Day 6 - Historical Vermont

Woodstock, Vermont is not as notorious as Woodstock, New York where the famous festival took place but is a popular place as a historic and picturesque village. 

It dates from 1761 and consists of a collection of renovated Georgian houses. In the 1930s this was a popular resort for skiers who liked to ski outside the official slopes and it was also one of the first resorts with a ski lift. The old hotel in the center of the village was bought by the Rockefeller family. They were also the engine behind the restoration of the city together with railroad magnate Frederick Billings. The latter mainly paid for the reforestation of the area. The result is now a cozy, quiet and picturesque village with well-kept houses with bright flowers. Ideal for a little walk this morning, especially now that the sun is back. Finally sun again, finally enjoying the colors of the surroundings.  Yesterday's rain put a big damper on the joy.

Plymouth is probably even more historic than Woodstock. ’Nobody told me I couldn’t do it’. That's what father Colonel John Coolidge answered after the inauguration of his son Calvin Coolidge as the 30th President of the United States. In 1923, the previous President, Warren Harding, died suddenly (triggering the rumor that he died an unnatural death) and it came to his vice president Calvin Coolidge to succeed him. There was only one problem: the vice president was initially untraceable. They searched for him with man and horse and eventually they found him in Plymouth, in his parents' house without electricity or telephone, where he was visiting his father. In the nightly hours he was inaugurated as president by his father who had no authority as he was only a notary. Hence the statement by father Coolidge. One year later he was re-elected as president. 

His presidency was mainly characterized by three things: in the first place, he had to clean up the mess that President Harding had left behind. The latter was identified with illegal practices, including placing his friends in top positions and enormous corruption scandals. An impeachment procedure would be started, but he died before it could take place. Secondly, Coolidge was the last president who did not intervene in the economy. In first instance, there was little reason for this because the American economy flourished in the 1920s but ended dramatically in the Great Depression with the crash of 1929 and the collapse of the economy. And third, he was the first president to use the radio to broadcast his speeches. In his native village of Plymouth lies the Calvin Coolidge Historic Site, with his birth house, his parental house where he was inaugurated as president and the village shop and post office that were run by his father at the time, all in typical New England style.

In Weston is the Vermont Country Store located, not just a store but a household name. The store has everything, from modern trinkets to real old-fashioned things that our grandparents loved so much. But everything is above all quality. 

Certainly worth your while, if only because you really feel the countryside here. And that is what Vermont stands for.

The Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield Massachusetts is witness to the past of the Shakers. This religious commune, founded in the 18th century, has since died out. This is primarily due to one of its own basic rules: celibacy. Celibate life means no children and therefore no new members this way. Some new members did bring their children, but few remained in the community afterwards. The community had to rely mainly on voluntary entries. In addition to celibacy, the commune had other basic rules such as public confession, perfection of daily life, simple existence, equality between men and women including work, and joint ownership.

There were a total of 19 shaker communities, so named because they danced, sang, shook and trembled during their prayers. Their religious service did not take place in a church but in a large room and they did not have a pastor. This settlement was founded in 1783. During the height of the shaker movement, halfway the 19th century, no fewer than 300 people lived here. It closed its doors in 1960, when the community decided not to allow new members to join. Even though the commune is extinct, their legacy lives on in our everyday lives to this day. Because in addition to furniture makers, the Shakers were also inventors. Amongst others, the circular saw, the broom, and ‘seeds in an envelope’ sprouted from their brain.

Today Hancock Village gives a good insight into their lives. All communes looked about the same: simple buildings stripped of all frills and decorations. This is how they showed their simple life. There are separate sleeping quarters for men and women, the so-called Brethren and Sisters, because private relationships were prohibited. There is of course a school where the children received education and a workplace where craftsmen went to work. It is the combination of simplicity, craftsmanship and dedication that created the simple yet elegant style of woodworking, the so-called Shaker style. But the eye-catcher in Hancock Village is the showpiece of Shaker ingenuity: in the center stands a round barn made of stone and wood that dates from 1826. The building has three floors with the cows on the ground floor standing with their heads facing the inside. This way they could easily be fed with hay stored on the first floor. Hay that was driven in on hay wagons via a higher entrance. The manure from the cows was collected directly in the basement and immediately transported with carts.

The majority of these buildings has been restored. They are all furnished, just like back then. A perfect introduction to a lesser known movement. And for a few hours the spirit of the Shaker commune relives.