Life From The Roots

The Life From The Roots blog topics have changed several times since I began this blog in 2009. I initially wrote only about the family history I had been working on for 20 years. Years later, I was into visiting gardens, historical homes, churches, libraries that had genealogical collections, historical societies, war memorials, and travel/tourism places. I also enjoy posting autographs and photos of famous people I've met or have seen.

Along with my New England roots, other areas include New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and the Eastern Townships of Quebec, Canada.

Please check out the labels on the right side for topics (please note, they need work). Below the labels and pageviews is a listing of my top nine posts, according to Google. Four of them pertain to Lowell, MA. These posts change often because they are based on what people are reading.

Tuesday, July 24, 2018

You Already Saw the Studio and Gardens, Now for the House

The Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site
Cornish, New Hampshire

I have been to many National parks, and you might have seen many postings of mine (check Legend for Travel and Tourism sites), and I must say, this is among my favorite sites. I like everything about this place, the trails, the fabulous gardens, the grounds around the buildings, all the sculptures in the gardens and the studio. You must see the studio of the well-known August Saint-Gaudens, sculptor of the famous Shaw Memorial. The original Shaw Memorial is in Boston and is due to get a facelift soon, and that is what prompted me to post this now. In addition, I am posting photos of the interior of the house, taken last fall.

Previous posts are:
Home, Gardens and Studio of Augustus Saint-Gaudens

Patriot and the Sculpturer, Both are Well-known. One Didn't Come Back

Photos of the Shaw Memorial, the original memorial is in Boston.

I recently received notification regarding the real memorial, which is in Boston, Massachusetts, and this prompted me to write this post.

Lovely side porch where we wait to tour the house, all 4 rooms seen on our own.

The front door was closed, and we came in on the side. As you can see, two rooms are roped off.

Dining Room

This is Not my photo. It appeared on the Facebook page for the Augustus St. Gaudens National Park Historic Site on November 26, 2019. Lucky them, they moved the rope.

Two Parlors

Pantry and Kitchen

From the window at the above left, I took this picture.

Upstairs was closed.

Studio (above)

Top border of the studio.

Some of Mr. Saint-Gauden's work, shown in the studio.

Studio front.

"Abraham Lincoln: The Man" often called "Standing Lincoln." This statue is 12 feet and was commissioned in 1884 for the Lincoln Park in Chicago.

These two photos of the front were taken in 2013, but not shared, simply because you can't see inside the house. The other day, the Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site stated, that this tree, the Thorneless Honeylocust is 99 feet tall and 201.60 inches wide. It's the largest in all of New Hampshire.

See this view in 2018, the first photo in this blog.

Friday, July 20, 2018

Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, New Gloucester, Maine

Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village

New Gloucester, Maine

http://maineshakers.com/

Unlike the other Shaker Villages we have visited, this is the only one that has active members. Brother Arnold Hadd and Sister June are the only remaining Shakers living in a Shaker village anywhere in the United States. The most recent to pass away was sister Frances, at age 89. (See newspaper obit. towards the end of the post).

I was very fortunate to have some of Brother Arnold's fresh strawberry jam, purchased last June (2017). Because this is an active village, 12 of the buildings are closed to visitors.

Above and below photos taken different years and seasons.

This Shaker village, located in New Gloucester, Maine was established in 1783 by a group of Shaker missionaries, is the only active Shaker village in the world. This village has 17 historic structures, which date from the 1780s through the 1950s, located on 1,800 acres of farm and forest land.

We have been here three times, and never took a tour, for various reasons. But, we intend to on our the next visit. I really want to see the library. I will say, there are always a lot of workshops going on, check out their program, so you can't go into those rooms.

From their webpage, "Six of the 18 existing structures at Sabbathday Lake are open to the public. Throughout these buildings there are twenty-seven exhibit rooms which explore a continuum of over 200 years of Shaker heritage in the Maine Communities."

The Village is on both sides of the roads. The houses on the right are, what I call, upper buildings (including church); to the left are lower buildings.