On Friday, May 31, 2013 some of us were able to join the Orange Library Association on their annual outing. This year they went to the Hancock Shaker Museum and the Arrowhead Museum (aka the
Herman Melville House) located in Pittsfield, Mass. Because the trip serves as a professional development opportunity for area librarians, the first part of the outing involved a behind-the-scenes tour of the Hancock Shaker Museum's library. The curator showed us various primary source documents and photos and explained how they obtained the items in their collection. It was quite interesting, albeit a bit dry, and a tad too long - even for us librarian types!
Our tour guide then took us around one of the larger buildings, explaining various aspects of Shaker life. Believe me, Ms. Kuhn's did her homework in A Simple Murder! Remember how Rees described the silence during meals? Evidently, each 4-person section of table (2 people on either side) had its own salt, pepper, water pitcher, etc so everything was within reach and one didn't even need to ask one's neighbor to pass something. Walking the grounds and touring the building, I was able to put myself right into the book's setting. The tour guides were dressed as Shakers so that added to the ambiance.
Lunch was included in our tour at Hancock Shaker Village and consisted of: "Assorted Sandwiches on Breads and Wraps, Tossed Salad with Dijon Herb Vinaigrette, Garden Vegetable Pasta Salad, Kettle Chips, Cookies and
Brownies, Iced Tea, Lemon Water and Coffee Station." It was delicious! I had a veggie wrap and part of a roast beef sandwich. (Thanks for sharing Barbara H!). The salads were also very good.
After lunch
we were free to roam the grounds for a short time. There was so much to
see we didn't have time for it all! (I will certainly be going back on
my own!) If you couldn't join us, I would encourage you to try to make the trip on your own. Visit http://hancockshakervillage.org/ for more information.
At 1:30 we departed Hancock Shaker Village and headed to Arrowhead Museum, home of Herman Melville. Here we were treated to a tour of the home and a history of the Melville family. Evidently many of the men were sailors/ whalers! If you're a Melville fan, interested in whaling or just enjoy history then you might enjoy a visit here. For more information go to http://www.mobydick.org/
An account of our day wouldn't be complete if I didn't mention the bus ride. I think it was easily 85 degrees that day and wouldn't you know it, the air conditioning wasn't working! We were roasted, steamed and then baked. The windows were the kind that don't open so it quickly got very hot on our short trip to Arrowhead. The bus driver made calls during our tour but couldn't resolve the situation. Part way home (it was a 2-hour drive!) arrangements were made to change buses. We pulled off at a service area and fled the bus as quickly as possible! While we waited on the grass for the replacement bus, it started to rain, which felt somewhat refreshing. Look! It's our new bus! Did I hear a few cheers? The cheers were short-lived when we were told that this bus's air conditioning broke on the drive to get us. Wet, we piled back onto our original bus and headed home. What a frustrating way to end a marvelous day!
