Light rain did not deter 20 WSIG members and their guests from four New England states from driving to New Gloucester, Maine to attend the WSIG spring program at the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Library on Friday, May 9, 2003.
On behalf of Sister Frances Carr, we were warmly greeted by Leonard Brooks, Director of the Shaker Library and Shaker Museum, and by Tina Agren, Librarian/Archivist to Sabbathday Lake Village, "the least of Mother's children in the east," [Sabbathday Lake was one of the numerically smallest and poorest of the eastern Shaker communities, and more isolated than others]. Mr. Brooks provided refreshments, which were augmented by WSIG Chair Chris Smith's Shaker Rosemary Ginger Cookies. He also had brochures on the Shaker Historic Trail, the library, museum, upcoming workshops, the Shaker herb catalog, and the Friends of the Shakers available for attendees.
Mr. Brooks prefaced his remarks with a brief commercial announcement concerning the availability of a new publication, Shaker Articles and References in The Magazine ANTIQUES with Shaker Index, compiled by Kenneth Hatcher and Anne Gilbert, 2003; [see http://www.shaker.lib.me.us/shakerarticles.html]
He began his formal presentation with a history of the library. The Library is housed in the restored 1880 New Gloucester Shaker Schoolhouse, which educated Shaker children and area children until a new consolidated school opened in New Gloucester in 1950. The building was sold by the town to a neighboring farmer, who used the structure for apple storage for three decades. In 1986 the Shaker community returned the building to its original site and extensively renovated the structure. The ell of the building became a two-level fireproof and humidity and temperature controlled vault with compact shelving for housing printed and archival materials, the lower level reachable by a metal spiral staircase. The classroom serves as the research room.
The library collection originally consisted of 191 books written by or about Shakers, collected and cataloged by Elder Otis Sawyer in 1882. These were housed in a butternut wood bookcase built by Brother Henry Green of the Alfred, Maine Shaker community. We were told that Norm Abram (The New Yankee Workshop) had been in the library to measure this special cabinet the previous Monday for a 2004 program. [Note from Scribe: to see a reproduction of this piece of furniture go to: http://www.shakerworkswest.com/page4.htm ]. Elder Otis Sawyer's successor in the library was Sister Aurelia Mace (about whom we heard much more later). In 1931, the Alfred Shaker community closed, and its library (under the care of Sister Mildred Barker) moved to Sabbathday Lake. In the late 1950s, Theodore Johnson came to Sabbathday Lake. Converting to Shakerism, Brother Ted served as Library Director and worked toward the goal of establishing a research library. It was in memory of Brother Ted's unexpected death in 1986 that funds were raised to restore the schoolhouse as a library.
Using materials from the library's collections, Mr. Brooks talked about Sister Aurelia Gay Mace (1835-1910) and her published and unpublished works. Her father Fayette Mace brought the family to Sabbathday Lake in 1836; and wrote Familiar Dialogues on Shakerism. The family left, some members returning a few years later. Fayette's efforts to join Mt. Lebanon Shaker community resulted in a critical and harsh letter regarding Fayette's character, sent to that community by the elders at SDL. Her mother, Sarah Mace, died a believer in 1875 in Poland Hill; Because of a petition she submitted, women could hold property in Maine. Sister Aurelia signed the Shaker Covenant in 1858. Her many roles included 2nd Eldress, Trustee, school teacher, and keeper of the Church Family Journal. She donated Shaker books to the Library of Congress. She also oversaw the installation of the first telephone at SDL, began the balsam fir pillow industry, and led fancy goods sales trips to Poland Spring Hotel. She spoke about Shakerism to audiences such as those at the Green Acre Baha'i Center in Eliot, Maine.
In 1899 she wrote and published The Aletheia, a book she dedicated to the SDL library. The Aletheia includes letters she wrote to the Messenger, a Bangor newspaper, in 1883-1884 as well as letters to prominent people, including Leo Tolstoy. Readers of The Aletheia can get a feel for the evolving nature of the spirit. In her introduction to the book, Sister Aurelia writes: "It is presumed that by reading this book one can obtain a clear and correct idea of the Shakers' belief and manner of life..." The meaning of Aletheia is seeker of divine truth. Some 500 people attended her reading of the manuscript of The Aletheia at Poland Spring Hotel. Sister Aurelia also wrote for The Manifesto, a Shaker-published journal.
Librarian/archivist Tina Agren began her presentation with a tour of the vault, which contains the print and archival collections of the library. Materials include works by and about the United Society of Shakers, with an emphasis on the Sabbathday Lake, Gorham and Alfred communities in Maine. There is also a special collection of materials on other radical sects, including Freewill Baptists, Quakers, and Hutterites. She also described finding aids. She handed out the 4-page " Descriptions of the Library Collections containing Primary Source Materials." The heart of Ms. Agren's talk was a deconstruction of the previous presentation by Leonard Brooks. Ms. Agren described the articles, manuscripts and books used by Mr. Brooks in his presentation and passed around file folders, manuscripts, books and other materials to each of the three tables of WSIG attendees. We saw, for example, a research file on the Mace family, with a transcription of the letter written by SDL to the Mt. Lebanon community regarding the character of Fayette Mace; A copy of Aurelia Mace's letter to the Library of Congress accompanying her donation of Shaker books; the Church Family Journal entry by Elder Otis Sawyer in 1883, noting that Sister Aurelia had commenced making feather fans and other things; The Aletheia; Sister Aurelia's letters to the [Bangor] Messenger; her column in The Manifesto; a booklet about her speaking at Green Acre Baha'i Center; and a memorial to her when she died.
The significance of The Aletheia goes far beyond the confines of Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village. It is listed in:
Ms. Agren also showed us examples of books written about the Shakers.
The holdings of the Shaker Library are included in the Maine Info Net Statewide Library Catalog.
The library is open to researchers. It is preferable that people make an appointment. They will be asked to sign a research agreement. During the summer (May 15- October 15) there is rarely a day without a visitor doing research for a thesis, dissertation, book, or article. The Shaker Library has much more material by and about women than does the Maine State Library for the same time period. Both Ms. Agren and Mr. Brooks emphasized that the Shakers consider both sexes equal, and that there are equally important materials written by Shaker men, but because we are the Women's Studies Interest Group, we had requested a program about Shaker women and their writings.
At the conclusion of the library program, Mr. Brooks took participants on a tour of the Village. We entered the 1794 Shaker Meetinghouse, where we learned about the contemporary Shaker worship service conducted by the four members of the Shaker community and which is open to visitors. On the second floor of the meetinghouse, we saw a bedroom furnished in primitive Shaker style. Next door, in the 1839 Ministry's Shop, we saw a bedroom furnished in Victorian style, and a workroom depicting the manufacture of Dorothy cloaks (made famous by Grover Cleveland's wife, who bought one to wear at the inauguration) and poplarware items for the world's people. Mr. Brooks then took us across busy Rte 26 (which is to be relocated) and through the village, pointing out the history and uses of the various buildings on the opposite side of the road, including the Brick Dwelling, Girls' Shop, Sisters' Shop, Herb House, Boys' Shop/Museum Reception Center, and Spin House.
Chris Smith
Chair, Women's Studies Interest Group.