling them with the feathery ferns, he soon made a bower of beauty, and the traditions of simplicity were not lost. Our good President in one of his economic speeches tells Congress, We must do first things first. The Shakers were always very practical. It would not do to have the people singing psalms in a beautiful bower, without putting First things first, so the physical man must come in for consideration. The cabinet workers had already made nice small chests as smooth and clean as glass, fitted with shelves to carry the pies and cake securely. The outside of the chests was painted a Shaker blueg I think we might call it an Elinor blue in this day. It was arranged for the North Family to provide all the pies, cakes, cookies, preserves, fruit and cheese. The Upper Family prepared all the vegetables, the Lower Family'dairy products, Qminus ice-creamj in that day. It was a feast for the gods, and we would not be honest if we did not admit it was the great part of our festive gathering. The following is one of the songs composed and sung on one of the gatherings: Over the meadows of golden grain, ' The sound of the reaper has passed againg The flush of the summer has faded away, On the silent wing of harvesting day. Beautiful leaves await our feet, Even as we their glory meet. Gifts of the Father and Mother are here, In the bountiful crops that crown the year. There is much we might describe pertaining to those olden times, but, with Our Hands to work and Our Hearts to God, we now turn our eyes to the bright hopes of the future, wishing God-speed to the Lebanon School. The Oflice Building By DoUG1,As Wissr, ,37 HE OFFICE Building, as we call it, or the Trustees' OHice Building, as it was known to the Shakers is a large brick edifice across the road from the Meeting House. It was built in 1827. The bricks with which it was constructed were manufactured by the Shakers at the East Family about half a mile from the Lebanon School. According to Sister Emma they were not burned enough and were consequently too soft. That, she says, is why they used to let water through and make the building damp. The dampness was done away with when the structure was faced with weather boarding on two sides and painted on the other two. In this building lived a number of the brethren and sisters who had charge of the business affairs of the Church Family. In it also guests were entertained. The Shakers' store was situ- 59 The Peg Board 1936 Photograph by Winthrop B. Coffin '36 A CORNER IN THE SHAKER POST OFFICE ated on the first floor. In this store many articles such as cloaks and baskets, manufactured by the Shakers were sold to the world's people. Rather late in the history of the family the post- office was moved into the room across the hall from the store. Over this postoflice Sister Sadie Neale, who was postmistress at Mount Lebahon from IQIO until the property was sold to the Lebanon School, presided. Mount Lebanon PINE TREES silver-lit by moonlight,- Lace of silvery clouds above,- Brightly twinkling stars at midnight- Signify God's perfect love. P. W. D. 60 1936 The Peg Board THE TRUSTEES' OFFICE AS IT is f Fe I I I I I III 423 THE TRUSTEES' OFFICE AS rr wAs Shaker Dress By EUGENE WEST, '36 here have been many changes in the dress of the Shakers since the founding of the Society. It will be sufficient herein, however, to describe only the basic style of their dress and a few of the most important changes which it has undergone. The early Believers accepted the simple, plain form of dress that prevailed at the time of the founding of the Societies, but no rules were laid down, so the garments of the Hrst American ' ' ' h 1 'f it in converts varied in form, color and quality. After the organization of the Churc , uni orm y dress was inaugurated. 1792. 61 1. The organization began in 1787 and was completed in The Peg Board 1936 SHAKER COSTUME Figures 1 and 7 show the worship costume of a. man and woman, Figure 2, that of the field and shop laborer, Figure 3, an elderg Figures 4 and 5, traveling costume, and Figure 6, a half-dress costume. Reproduced from Harper's Magazine, XV Uuly 1857D, 165. SISTERS IN EVERYDAY COSTUME Reproduced from Harper's Magazine, XV Cjuly 18575. 170. 62 1936 The Peg Board At that time the men's Sunday attire consisted of a dark blue coat, the front edge of which was nearly straight. It had six or eight large buttons and buttonholes, only half of which were slit to take buttons, and from the last button it was cut back at an angle of forty-five degrees. The coats were pleated on the side seams near the bottom, and in the back were divided into two sections which overlapped slightly. The vests were of the same cloth. In these, as well as the coats, were large pockets with flaps. The collars and cuffs of the shirts were made of a stiff material, white for dress and blue for ordinary wear, fastened by a buckle. The cuffs were six inches long and the collars two to three inches wide. As the shirt sleeves were long, a blue silk ribbon called a sleeve-tie was fastened around the arm below the elbow to secure the sleeves in place. Black lasting breeches with buttons at the knee were worn on the Sabbath and also while taking journeys. Coarse trousers were put on at other times. Beneath these were long black stockings supported by a strap and a large brass buckle. The calfskin shoes were also fastened with straps and shoebuckles. Hats were of fur or black wool with low crowns and wide brims. Aside from differences already mentioned the ordinary clothing was the same as that worn on Sunday except that it was of cheaper quality. In 1805 breeches were discarded and trousers substituted-an economy measure. In the next few years drab cloth displaced the blue because of the difficulty in obtaining suitable dyes. About this time, too, the cut of the men's garments was improved and modernized. Hooks and eyes took the place of buttons on the coat. Shortly thereafter, suspenders were adopted. Next shoe buckles were laid aside and shoestrings substituted. A light colored, striped, short-sleeved linen gown was worn by the women. Over this they wore a checked apron of cotton, which replaced linen in 1800, when the sisters learned to card and spin. Under the gown was an extended dress reaching to an inch or two above the floor. Its sleeves were cut off just below the elbow. These were of darker colors, usually black or blue. For many years shoulder kerchiefs were also worn. The sisters' millinery consisted of a fine cap, usually linen, trimmed in front. In 1787 a hat braided of straw, called a chip hat was adopted, and it was used for about twenty years. It was covered inside and out with black silk. From these the Shaker bonnet Csimilar to those worn by the Friends or Quakersl was evolved. The bonnets are still seen in use. They are made of pasteboard covered with light colored silk, the crown being cloth or palm leaf fitted to the head by plaitingf We have traced summarily the stages of Shaker costume. This quotation from an article in Harper? Magazine,-Iuly 1857, shows how the dress appeared at that time, since when it has not greatly changed: . . . there were children, too, with cheerful faces peering out from their broad hats and deep bonnets, for they were all dressed like old men and women .... With the exception of resident elders and some visiting brethren the men were in their shirt sleeves lat public worship in the Meeting Housel. Their Sunday costume consisted of pantaloons of blue linen with a fine white stripe in itg plain vests of much deeper hue made of linsey-woolsey, calf-skin shoes and grey stockings. Their shirt collars and bosoms are made of cotton, like the body. The collar is fastened with three buttons and turned over. The women wear, on Sunday, some a pure white dress, and others a white dress with delicate blue stripes in it. Over their neck and bosoms were pure white kerchiefs, and over the left arm of each was carried a large white pocket-handkerchief. Their heads were covered with lawn caps, the form of all for both old and young alike. They project so as to fully conceal the cheeks in profile. Their shoes were sharp-toed and high heeled.' From Sister Emma, who formerly had quite a business selling Shaker cloaks, we hear this interesting fact about Shaker cloth. A skirt made by the Shakers from iridescent cloth of their own manufacture was so fascinating that little boys and girls followed the wearer in an attempt to touch the cloth, inquiring whether it was leather. It is without doubt true that in the manu- facture of clothing the Shakers were as skillful as in their many other trades. nib, the som-es from which this information il drawn, nee The Manifesto. XX K-Tune 18907, 121-128: Uuly 18905, 145-147: Only 3. 'xv 11850, 188 ff.. 63 The Peg Board 1936 .tl , . up E ! 