Author: shakerblog

An Illuminated Village

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If you’ve ever been to Shaker Village after sunset, you know it gets dark. Really dark. While we relish in that peaceful darkness most of the year, we take advantage of the holiday season to highlight this already beautiful property. The holidays at Shaker Village mean all hands on deck for decorating trees, stringing twinkle lights, wrapping fresh greenery in red ribbons to make fragrant swags and more. All of our elves… er, employees jump in and lend a hand in making our site shine bright for the month of December. Seeing the Village lit up at night is definitely a different experience and is bound to ignite some holiday spirit within you!

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The Water House

The Meeting House

Sunset in the Village

The Turnpike

The Entrance

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The Meeting House at Sunset

Old Stone Shop

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Join us around the fire pits this weekend as we celebrate our last Illuminated Evenings of the season! Make time to delight in life’s simple gifts with family and friends, as lively music, merriment and candlelight illuminate the Village! Stop by the Elf Shop, take a ride on the Jingle Bell Shuttle, enjoy special holiday music in The Meeting House and more.

Admission for ages 6 and up is $5. Children 5 and under are FREE!  Learn more.

Shaker Village Gift Guide

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gift-guide

As the holidays quickly approach, we’ve got a little something for everyone on your shopping list! From adventures at Shaker Village to handcrafted items and goods, these gifts are sure to please.

1. Shaker Village Honey Shakers brought Italian bees to Pleasant Hill in 1866. Today, we use Italian bees in our hives to educate about sustainability and beekeeping, and to create this delicious, golden honey. $9-16

2. Shaker Village Carrier Ornament Handcrafted cherry ornament made exclusively for Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill. $19

3. Gift Certificate  Too tough to decide which part of the Shaker Village experience suits best? Purchase a Shaker Village gift certificate! Gift certificates are valid towards meals, overnight accommodations, retail purchases, village admission and riverboat rides. Available in $20 and $50 increments.

4. Simple Gifts, The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center at Shaker Village CD The Simple Gifts: The Chamber Music Society at Shaker Village CD recording captures a historic moment in American history—the first performance of Aaron Copland’s landmark ballet score Appalachian Spring in the heart of an authentic Shaker village, Kentucky’s historic Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill. Recorded live in May 2015. $21

5. Annual Membership to Shaker Village  Gift an Annual Pass to an individual or family and let them reap the benefits all year long. Passholders receive unlimited free admission and riverboat rides, 10% discount on retail purchases, insider emails and promotions, and more! While you’re at it, better grab one for your family too! $25-100

6. Shaker Oval Box Perhaps the most recognizable Shaker product, oval boxes were traditionally made for storing food in pantries. Today, they are perfect for storing all sorts of things! Available in six sizes and five colors. $35-90

7. Kentucky Fresh Cookbook Go on a delightful seasonal food journey and cook with The Green Apron Company’s Maggie Green using fresh Kentucky ingredients. A great gift the food lover on your list! $30

8. Shaker Village Gift Sets Let us package the perfect gift for you! These gift sets are wrapped up and ready to go under your tree. Available online only. $20-100

9. Shaker Broom Handmade here at Shaker Village by our master craftsman. They say they last 25 years! $7-40

10. Shaker Village Card Set A custom set of blank linen cards that features winter images of Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill. $16

Discover the Perfect Gift! Shop signature Shaker oval boxes, logo merchandise and seasonally-inspired gifts, as well as unique children’s gifts, books, soaps and lotions, jams and jellies, Shaker reproductions and more! Visit our three onsite shops located in the Carpenters’ Shop, Post Office and Trustees’ Office, each of which offers a unique selection of products and one-of-a-kind souvenirs. Shop online now. {Get FREE Shipping through December 31st on all order over $100 with promo code HOLIDAY!}

The Shops Open House December 3
Join us for demonstrations with David Kramer and Joe Offerman, refreshments and a 20% SALE on any purchase!

Your online and onsite purchases generate revenue to keep Shaker Village going. All operating proceeds benefit Shaker Village’s mission and are used to develop new programs and events, compensate employees, buy new linens, feed the farm animals, maintain the trails, keep the lights on and much more.

Good Giving Inspires Great Things

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The Pleasant Hill Shakers quietly blazed their own trail, while challenging perspectives on the Kentucky frontier for more than 100 years. Their unconventional ideas left a lasting imprint on the great American experiment, and their simple, but remarkable contributions to modern concepts of community, sustainability and ingenuity continue to teach us today.

Their work inspires our work—we are on a mission to inspire generations through discovery by sharing the legacies of these Shakers. Today, this Village at work is challenged to keep pace with the Shakers’ resourcefulness and unmatched inventiveness. They made great things happen, and we strive to live up to their example.

