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Preface
- The University Press of Kentucky
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Preface O ne spring afternoon a companion and I visited the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, a National Historic Site in the Bluegrass country of Kentucky, some twenty-five miles southwest of Lexington . We lunched in one of the dining rooms in the building known as theTrustees’ Office—being sure to top off the meal with the famous Shaker lemon pie—and then, with other visitors, spent the next two hours following an archaeologist from nearby Centre College as he moved through the village, telling us details about the buildings we could see and showing us sites on which lost buildings had stood. Our ad hoc group then followed him down a mile-long road, a former twentieth-century state highway that had been turned back into the macadam road of earlier years, to the partially excavated site of a mill that sat by the watercourse called Shawnee Run.The archaeologist explained how, with their well-known ingenuity, the builders had taken power from this small stream to operate a sawmill, a gristmill, a linseed oil mill, and a fulling mill; they had also woven woolens here. As we listened to our guide and looked around the little valley, all of us, I think, imagined that we could see Shakers in costume hard at work at their various tasks. The afternoon was balmy, but with a sky of almost autumnal blue, and as we walked back up the road to the village, we marveled not only at the great inventiveness of the Shakers but at their perfect taste. They had created a world of simple beauty and serenity, a jewel in a green setting, with the curves of the landscape and the clean lines of the buildings coming together in perfect harmony. Half a mile away cars moved on the relocated state highway, but they were external, not really intruding on our scene. Everybody in the group asked the leader questions about the Shakers and their works and about the preservation of their village. I had questions, xiii too, but I had my own special purpose in asking them and, indeed, in being there that day. I was going to tell the story of the rescue of the village from decay—how and why it was preserved, and who the people were who did it, and what kind of time and effort the task had required—what obstacles these people had overcome and what kinds of ingenuity they had, in their time, drawn upon. I thought it would turn out to be a good story, and it did. Any book is the product of a collaboration; without the aid of a variety of helpers, the person who is officially the author would achieve little. Hence I wish to express thanks to the many willing volunteers and also—though this is a book written for a general and not an academic audience—to give credit to printed and other inanimate sources as well. Readers wishing to go further into one or another aspect of the subject will find some suggestions for that in the sources and background, page 159. I also wish to make special acknowledgment of the cooperation and help of James Thomas, Brenda Roseman, and the staff at Pleasant Hill, and I thank my friend Al Smith, who conceived of the project and boldly undertook to serve as my editor. Happily, we remain friends. xiv PREFACE ...