1 i . l l 3 1 1 ELDER FREDERICK W. EVANS The Boyhood of Frederick Evans NE OF the best known of all the Shaker elders was Frederick W. Evans, who died at Mount Lebanon, March 6, 1893, after having spent sixty-three years there in the North Family I the address made by Elder Daniel Offord at Evans's funeral we find this paragraph: 1. p. 16. Elder Frederick has been perhaps, the best known to the public of any member of our Order. His correspondence has been extensive and his radical thoughts and ideas have had a wide circulation. Prominent editors and their patrons gave respectful notice to his utterances, even though they were too far in advance of the present time. He received papers from all parts of the world, and often found his articles copied in their columns. So his truthful messages have found their way to many homes and hearts, and in the midst of the great Babylon of sin and confusion many will rise up and call him blessed, declaring that the world is to-day made better for the influence of so noble and strong a character! Immortalized, a little book by the Shakers, Ai1'ectionabely Inscribed to the Memory of Elder Frederick W. Evans, Pittsdeld 1898 64 1936 The Peg Board THE NORTH FAMILY DWELLING HOUSE Limitations of time and space make any adequate study of Elder Frederick's life and writings impossible in this number of the Peg Board. We shall, therefore, attempt no more than to tell what is known of his boyhood days, hoping to present the story of his later life in future issues. Of Frederick Evans's early years we have practically no record except what his autobiography gives us, and unfortunately it gives us less than we should like to have. When the Atlantic Monthly asked Evans to write about his life and his experience as a seeker after truth, apparent- ly he was reluctant to agree. The reasons for his reluctance and for his final acquiescence are set forth on the first page of his Aufobiograplzy of a Shaker: I can see great importance in a prineiple, very little in an individual. Not of myself should I write of myself, but in the hope that others may be advantaged thereby, I acquiesce in the foregoing suggestion. I have always lived much in the future, yet my present life has been a practical suc- cess, while my work has ever been before me, my reward has ever been with me. I am satisfied with the continued realizations of the prophetical spirit within-of the abstract principles that have been my inner life. Evans was born in England, and there he spent the first twelve years of his life. When he was four years old, his mother died, and he passed into the care of her relatives. All attempts to educate him seem to have failed. These things, he himself, can recount best: My father's family were of the middle class in England. They were long-lived, my grandmother reaching the advanced age of one hundred and four, and my grandfather approaching one hundred. My father, George Evans, was the youngest of twelve children and died comparatively youngg he was sent into the English army, was under Sir Ralph Abercrombie in the Egyptian expedition, cooperating with the Heet under Nelson, and held a commission in the service. My mother was of a class a little above, so that the marriage caused a perpetual breach between the two families. Her name was Sarah White. I was born in Leominster, Worcestershire, England, on the 9th of June, 1808. The first fact that I can remember 65 The Peg Board 1936 may be of some interest to the student in anthropology. When I came of age, and on my return to England in 1830, I was relating to an aunt on my father's side, whom I had never before seen, that I had always had stored up in my memory one thing that I could not account forg I could remember nothing before or after it to give it a meaning, and none of my mother's relatives knew anything about it. I saw the inside Q' a coach, and was handed out of it from a woman'.f arms into lhose cj some other person. My aunt was utterly astonished, and stated that my mother was coming down from London to Birmingham, when I was not more than .fix months old, that something happened to the horses which frightened the party badly, and that I was handed out fjust as I had seen and rememberedl by my mother into the arms of another person. - When I was four years of age my mother died, and I was thrown among her relatives, who sent me to school at Stourbridge, where there were some two hundred scholars, and the position the master assigned to me was that of the poorest scholar in the school, which effected my release from the schoolroom, to my great satisfaction and peace of mind, for, if there was one thing more than another that I hated, it was schoolbooks and an English schoolmaster, with his flogging proclivities. I was then about eight years old! As yet no definite record of Evans's attendance has been found in any Stourbridge school However, through the kindness of Mr. Harry E. Palfrey, Chairman of the Governors of the King Edward School at Stourbridge, the following interesting information has been made available to US. Mr.Palfrey says: I I am greatly 'interested in your statement about Evans and the Shakers, and his early connection with Stourbridge. Unfortunately the records of our Grammar School in the early 1 9th century are practically non-existent and there are no records of the scholars in the school. Indeed about the critical time of Evans' boyhood there were no boys in the school for several years as you may gather from a quotation I enclose. There were four schools in Stourbridge between 1808 and say, 1830 viz. CID The Grammar School of K. Edward VI C21 Oldswinford Hospital C31 Wheeler's Charity School 14D Scott's School I have ascertained that there is no trace of Evans at the Oldswinford Hospital. Wheel- er's Charity School was closed many years ago and the funds are administered by the Governors of the Grammar School. Scott's School came to an end about 20 years ago. I have the accounts for Scott's School in the early 19th century 11793-18325 but there is no mention of Evans. I am afraid, therefore, it is not possible to trace his scholastic career in Stourbridge. The name Evans is fairly common in this district and there was a very well-known surgeon, William Evans, who would be a contemporary of Frederick. From Stourbridge Evans went to live at Chadwick Hall, a fine old English manor house which is still standing. He thus continues his narrative: Henceforth my lot was cast with my uncles and aunts at Chadwick Hall, near Licky Hill, the scene of one of Cromwell's battles, where a systematic arrangement of all things obtained, from the different breeds of dogs,-the watchdog in his kennel, the water spaniel, the terrier of rat-catching propensities, the greyhound, the pointer, and the bulldog,-to the diversity of horses of the farm, the road, the saddle, and hunting, there were five hundred sheep, with a regular hereditary shepherd to change them from pasture to pasture in summer, and to attend to all their wants, and fold them in the turnip-fields all the winter. Every field on the farm was subject to a rotation of crops as regular as the seasons, which are generally bad enough for the English farmer. The farm was very hilly and woody, and dotted with five fish-ponds formed from a stream that ran through it. There was plenty of fish and game, and the woods were vocal with the great variety of singing birds, from the jackdaw to the nightingale. 2. Frederick W. Evans, Autobiography of a Shaker, Glasgow and New York, 1888, pp. 2. If. 66 1936 The Peg Board As my friends had given up all attempts and hopes to educate, and thereby fit me for good society, I was allowed to follow my own instincts and affinities, and these led me to associate almost exclusively with the servants, of whom eight or ten were kept on the place, there being two distinct classes of human beings, and two separate establishments, at Chadwick Hall, as on a Southern plantation in the olden times of .seven years ago. Here I was allowed to educate myself to my heart's content, reading and studying the vegetables and fruits fand of these there were variety and abundance, including the apple and pear to the apricot and gooseberryj, in all of which I was deeply interested. The land and its crops, the animals and the servants who attended them, together with, those who officiated in- doors, were all my school-masters and mistresses, and the servants were not less my particular friends, for I was a Democrat. When almost twelve years of age, my father and brother, whom I did not know, ap- peared at Chadwick Hall, not to me among the servants, but to my uncle and aunts in the parlour, and to my grandmother, who had not given me up for lost, as had the others fso far as a school education was concernedj, but had taught me to say prayers before going to bed, and when I rose in the morning, had caused me to learn the text, and patiently endure an occasional gentle knock on the head from the sexton's long wand. For all of this I had a proper respect, but an organ fwhich I heard for the first timej in another church alarmed me, and caused me to cry out in a fright, to the amazement of a large congregation. My father, brother, and uncles and aunts, as I subsequently learned, had a sharp contention about taking