Every day, we are working to restore irreplaceable examples of Shaker architecture through new, modern preservation methods. We’re also restoring native habitats, saving pollinators, promoting fresh-from-the-farm foods, conserving priceless artifacts and encouraging healthy communities. And at the heart of it, we are working to connect this site with trailblazers of all ages to inspire tomorrow’s learners, makers and doers.

There’s so much to do—and we need your help to grow the impact of this great work! Explore new ways to preserve history. Go on a Discovery Trek and save the Monarchs. Send your kids to camp to learn about backyard biodiversity. Boost local foodways and farmers. Give the gift of an annual pass. Most importantly, please consider making a financial contribution to support our everyday Village@Work projects. By doing so, you ensure that the legacies of the Pleasant Hill Shakers remain an important influence in shaping our future.

As a non-profit organization, Shaker Village relies on financial support from friends and neighbors to fund the seeds of discovery all year. Along with revenues from the Inn, Trustees’ Table, Shops and other sales, unrestricted gifts are needed every month to keep this Village working and to purchase feed, nails, bee boxes, camp supplies, seeds, paint, mowers, plants and so much more.

Your contribution is tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law and goes directly to caring for the Pleasant Hill Shakers’ 34 remaining structures, 3,000 acres of conserved land and growing impact on tomorrow’s trailblazers. With your help, we make great things happen at Shaker Village!

Will you join us in our quest to ignite tomorrow’s trailblazers?

Shaker Village is excited to be a part of this year’s #givingtuesday initiative on November 29. Don’t wanna wait until then? Make your gift now.

Those Who Served

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The Shakers believed in practicing non-violence and abstention from war, or pacifism, which makes images like this—an immigrant Shaker in military uniform—exceptional archival pieces. Some men, like Rudolph Gottfried Zollinger (1), came to Pleasant Hill after having served with a local militia or in a military engagement, while others who were already in union with the Shakers left the community to muster with the ranks once war broke out. Some of these men reunited with the Shakers once the fighting stopped, while others chose not to return to Pleasant Hill.

From our records, we’re aware of at least 27 Pleasant Hill Shakers who served in military engagements spanning the French and Indian War, American Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Mexican-American War, American Civil War, as well as a few foreign wars.

This Veterans Day we pause to honor all who have served, including our Shaker veterans.

Say “thank you” to a veteran in your community!

Learn about hand-colored photographs and “Shakers in Color” in our Shaker Selfies exhibit on view in Centre Family.

Interested in doing research about Shaker veterans or immigrants? Consider applying for our research fellowship

Emálee Krulish, Archivist

Hello, November

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We set The Preserve on fire! Every year, Shaker Village fields are managed on a 2-year fire rotation to maximize conditions for habitat. Controlled burns are an integral part of the restoration and maintenance of the more than 1,200 acres of native warm season grasses and wildflowers found throughout the 3,000-acre property. Burns, such as this one, are carried out as part of our property management plan. Funded through grants from the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) and the Natural Resources and Conservation Service (NRCS), our projects have returned the land to the prairie appearance that existed prior to the Shakers’ settlement of the area.

During the last 10 years, we have successfully converted 1,200 acres of unproductive pasture land into native prairie grasses and wildflowers. The results have been extraordinary—60+ coveys of wild Northern Bobwhite quail (the highest density of this declining species in Kentucky) and thriving insect, songbird and mammal populations.

You can see more about Shaker Village and quail restoration on This American Land airing on PBS later this year.

We take a “bottom up” ecosystem approach to quail management. We start at the bottom by providing high quality habitat consisting of native warm season grasses and wildflowers. Through late-winter prescribed fire and field specific management, we hold succession in check and provide premium nesting and brood rearing habitat in adjacent fields. We work to provide woody cover and “rough edges” to support quail across the entire range of habitat types they prefer. Our efforts not only support quail, but all other organisms that thrive in a native prairie ecosystem. Through intense monitoring of the quail and songbird population, we are able to see how our management positively affects overall bird populations. We also are able to determine sustainable hunting limits for quail with proceeds from hunting supporting The Preserve at Shaker Village and 1,200 acres of high quality quail habitat.

Join us this month for a Quail Dinner.
Learn more about our Land Conservation work.
Consider donating to Shaker Village to help us continue to make great things happen here.

Please note: The Preserve and trails will be closed Mondays – Fridays from Nov. 1 – Dec. 30 for habitat and wildlife management and trail restoration work.
The trails along River Road (River Road Trail and Palisades Trail) will be open every day for guests who want to hike/walk during the week. All trails will be open Saturdays and Sundays in November and December.

Ben Leffew is the preserve manager. A Kentucky Proud product straight out of Boyle County…