me off to America, of which I only knew so much as I used to hear the common people sing in a doggerel originating at a time recruits for the Revolutionary war were being raised: The sun will burn your nose off, And the frost will freeze your toes off, But we must away, To fight our friends and our relations In North America. The different parties became warm in their feelings, and quarrelled, each party laying claim to meg and, as neither would give way, Englishmen-like, they agreed to settle the matter on this wise: I, Frederick, was to be called into the parlour, no word upon the subject to be spoken to me previously, and uncle was to put a question to me, which he did, as follows: Frederick, will you go to America with these men Cwho are your father and brotherj, or will you stay with us? I will go to America with my father and brother, was my instant reply, and that settled it. I was soon fixed off, and on my way to Liverpool. This was-in the year 1820 and I attained my twelfth year at sea. Evans refers to Licky Hill as the scene of one of Cromwell's battles. The battle to which he refers was probably a skirmish not known to history, but remembered locally and perhaps magnified in local tradition. Concerning the reference to a battle Mr. Palfrey has this to say: There is no record of any fighting near Lickey Hills during the Cromwellian times that I can trace. There may have been some skirmishing, of course, but the nearest battle would be Worcester, sixteen miles away in 1651. It is curious to note, however, that there is a Battlefield Brook running through the Estate. Who Elder Frederick's uncles were we have not yet been able to ascertain. They may have been managers of the Chadwick Hall estate. But be that as it may, Evans's association with this old English manor and his schooling in Stourbridge suggest that he came of good family. In any event, the Peg Board purposes to carry these researches farther, and it is possible that in some future number information of a more definite character concerning the boyhood of this great Shaker theologian may be presented. 67 The Peg Board 1936 The story of Frederick Evans's life after he came to America falls outside the scope of this article, but we should note in closing this study of his boyhood that his experiences at Chadwick Hall had, apparently, a considerable inliuence upon his future career, for he says: The example of the order and economy practiced at Chadwick Hall was not lost upon me. Two uncles, John and James managed the farm. One remained at home mostly, the other attended the fairs and markets, which latter are held twice a week at the principal towns. Here the farmers and dealers meet to sell and buy all the products of their farms, the grain being bought and sold by samples. The fairs were much the same thing, but the sales were principally of live stock on a large scale. On these occasions servants Cmale and femalej congregated together, and hired themselves out for the ensuing year, each one pro- ducing his character on paper from his former employer. To these markets and fairs my uncle John used frequently to take me, and there I learned somewhat of the relative value of property, and how to buy and sell. At home I learned to take care of horses, cattle, and sheep. Everything moved as if by machinery. For instance, there were some twenty horses, and in the morning at a regular hour, they were all turned out to water, as we now turn out cows. Whilst they were gone, their mangers were cleaned, and the racks emptied of any hay left in them over night, this was put aside to be aired, and fresh hay was given, at night, however, the aired hay was first fed out, nothing was wasted or lost. In the house it was the same. Once a month they washed, once a week they baked bread made from unbolted wheat, black enough, but sweet. S. P. C. fr. Chadwick Hall HADWICK Hall, the boyhood home of Elder Frederick Evans has had an interesting history The following account was received from the Mayor of Worcester, England, who had it in turn from Mr. E. F. A. Keen, Librarian and Secretary of the Public Library, Art Gallery, and Hastings Museum, Victoria Institute, Worcester: EXTRACTED FROM THE VICTORIA HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF WORCESTER, VOLUME 3 Chadwick Manor House, about 3M miles north of Bromsgrove, on the west side of the Halesowen road, is a late 17th-century building of brick with stone dressings. In the Domesday survey it is stated that 3 hides at CHADWICK fCeldwic, xi cent., Chadelwic, Chadleswich, Chadeleiwyz, Chadewyz, xiii cent., Chadeleswych, xiv cent., Chaddyswyche, xv cent.j had been formerly held by thegns of Earl Eadwine, but in 1086 it was part of the royal manor of Bromsgrove, and Urse held it of the king, Alvred being the tenant under Urse. The interest of Urse passed to the Beauchamps and followed the descent of Elmley Castle. In the 12th century Ralph de Lens was holding the vill of Chadwick in demesne, and in I I95, after his death, his widow Beatrice of London held Chadwick and Willingwick as dower, with reversion to her son Roger. In 1232 Roger son of Ralph de Lens gave to the hospital of St. Wulfstan, Worcester, his capital messuage and lands in Chadwick. Roger's son Ralph, who probably succeeded him shortly after, was also a benefactor of the hospital, and in 1248 he gave to it the dower lands of his mother Felicia. In return for this the hospital gave to him and his wife Mary a corner house in Worcester, opposite that of Hugh de Pakenton, and a corrody, half of which was to cease on the death of either Ralph or Mary, and the other half on the death of the survivor. Thomas de Lens appears at one time to have held the manor, but before 1274 it seems probable that the Master of St. Wulfstan's had acquired it, for at about that time he appropriated to himself the asize of 68 1936 The Peg Board CHADWICK HALL, WORCESTERSHIRE, ENGLAND THE BOYHOOD HOME OF ELDER FREDERICK W. EVANS Courtesy of Tha National Trust. 69 The Peg Board 1936 bread and ale at Chadwick, and unsuccessfully tried to withdraw his suit at Bromsgrove. Successive Masters of St. Wulfstan's held the manor until the hospital was dissolved in the 16th century. Henry VIII sold the manor to Richard Morrison in 1540, adding in 1544 a rent reserved in 1540. In the following year Richard Morrison released it again to the king, receiving other lands in exchange, and in 1546 Chadwick was given to the Dean and Canons of Christ Church, Oxford. The whole of the Chadwick estate was sold by the Dean and Canons in 1904 to the Chadwick Estate Ltd., with the exception of the site of the reservoir, which is on lease to the East Worcestershire Waterworks Co. for 99 years from 1902. A John Lacey, writing in 1778, states that the ancient mansion-house had belonged in the 17tl1 century to the Lowe family, from whom it came by marriage to Henry Vaughan Jeffries. His son Humphrey sold the lease of it in 1777 to John Hutton of Birmingham. In 1813 the manor-house was put up for sale. It afterwards came into the hands of John Carpenter, a gentleman farmer, the author of a treatise on agriculture, who mortgaged it to Mr. Penn. On the bankruptcy of the latter it was bought by Mr. Wilcox, who left it to his nephew John Osborne, the owner in 1826. In 1849 Manor Hall was the property of Francis T. Rufford. Chadwick Manor is now a farm-house. In addition to the extract just quoted we have these notations graciously submittedto us by Mr Harry E. Palfrey of Stourbridge, England: The manor house of Chadwick is a square brick-built residence, situated in a valley, and so surrounded that it cannot well be seen, until close to it. It has a fine stream of water running close by it, and extensive pools of water in the rear. It is now tenanted by Mr. D. Stevenson and forms a commodious farm-house. Near the house there was once a chapel, dedicated to St. Chad, but it has long since disappeared. Chadwick, probably so named from its numberless springs and wells, was one of the twelve manors which formerly existed in the parish Cof Bromsgrovej. By some it was called Chadwells, and is now sometimes called Chaddeswick. A portion of this manor be- longed to Dodford Priory and was called Willingwick, the value of which in 1485 was three pounds, seventeen shillings, sixpence per annum. In this manor was the Lickey Beacon and a spring, called Chadwick Holy Well. This well probably gave the name to the farm known as Holy Well Farm. The manors of Chadwick and Willingwick were parts of the barony of the Castle of Worcester in the time of Henry III, and were held in fee form of the King by William de Beauchamp, the heir of D'Abetot. Ralph, son of Roger de Lench, had a wood in Chadwick, which he gave, for perpetual alms, to the prior and con- vent of Worcester, and afterwards William de Abyston, with the consent of his wife, Isabelle de Lench, resigned to the prior and convent all the title which he had in the right of his said wife to their wood, called Southwood, given him by Ralph de Lench. The manor fell to the Crown by the attainer of Edward Plantaganet, Earl of Warwick, the heir of the Beauchamp family, 1499, fifteenth year of Henry VII, and Henry VIII by patent dated October 1, A.R. 37 granted the manor of Chadwick and Priory, with the Parsonage of Clanes, and various other lands, parcel of the possessions which his majesty had, by exchange with Richard Morrison Esq., amounting in the whole to fifty- seven pounds, two shillings per annum, to the college of Christ Church, Oxford, to which the manor of Chadwick now belongs. By them it was leased to the Lowes, from whom it passed, by marriage, to Henry Vaughan Jeffries of Worcester, whose son Humphrey sold the lease ofit to john Hutton, the historian of Birmingham, in 1776, who thus refers to the purchase:- I bought the manor and estate of Chadwick 4500 pounds, upon a promise, from an attorney, of supplying me with what money I should want. I let it for 300 pounds a year and kept it one year, when it appeared that I could not fulfill my bargain, because my attorney had deceived meg nor the seller his, because in some places he had charged me near twice as much land as there really was. He was pleased that I had secured a tenant at an advanced rent, and we mutually agreed to dissolve the contract. My family re- joiced, but I lamented. The lease is now held by Francis Tongue Ruffor Esq. fof Stour. bridgej. 70 1936i TheiPeg Board l' l .Al ANOTHER VIEW OF CHADWVICK HALL Courtesy of Mr. Hurry E. Palfrey In I803, Mr. Carpenter, ofChadwick Manor, published a treatise on Agriculture It was printed for the author by Heming of Stourbridge and dedicated to the Hon. Edward Foley and William Lygon Esquires, representatives in Parliament for the County of Worcester: To you, Gentlemen, well known as friendly encouragers of that most ancient and noble art of agriculturegl' and contains a long list of Subscribers, many of whom were gentlemen of this town and neighborhood. The work contains engravings of a plow, called The Worcestershire Plough, a model farm-house Cnot unlike two barns side by sidel with ground plan, and a model barn fvery similar to the housel with ground plan. In this work Mr. Carpenter states that he has sown a considerable quantity of flax, for many years, and recommends the sowing of the best Riga flax seed. The bounty then al- lowed by government, after being dressed in the stone, was of some consideration, as he received sixty pounds at one time, for flax and hemp, by an order from Sessions at Worcester! From the Birmingham Por! fAbout August l930,Z-- The Manor or reputed manor of Chadwick came into prominence a few years ago when a portion of it, 414 acres in extent, was presented by Mr. Edward Codbury and his brother to the National Trust with the object of preserving an agricultural and pastoral oasis in the midst of what may become a merely urban or suburban district. This intention presupposes that the farms will remain farms and will not become parks or playgrounds. The capital messuage a large handsome house of late seventeenth- century date, brick built with stone dressings, lies in a hollow to the right of the main road from Birmingham to Brumsgrove about a mile beyond Ruberg, and may be approached by a public footpath. Immediately above it are Spring Pools, a beauty spot which claims the attention of every passer+by. The site of the house is snug and sheltered, but by no means one which would be chosen by early builders for defensive purposes. 1 William Cotton, Chadwick Manor, 1881. Mr. Palfrey appends the following note: Contemporary with the above named J. Carpenter of Chadwick, the Rev. Benjamin Carpenter was minister at the Dissentmg Know Ullltlfllhl Chapel at Stourbridge. I have seen a reference to this Rev. B. Carpenter in connection with Bromsgrove. but at present am un able to trace same. It will be seen, however, that Stourbridge, Chadwick, and Bromsgrove were associated in various instances and this probably would have some bearing on Frederick Evans' association with Chadwick if it could be investigated. 71 The Peg Board 1936 In 1086 Chadwick formed part ofthe very extensive manor of Bromsgrove, and as such was the possession of Urso d'Abi tot, descending-as did all that great man's vast estates- to the Beauchamps. In 1232 the house and part of the land was exchanged by Roger de Lens for a house in Worcester, and St. Wulfstan's Hospital became the owners. After the Dissolution, one Richard Morison received a grant of the estate from the King, and six years later fin I 5461 Christ Church, Oxford, acquired it, selling it in 1904. The house itself-or an earlier one on the site-'was held in the seventeenth century by the Lowe family, and has had various owners subsequently, having been sold several times. Tolstoy and the Shakers N THE possession of the North Family at Mount,Lebanon is a letter from Count Leo Tolstoy to Elder Frederick Evans and copies of three letters from Evans to Tolstoy. Two of the copies are in Evan's handwriting, and one is typewritten, but signed by him. These letters have already been printed in a Shaker broadside and in the Manyesto, but have not had a very wide circulation and may be of interest to readers of the Peg Board. For those reasons we reproduce them here. For permission to reprint them we are indebted to Eldress Rosetta Stevens of the North Family. Sister Emma insists that Tolstoy also corresponded with Elder Alonzo Hollister of the Church Family. We have no doubt that her assertion is well founded, for Tolstoy had much in common with the Shakers-his doctrine of non-resistance, and his views set forth in The Kreutzer Sonata. The editors of the Peg Board are searching diligently in the hope that additional Tolstoy letters may come to light. In reprinting the letters now in ourhands, we have followed the spelling and punctuation of the originals. Those of Frederick Evans show a number of mistakes, but it must be remembered that they are merely copies, perhaps hastily made for his own files. Mt. Lebanon, N. Y., U. S. A. Dec. 6th. 1890 Leo Tolstoy Dear friend: I am deeply interested in you 81 your work, so far as I understand both ou 81 it. Y Wisdom says, I love those who love meg 81 we love those who are in the same truths that we ourselves are in. It is wonderful how clear are your ideas in relation to the definition of the words Christian 81 Christianity. Calvin Green fsome of whose writings you have seenj was an inspired man. He was spiritually impressed about the future of Russia: 81 he was enthusiastic upon the subject. Leo Tolstoy seems to be inspired to begin the fullfillment of the prophecies of Calvin Green. I purpose to send you some of my writings to read 81 to criticise, 81 in so doing, I shall be much obliged. Why should not theologic problems be sub- ject to the same rigid logic that mathematical problems are subject to? And why should not theologians be as cool 81 self-possessed as are mathematicians? If possible, they should be far more so: they should love each other, 81 that would be like oil, in all parts of a complicated piece of machinery. You are pained at our ideas about Ann Lee, 81 spirit intercourse between parties in 81 out of mortal bodies. I suppose it to be caused by mis- conceptions of what our views have been 81 are now, at this present writing. What they were, when the ' Millennial Church ' was written, leave to the people of those times. Paul says, When I was child, I thought 81 spake as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things, 81 thought 81 spake as a 72 1936 The Peg Board man. Should that not be the case with those who are in the kingdom of heaven, -of whose increase 81 government, to order 81 establish it in justice 81 judgment, there should be no end? The little stone cut out of the mountain, without hands-by revelation--grew, 81 became a great mountain, 8z filled the earth. You are exactly adapted to the present condition of the people of Russia. At one time, the God of Israel told Moses that he would not lead the people of Israel hereafterg but that he would appoint an angel in his place, as leader. Israel, instead of increasing with the increase of God, has retrograded. I will send you an 'Open Letter' that I wrote to Judge Thayer, who re- leased a man that had been arrested under the ruling of the Postmaster- General Wanamaker, that your book was immoral, 81 that it was unlawful to sell it. The letter to the judge had an extensive circulation. I will also send you my Autobiography. What is your age? Do not work too much for your age 81 strength: where the mind is as fully employed as is yours, the muscles are easily overdone. Why cannot you come to Mt. Lebanon, 81 see what God hath wrought? It would do you good. A poor, illiterate, uneducated factory-woman has confounded the wisdom of all men-reformers, legislators, 81 scholars, who have come to nothing, as promoters of human happiness. Their systems have ended, in Christendom, as you now see it, 81 as Booth 81 his companion who inspired him, saw it. The end has come! 81 Tolstoy 81 Shakerism remain, as the last hope of mankind. Love to you F. W. Evans Mt. Lebanon, Col. Co., N. Y., U.S.A. Russia. Toula. Yasnaya. Polyana Fcbr. 3f15 1891. Dear Friend and Brother, Thank you for your kind letter, it gave me great joy to know that you approve of my ideas on christianity. I was very much satisfied with your views upon the different expressions of religious sentiments, suiting the age of those to whom they are directed. I received the tracts you sent me and read them not only with interest but with profit, and cannot criticize them because I agree with everything that is said in them. There is only one question, that I should wish to ask you. You are, as I know, nonresistants. How do you manage to keep communial but nevertheless-property? Do you acknow- lege the possibility for a christian to defend property from usurpators? I ask this question because I think that the principle of non-resistance is the chief trait of true Christianity and the greatest difliculty in our times is to be true to it. How do you manage to do so in your community? I received your tracts, but you say in your letter that you have sent me books, do you mean that you have sent me books and tracts, or do you call the tracts books? I received more than a year the Oregon paper Worlds Advance Thought. I have several times seen your articles in it. I am very thankful to the editor for sending this paper, in every No. of it I get spritual nourishment and if it were not for some spiritistic tendency, which is foreign to me, I would absolute- ly agree with all its religious views. I like this paper very much. With sincere respect and love, Yours truly, Leo Tolstoy. 73 , ZJMWW, W Ali jffmi AME-if ffm W W2 WMM? Eff CM lflMQ JZLZZMEEWWWW W TTER TO ELDER FREDERICK EVANS ED BY LEO TOLSTOY 1936 The Peg Board Mt. Lebanon, March 61 Q1 Leo Tolstoi Dear friend and brother, Your welcomeletter of the 3, ult. duly received. There is much union of sentiment between us, and more union of spirit. You are ministered unto by a Christ Spirit, as Jesus was. It is not for yourself alone, but has reference to thousands of other souls who are ripe for the harvest sickle. The end of the world is coming upon them. Russia is a mighty Empire. It has produced large crops of spiritual men and women, in the past, under the first appearing of Christ, in the male order. They knew God as a heavenly father, but not as a Heavenly Mother. They had a male priesthood Order. They were a John the Baptist people, looking, waiting, praying, for the coming of our Lord. They were sincere and self sacrificing, but knew not how to pray, being blinded by theological ignorance and consequent error. The Mennonites8z Moravians and what a noble people! ! And many other, bearing different names, but all actuated by the same Christ Spirit, down to the Quakers, as Friends. Who came nigh unto the Kingdom of Heaven. These were the Two Witnesses -Male and Female-who prophesied, prayed, and practised Christian virtues, in part. Their persecutions were not in part, but in whole. .And those who brought them to the Holy Inquisition, or killed them by thousands, under the Duke of Alva, or by a Saint Bartholemew massacre, thought they were doing God good service. All the great European nations are Christian. War is a permanent institution among them. They are exhausting their national resources either fighting, or in Peace, preparing to fight. Do they not all pray to the same God to help them kill each other? Could the Devil do any worse by them? You ask, How do you manage to keep Communial, but nevertheless- property. Do you acknowledge the possibility for a Christian to defend property from usurpers? These are important questions. Jesus said, Be ye perfect, even as your father in Heaven is perfect. That is the end of our Christian travail. But is it the beginning? Did Jesus come to it, while yet in the body? Jesus was not yet perfected. This is said of him after his death. If we scrutinize closely the history of Jesus, from birth to death, do we not see growth, from where he was to where he would be? He saw the travail of his soul and was satisfied. Suppose we should have a list of the sins that he con- fessed to John, before he was baptised, and previous to the Christ Spirit descending upon him? And then suppose we make another list of the various transgressions and violations of the abstract principles of Christianity as you and I now see them? What would be the result? Should we not conclude that he was our elder brother, was touched with a feeling of our infirmities, be- cause he had the same nature, and by it was tempted in all respects like those whom the Christ Spirit came to redeem. He was simply the firstborn of many brethren just as Ann Lee was the first born of many sisters. The Mennonites, Moravians, and Quakers, were non resistents, as were most of the true Witnesses. Not until the seperation of Church and State, by the horns - Infidel powers-that grew out of the Beast, in the Am. Revolution, could communial property be held by non resistents. That is the New Earth, and has it becomes more perfect in its righteousness, the New Heavens will be nearer perfect in all of the Christian virtues. It will travail from Faith to Faith, through seven Cycles, unto the perfect day. The light shining brighter and brighter until the light of one day shall be as the light of seven days. We hold and defend our Communial property under the 75 The Peg Board 1936 Civil Laws of the New Earth. But in no case, or under any circumstances, should we injure a fellow being. You see that our Civil government is the voice of the people-Vox populi, Vox Dei-And the people who are the Rulers, are more progressed than are the Rulers of Russia or of any Church- and-State Government on the face of the Earth, we-the Shakers-under the Am secular Gov't can carry out the abstract principles, taught by revelation of the Christ Spirit, more perfectly than has hitherto ever been done by mortal men and women. just as we do carry out sexual purity, notwithstand- ing the sexes are brought face to face, in every day life, living without bolts or bars, in the same Household of Faith. Come and see what God hath wrought. Dear friend, Come to Lebanon and bind your joining to the Church of Christ's Second Appearing. Then, return and found the Order in Russia, with consent of the Govern- ment, which the Shaker Order can and will obtain for you. Calvin Green, one of our prophets, many years ago, predicted a glorious spiritual work in Russia. A Russian Minister visited Lebanon and was very friendly. He invited the Order to Russia. Has not the time arrived? And are not Thou the Man? In the Church of Christ Sd. Appearing, the Spirit is of God. It is not of the people. Ye have not chosen me but I have chosen you - And Revelation of God is the Rock upon which the Church is founded. And the Gates of Hell-religious controversy-will not prevail against it. The letter above is printed from a copy unsigned but in the handwriting of Frederick Evansg the letter below is reproduced from an undated copy signed by Evans. Mt. Lebanon, Columbia Co., N. Y. U. S. A. Leo Tolstoy, Dear friend, A.P.C.' from you was the last we have heard. We often speak of you. And our prayers for your health and safty are unceas- ing. The Shakers are your fast friends. You will be a welcome visitor, if Providentially you are led to our continent to visit the World's Fair. The North Family will be your home. All Societies of Shakers are your fast friends. You are recognized as a servant of God and a friend to your race. As such, the blessing of God rests upon you. The truths that will constitute the Millenium are open to your spiritual vision. There are a few, here and there, who are with you. The fact that the whole Shaker Order live out the principles you advocate, can but be encouraging to you. The Government does not interfere with us. One poet said, Slaves can- not live in England. That moment their feet touch our soil, their shackles fall. Spread it then, until wherever Britain's power is felt her justice shall be as fully inherited. That hope has been wonderfully actualized. It will be so with your aspirations regarding spiritual things. When you can see seventeen Com- munities of people whose every right is secured to them, whose every rational want is supplied, does it not demonstrate that all mankind may be made happy in this world? Our Sisterhood are redeemed. The Rights of woman are theirs, the rights of property we enjoy. Capital and Labor are at peace. Hygiene is religion with us. Love to you again and again. A love that would cheerfully-gladly-give you and yours a life home. n F. W. Evans. 1 This letter il not dated. The letter: A.P.C. in the Brat line may mean a postcard. 76 1936 The Peg Board INTERIOR OF MEETING HOUSE Dr. Arthur Franklin Ewell R. ARTHUR Franklin Ewell has left a copious, if incomplete, record of his life here at Mt. Lebanon and elsewhere. There are some seventeen notebooks, carefully dated from day to day, inscribed with a close neat handwriting. Unfortunately there are gaps in the work. The notebooks covering his life from 1889. to 1887 and from 1889 to 1992 have not yet been recovered! The only other document remaining is his degree of Doctor of Pedagogy which he received in June 1891 from the University of the City of New York's School of Pedagogy? The nature of his notebooks is sufficiently peculiar to warrant a description. In them we find little about the life ofthe man. It is a log of his intellectual developmentg his principal activity being thinking, it is only rarely that he takes time to give us information about other doings, which, even then, always have their spiritual or intellectual interpretation. He attempted to create a spiritual science. By assigning symbols and values to the various abstractions with which phil- osophy, religion, and education deal, he seeks to place these controversial modes of thought under the discipline of a mathematical scientific method. How far he succeeded in this can only be measured by one having a conversance equal to his with methods of philosophy, theology, peda- gogy, and science. Wedged between these weighty computations are the few words which give the scanty record of his life in the world. Where he was born, or where he lived before 3n 27d 1877 3 is undetermined, but at that time we find him at 9.4Q. W 24 N. Y. He remained in New York until 1882, moving from place to place at first, to settle finally for about two years at H342 W I4.H In the fall of 1882 he removed to Belvidere, N. J., to teach in the Belvidere Seminary. His interests are principally pedagogic, yet he is now beginning to formulate his ideas bearing on spiritual science. How long he stayed 1. Mr. Miller is continuing researches which may recover these lost volumes. fEd. Notej 2. This degree is in the posseuion of the school and will have a place in the school museum. fEd. Notej 8. Probably third month, twenty-seventh day, of 1877. 1Author's Note! '77 The Peg Board 1936 at Belvidere is diHicult to determine, but that he became principal of the school is reported in the Banner ry' Light, Boston, Saturday, December 6, 1902. Speaking of Ewell's mother, this periodical says: She was an honored pioneer of our Causeg and she will be gratefully remembered by all to whom she so lovingly ministered in the years gone by. She is survived by her son, Prof. Arthur Ewell, who was for some years, the principal of Belvidere Seminary, of which the Misses Bush were the founders, and by her sister Mrs. A. S. Hayward. For some years, is vague, and it is not determinable how long he was at the school before he became principal. At all events, in 1888 he is studying for his doctorate at the University of the City of New York. Whether he returned to Belvidere 'after receiving his doctorate is again un- certain, but highly probable. Only two notebooks cover this period of his life. Herein are to be found class notes which hold a different sort of interest. At the university he studied the histories of pedagogy and philosophy in the classical world. Psychology has not been raised to the dignity of a science. He learns nothing of the beauties of civic and commercial' law, nothing of aptitude tests, or similar gauges of intelligence. The idea behind the course of instruction seems to be that the capacity to think things out clearly will best ,help in their explanation. What became of him after the completion of his doctorate is again a matter of surmise. Not until 1902 do we hear of him again in his notebooks. At this time he is living in Boston, where he receives notice of his mother's death, on the eve of Thanksgiving. He makes the following entries in his notebook? ' Dec. 4, 1 902 thanksgiving 27 On wednesday at IO.3O P.M. Nov. 26. 1902-Mother's spirit was raised out of the earth life-fon Saturday Nov. 29. 1902 Mr. H. D. Barrett ofiiciated at her funeral service at the house in E. Braintree fsee p 14.-390 where I took her when God opened the way- and which she had never gone out of the grounds of sincefOn Saturday after funeral service etc. The Boston' Globe of November 28th speaks of her as a well known Boston woman. On the bottom of the page appear these words: Mother was born April 10. 1812. d. Nov. 26. I902. Age 90 years. 7 months, 16 days. ' From this lower inscription a light wavering line moves upward across the page to thanks- giving 27,! For a while after this he continues with his spiritual science, but his thought inclines more and more toward Christianity. The period preceding his mother's death was one of evident poverty. Ewell's reference when he says, in E. Braintree Qsee p. 14.-392 where I took her when God opened the way, reads as follows: Mch. 9. 1902. When I knew not where to take my mother after hunting long, and after others had hunted, and Ann where she stayed said she must go, and Mrs. Snyder 4. Spiritunliam CAuthor'a Notel. 5. Peculiarlties of punctuation and form are due to exact transcript of manuscript. CAuthor's Notej 78 1936 The Peg Board wrote she believed she would turn her out, and when I was out of business and money, I prayed God lo Help me to make my mother comfortable, ...... I was immediately given a thought which was followed by others which overcame all the difficulties at which all marvelled. I write this which was a deliverance to me like that of Israel from Egypt. May I never forget it or the goodness of God at that particular time. Sister Emma says that Arthur Ewell came to Mount Lebanon from the Harvard Shakers, when they closed the Square House. He was not a Shaker, but was in close contact with them from the year of his mother's death in 1902 until T907 at which date he removed to Mt. Lebanon. Some time before 1902 he married. This is only conjecture, for there is no record of this under- taking in any of the available note-books, and it is likely that, had it been in the period between 1902 to 1907, he would have made some entry to that effect. At all events, on Sept. 23, 1907, Monday eve. he makes the following entry: One week ago H. 81 I left for Mt. Lebanon, returned today. Many divine blessings have come meantime to us, most marvelous, and unexpected, and needed-Thanks to God. Eldress Anna went Sat. Sep. 21. IQO7-Oh Friday 20 Sep. Elder bro't good news. This good news must have been that he and H., who was his wife ', were able to move to Mt. Lebanon, for his next entry reads: Octo. 20. 1907. Sunday. P.M. Mount Lebanon. Slight snow fall today. Melted as it came. We came to Ann Lee Cottage Octo. 1 1907. I spoke in meeting today-as Elder Timothy invited any to do so. The No. family did not attend. We supped at their house on Fri. last-and I related anecdotes of the Old Oaken Bucket-and days of the civil war. At Mt. Lebanon Dr. Arthur Ewell taught mathematics. Sister Emma speaks of him as a brilliant man and excellent teacher, who could teach the dull as well as the bright. He was constantly awake to the differences in his pupils and treated them as individuals in dealing with their separate problems. He was never idle. Beside teaching he was always ready to do all manner of other work. He would crack butternuts, help Emilia in the dairy, or even carry mail to Lebanon Springs. He considered no form of endeavor as unworthy of the effort he put into it. He continued his spiritual science with interruptions until the end. In his last note-book, among his incomprehensible chemico-spiritual ,calculations we find this paragraph, which may give some idea of the mind and belief of the man: Learning that we have an anticipative nature which is called spiritual, we try to satisfy the conditions of the natural material life in a way to philosophically harmonize our conduct as the plan of God provides. In the mathematical law of Evolution we saw the course of the salvation of Christ. It is well to observe the logical necessity for such a course as indicated in ordinary experience, thereby confirming the deductions of the Evolution law in the case of Christian Salvation. This is based on the knowledge of God's relation to us and of ours to him. This is so valuable as to demand evidence of it. The awful and tremendous power in the world of matter, and the subtle power of thoughts and de- sires show this executive manifestation to any observer attending to it. The wonderful nature of things of every kind with which we'are acquainted shows that the governing power is managed in a masterful and excellent way such as suggests an infinite intelligence. All this display of rational action includes blessed features as of loving kindness and of tender mercies. We do not see this at first till our spiritual consciousness has been called out. The more we discern its necessity for our happiness, we are led the more to seek 8. Sister Emma states that Dr. Ewell came to Mt. Lebanon with the three Bush sisters, who were the founders of Belvidere Seminary Names of two were Harriet CDL Ewel1's wife? and Belle. Name of third sister not known. CAuthor's Nobel. 79 The Peg Board 1936 optimistically to hope and trust in it. The proof of its perfect goodness is worth seeking for the faith in it, when established is the only source and sustenance of soul peace. Jesus taught us to pray for the Kingdom of God's righteousness within usg and we may find it when we have understood what its existence requires. The worship of God is the first re- quirement. The love of each other among mankind is the second. To look for the good in everyone is then a privilege and a duty. That we may not see it at any time merely shows our inability. But the fact of a ruling God insures the goodness of everything. R. R. M. 'jr' THE DAIRY Photograph by Winthrop B. Coffin, 'as Elisha Blakemaxfs Journal ISTER Emma has recently discovered the journal of Elisha Blakeman, who was a member of the Church Family, and has kindly made its contents available for the Peg Board. Brother Blakeman had charge ofthe boys in the Church Family and directed them in their work outside of school. It has not yet been possible to examine this journal with thoroughness, but we shall quote a few entries and the poem written by Blakeman when he reached the age of fifty. This poem, here published for the first time, reflects the fine and noble qualities of the true Shaker spirit: june xo, 1867 Clean out sheep hovels to-day. E' scatters corn at the Hatch lot, in the cornfield, poisoned with ext. of Ignatia bean-to kill crows-they have pulled up a great deal of corn. Sept. Io, 1867 ' E'and seven boys go to Whiting's pond for pleasure etc. get some of that important commodity-Andrew Fortier took us down-and we came back on the South Mountain, i. Elisha. 80 1936 The Peg Board trying the endurance of our legs. E bought each boy an 8 cent maplesugar cake at the S.F.' office. Sept. 19, 1867 Secretary Stanton and Co. here to pay us a visit. November 18, 1867 Boys commence going to school for this season. March xo, 1869 E. Fifty years old this day. Thus half a cent'ry has vanished away And here I am, with the dear little boys, Enduring with patience their prattle and noiseg Fourteen in number, and quite good they are, This truth with pleasure, I now do declare, And may they all live in peace love and joy And in Mother's gospel their time well employ. I love them sincerely, and for them I live, To help them to God my time freely give. To see them increasing in virtue and loveg Fills me with thanks to my Father above, And though they have failings, yet I can see Goodness enough to endear them to me, An old man, full of sorrows and tears, Old-though I've seen but just fifty yearsg Old-for disease hath prey'd on me long, But God is my help-in Him I am strong. And thus I am able to work, sing and pray, Rejoicing in goodness each live-long day. The Mount Lebanon Antiquarian Society T ONE of the early meetings of the Union, Mr. Cowardin suggested that there be formed here at school a society for the preservation of the innumerable Shaker antiquities to be found at Mount Lebanon. His suggestion was met with enthusiastic approval, and arrangements were made for a meeting at a future date of those interested. Those who appeared at the meeting set about to elect ofiicers and decide other prominent questions concerning the actions of the society. The officers elected were Douglas H, West, president, Charles T. Davenport, vice-president: and Samuel Pendleton Cowardin III, secretary and treasurer. Members other than those con- nected with The Lebanon School are to be classified as associate members. The following is a list of the charter members of the Mount Lebanon Antiquarian Society: Winthrop B. Coffin, Henry M. Colvin, S. P. Cowardin, Jr., S. P. Cowardin III, Charles Davenport, Winthrop Endi- cott, James D. Fryer, McLean Griffin, Nathaniel Grifiin, Thomas O. Grisell, Sinclair D. Hart, Miss Dorothea B. Hendricks, Charles H. Jones, Mrs. Charles H. Jones, Donald McConaughy, Jr., Richard R. Miller, Mrs. Ellen S. Muller, John Nicholson III, Charles Rhodes, Lee Sumner Richards, Ir., Dutton Smith, Frederick Tillinghast III, John A. Vreeland, Jr., Douglas H. West, Eugene S. West. The Society aims to work to preserve any and all antiquities to be found here in our colony, and will gratefully receive any contributions from outsiders. Any person, whether he be con- nected with the school or not, is eligible for associate membership. It is the hope of the members to work towards building up our collection of antiquities which is now housed in the museum 1 The South Family. 81 The Peg Board 1936 and cataloging all available books and pamphlets pertaining to the Shakers. Already a start has been made in this direction and the following is a bibliography to date: A Shaker's Ideas. A letter sent to the Albany Yournal about Gen. Grant's funeral, by Elder F. W. Evans. Shaker Reconstruction of the American Government, by Elder F. W. Evans, Hudson, N. Y., 1888. Social Gathering Dialogue, etc. Albany, N. Y. 1873. How I Came to be a Shaker, by Geo. W. Wickersham, Mt. Lebanon, N. Y. A Remarkable Old Man. Elder Evans at the age of 80 still bent on reforming the world, from New York Sun. Testimony of Christ's Second Appearing, etc. Fourth edition published by The United Society called Shakers in Albany, New York, 1856. The Manifesto. Volumes X and XI, 1880-1881, Volumes XII and XIII, 1882-1883, volumes XIV and XV, 1884-1885, Volumes XVI and XVII, 1886-1887. All published in Shaker Village, New Hampshire. Religious Communism. A lecture by F. W. Evans. London, England, 1871. Treatise on Shaker Theology. By Elder F. W. Evans, Mount Lebanon, Columbia County, New York. Q2 copiesl The Shakers. From Natick CMassachusettsl Bulletin. By Elder F. W. Evans. Sketches of Shakers and Shakerism, etc. By Giles B. Avery. Albany, New York, 1884. Established Principles and Regulations of the United Society of Believers called Shakers. New York, 1879. Christ by Frederick W. Evans. Reprinted from Berkshire County Eagle, Pitts- field, Massachusetts. Obituary of Giles B. Avery. By F. W. Evans. C2 copies, New England Witchcraft and Spiritualism. By Elder F. W. Evans. Mount Lebanon, Columbia County, New York. Q2 copiesl Obituary of Rufus Crossman. By Elder F. W. Evans. Why Am I a Christian? By Walter Shepherd. Mt. Lebanon, Columbia Co., 1891. Correspondence to and from Elder F. W. Evans. September 1890. Liberalism, Spiritualism and Shakerism. An address by Elder F. W. Evans, Mt. Lebanon, New York. C2 copiesb A Christian Community. By Henry C. Blinn. East Canterbury, New Hampshire. The Manifesto for December 1894. Volume XXIV. Published at East Canterbury, New Hampshire. Testimonies Concerning the Character of Mother Ann Lee. Albany, New York, 1827. A Summary View of the Millenial Church or United Society of Believers fcalled Shakersj, etc. Albany, New York, 1848. Precepts of Mother Ann Lee and the Elders, etc. Albany, New York, 1888. Shakerism, Its Meaning and Message. By Anna White and Leila S. Taylor. Columbus, Ohio, 1905. Shaker and Shakeress. Volumes III and IV, 1873-1874, Volumes V and VI, 1875- 1876. C2 copies of each setj Mount Lebanon, Columbia County, New York. The Aletheia, Spirit of Truth. By Aurelia CG. Macel. Farmington, Maine, 1899. Autobiography of Mary Antoinette Doolittle, etc. Mount Lebanon, Columbia County, New York. Glimpses of a Great Institution. By Dr. J. M. Peebles, Battle Creek, Michigan, 1901. The Motherhood of God. By Anna White of Mount Lebanon, New York. Published in Canaan, New York. Shaker Sermons. By Elder F. W. Evans. Delivered September 12th. 1886 at the funeral of John Greves of North Family, Mount Lebanon, Columbia County, New York. The Conditions Of Peace by Elder F. W. Evans. Mount Lebanon, Columbia County, New York, 1890, , 82 1936 The Peg Board Our Centennial. By Elder F. W. Evans. A Great White Thronef, By Elder Frederick W. Evans. Pittsfield, Massachusetts, 1889. Same published in Chatham, New York, 1889. Shaker Sabbath Composed of Seven Days. By Elder F. W. Evans, Mt. Lebanon, Col. Co., N. Y. Mission of Alethian Believers fcalled Shakersj. By A. G. Hollister. Mount Lebanon, New York, 1892-1899. Voices from Mount Lebanon. By Eldress Anna White. Canaan Four Corners, New York, 1899. Proposed Memorial to the Late Rev. Henry Ward Beecher. By F. W. Evans. Mount Lebanon, New York, 1887. A SHA KER KITCHEN Some Shaker Recipes Whole Wheat Bread The first requisite is good white winter wheat. For two good-sized loaves, take two teacupsful of Fine white Hour, scald with thoroughly boiling milk. It is anlart to scald dry Hour. When cool enough to set sponge, add two cupsful of dry white Hour, one Magic Yeast cake. Ifrequired, add enough milk to make just stiff enough to hold up the paddle. When perfectly light, add enough whole meal to make a soft dough, not quite stiff enough to mold. Let it rise until well honey-combed. Put in pans, with wet hand or ladle smooth off top and put in quick oven. Bake from forty-five minutes to an hour, ac- cording to size loaf and heat of oven. After the bread has commenced to bake, the heat may be moderated. 83 The Peg Board C1936 Graham Gems Into a quart of milk stir a pint and a half of fine Graham or whole wheat flour, add a pinch of salt and stir briskly. This will make twenty-four gems. To have them nice and light, the gem pans must be very hot, butter them well, pour in the batter and bake in a well-heated oven. Graham Pie Crust Mix one quart of fine Graham meal with two-thirds milk and one-third cream, if cream cannot be obtained, take a tablespoonful of good butter. Let it stand half or three- quarters of an hour to swell, then take it on the rolling board, well-dusted with white Hour, and mold it thoroughly until it is free from a sticky feeling. Roll quite thin. This makes a wholesome and digestible crust for any kind of pie. Crackers The pie crust, described above, when rolled very thin, placed in tins and Cut into squares, makes delicious crackers. They must be baked very carefully, without burning. Graham Gruel To onefpintof boiling water add a pinch of salt and one tablespoonful of Graham flour, previously wet with a little cold water. Let it boil fifteen minutes. A tablespoonful of cream and a little sugar, if preferred, make it very palatable. Oatmeal Mush Into one quart of boiling water stir one pint of oat flakes. Cook thoroughly, but do not stir after it is made, as it makes it slippery. Salt the water, before putting in the oats. All cereals should be cooked in an inside vessel, either by steam or in hot water. Vegetable Soup Chop line two potatoes of medium size, one small turnip, a stalk of celery and a small piece of carrot. Into two quarts of boiling water put two tablespoonsful of pearled barley and the vagetablesg boil one hour, season to taste, then add a small lump of good butter or a teacup of sweet cream. Make a batter of one egg, a cupful of milk and flour enough to make it so that it will drop off the spoon easily. Ten minutes before taking up the soup, while it is boiling briskly, pour in the batter slowly, it will float around on the top and will have the taste of vermicelli. Potato Soup Peel, boil, mash and strain six middle-sized potatoes, in two quarts of cold water put two tablespoonsful of either barley or rice. Chop fine two small onions. When the water has boiled, add the onions, cook one hour season to taste and add a little butter or cream. Bean Soup Wash and soak over night one pint of white beans. Parboil half an hour, turn off the water, put in more boiling water and cook three hours, or until done. Cool, strain through a colander, then bring to a boil. Add a teacupful of milk or cream in which has been mixed a tablespoonful of flour. Season to taste. Toast two slices of bread a light brown, butter and break in pieces in a deep dish, pour the soup over at the last moment, so that the bread will not be soaked too much. Sliced Beets Wash and boil until nice and tender, being careful not to cut the skin. When done, pour cold water over them, rub oFf the skins, sliver up in very small pieces, add pepper and salt, a little piece of butter and half a teacup of vinegar. Stir all together and set on back of the range in a covered earthen dish, until wanted for dinner. Cut Cabbage One medium-sized head of cabbage, sliced fine. Put in a close covered porcelain dish, cook half an hour, pour off the water, add a little thickened milk or cream, season to taste, cook fifteen minutes more over a moderate heat, and it is ready for the table. Potatoes The more simply potatoes are cooked, the easier they are digested. A steaming dish- ful of white, mealy potatoes is appetizing, but when they are soggy or half done, it is usually from improper cooking. They should be done, and have the water turned off ten minutes before they are taken up. Slide the cover off a little way, so that the steam may 84 l9i3imMHi The Peg Bolaird CSCZIPC. Potatoes should never be fried in fat of any kind. Sliced fine, when cold, and heated in a little milk or cream, with seasoning, they are much better than when saturated with grease? A SHAKER SISTER'S ROOM Pholograph by Winthrop B. Coffin, '36 A SHAKER GATE 1. These recipes are taken from Vegetarianism among the Shakers, reprinted from The Counsellor by the North Family, Mount Lebanon, N. Y. '85 The Peg Board 1936 I COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHY O PHOTO-ENGRAVING I PHOTO FINISHING O PICTURES 0 PICTURE FRAMES O PHOTO SUPPLIES I 'N 'T' . A S S. II:I'I 86 1936 The Peg Board F.S.Wh' y . .M j.W.Cl y F S Whltney and Company Pttfild Cuttlng s Sportswear ODD JACKETS GABARDINE SLACKS PALM BEACH SUITS C H Cuttlng Co P t fi ld E. R Whltlng 34W :St Prtfild M Just around the corner JEWELERS Plttsfield Laundry Company ltne M L ottor 0 9 ell' for Compliments of O I C i s e . . ' Mamchmff' 135 North street it s e , Mass. es . i s e , ass. 87 The Peg Board 1936 Fred D. Retalliclt Electrical Contractor 24 Dunham Street Pittsfield, Mass. On Way to Postoffice J. l'l. Retalliclt Plumbing and Heating 24 Dunham Street Pittsfield, Mass. Austin D. Haight Gene r al Insurance New Lebanon Center New Yorlc Pittsfield's Most Exclusive jewelry Shop M c C a r t y the Jeweler Fenn St. Next to City Savings Bank Pittsfield, Mass. 1936 i i i iT1ie P'iegiB5aifd N ming THE COTTAGE We invite the visitors to The Lebanon School to inspect hand-made work baskets and other sou- venirs at the Cottage. The Church Family Shakers 89 The Peg Board 1936 Made to the same standard of excellence s1nce 1810 1n Dalton, Massachusetts C'mfze's F me Paper 90 1936 The Peg B d READ The Berkshire Evening Eagle for Full and accurate reporting of scholastic, col- legiate and professional athletic happenings. Compiled by The Associated Press, The Eagle Staff and other news services. Complzknentr 0 THE TILDEN COMPANY New Lebanon, N. Y. 91 The Peg Board Our Theme Song is the same as the Auto Folks- ll MORE OF EVERYTHING FOR THOSE PRECIOUS DOLLARS OF YOURS. Everything in Wearing Apparel For Young Men Sweeney gl 0'Connor Pittsfield, Mass. Compliments of Wendell Barber Sho West Street Pittsfield, Moss. Compliments of LORRAINE LUNCH BAR Compliments AND Of LORRAINE PASTRY SHOP G Two Stores . 144 South Sf. 191 North Sr. Pittsfield, Moss. Don't C0mP'ime'1'S of wafer, the rokns go ey Driv On Wendell Pharmacy e ee 10 Soutlt Street Pittsfield, Moss. H. C. Eekart ot Brown Motors, Pittsfield, Mass. Homes ln tire Berkshire Hills INDUSTRIAL PROPERTIES ln New England GEO. H. COOPER 37 Fenn St. Pittsfield, Mass. Compliments of Colonial Pharmacy Corner of South Street and West Housatonic Street, Pittsfield, Moss. 1936 The Peg Board Shapiro Studio Home Portraiture our Specialty 37 North Street Pittslield, Massachusetts 405 Every portrait bearing the Shapiro name is built up to a quality standard and not down to a competitive price. We give you quality work at no higher price. Tel. Dial 2-7077 Write us for BOOKLET on the Berkshire Benefactor Low Cost Policy Issued to Preferred Rislcs at Extremely Low Premium Cost Full Protection The Home Office Agency Berkshire Life Insurance Co. 7 North Street Pittsfield, Mass. Mop- Var Lightning Lustre Contractors For Treatment On All Types ol Floors The Lebanon School Floors are Treated with Glover Products ii? L. M. Glover Co., Inc. 78 State Street Cambridge, Mass. Tel. 13F4 Route 20 Ll DHOLM'S Socony Gas Mobiloil Lunches Refreshments New Lebanon, N. Y. l-larry B. Hicks Building Material Lumber, Paint, Cement V Telephone West Lebanon I 07 West Lebanon, New York The Peg Board 1936 The Lebanon School New Lebanon, New York V An Incorporated Preparatory School I For Boys V On slope of Mount Lebanon I in the Berkshires 94 The Peg Board 1936 the Trustees From One of' n of the good k of' appreeiatio Work done by The Peg Boara' 21 IUHI' rffae-i,?WQ73LeW 'Ii' QA A V A -e +1- Tfze New 1936 .-1-'few'-'54 Palm Beach Sazfs Handsome Wtutes Tons Blues Browns The newest Grays or he newest styles Reasonably Priced at 516 75 Extra Stocks S3 98 rw. ENGLAMIELDBFBQTHERS as no EM xc, x ' x Wxgbl H, . s of , f 4 - , fs. , .ggi 3 X , . .-1' ., r Yun xx-, ESMF fl -.xgwi xrszzvjg -,f -.523 24, :! ,Wi -3612255 ii , 21327253 EE I' aff A .fax . -:asf25:52esgfizigfiig-gsfszzg - ' ' ' ' weaves - - - f F: - 5 - 5 - 5 5?fEQEfEQE5E5E5E5E5 Eiiifi f ,i :, :fZfZf:f:ffffff2',vfjf' ' - F 'i f 5 l.5'iff5e52,,f' f 'Nw .. 42:-: 32323:-:5:3:' ' . f,:::,:.:ff ' 'Ei:EiEEE3i5?525z55 55 iilfiififfe 5 ' ..o. .--A gr' ,N ..,. I ' 1 95 The P eg Board 1936 Compliments of Hotel Wendell Pittsfield, Mass. nf 'iiiifa THE MOST POPULAR RESTUARANT IN BERKSHIRE COUNTY U Hub Restaurant 2 Depot Street Pittsfield, Mass. R. G. Fisher Groceries and Meats New Lebanon, N. Y. Complimentary l. B. Shillinger Garage Oldsmobile Sales and Service New Lebanon, N Y lc Ph 2l8F4 ' L i155E1i'EEZ:'3EEEE1i4F2?S2E1EEFif1:t.g12E1iEiiifi':3?iiL 5f.L2i: ' 1l4'.I?5:1?3I'11:EE? I A ---A----f-M ---1 .-1-'-1--+.-rr ,rfzzxrrwz-1 1-111 -.4,..':f-,f ,.1'.: .. ,: ...,,:,::z ,..:.'r:1.1f1.g::.-. un.-1-2-.m.1.,.-.,. .,., ..-.,..... W. .A 'f?1Pl121?P?'-'f111lL-sliuff-I-1:15-Af'1iAA.AfA!1'Sr'1'ix .::::::'F2'fmwrrfi-2191::::z1.:z:rr11f:v:nv.:.1,ef-n.:.u:1::::gLm:n:fE::.1ELx:-Y -.1. - F M -' -YM'-'IW f'1'??ff'T1T-T1 A1 f-51. .zwerz--: -F? .,:.:. 4I:'+:i?-l-PZ-??1EiF1'? i' gxgnq 1 , 1:iE2': 1:'- ,, ...J ..'.