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Thanksgiving Tips and Tricks

November 15, 2021Shaker Village

Shelby Jones, Director of Communications

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and The Trustees’ Table is ready to dish out all of the traditional holiday foods you wait for every year. We can’t wait to welcome guests to our Thanksgiving table, but we know that many of you won’t be able to sit down with us so we wanted to help ensure that your table is just as festive as ours.

*The Trustees’ Table is set for guests all year long including Thanksgiving.*

Top Tips for a Tasty Thanksgiving
Shaker Village Chef Amber Hokams is sharing some tips to make your at home menu prep a little easier.

Brine Your Bird – Allowing your turkey to soak for at least 24 hours in a brine (¼ cup of salt per gallon of water) will significantly increase the flavor and texture of your turkey. Don’t forget to add aromatics to your brine. Chef Hokams suggests sliced oranges, bay leaves, fresh thyme, rosemary and peppercorns. All of these flavors will infuse into your turkey making it especially delicious.
Cross Utilize Ingredients – Cut your shopping list in half! If you’re making cranberry relish add extra fresh poached cranberries to your dinner salad. If corn pudding is taking center stage on your table add any leftover corn to your cornbread for an extra layer of flavor and texture.
Homemade Stock Makes a Difference – Save your chicken bones, or ask your local butcher if they have any for sale. Roast your bones for a rich caramelized flavor by adding celery, carrot, onion, a few bay leaves and peppercorns in a large pot. Cover everything with water and allow to reduce over low heat for at least eight hours. Strain the ingredients and continue to reduce until a deep flavorful stock has been achieved. Use this as a base for your gravy along with the pan drippings from your roasting tray. If you really want to show off, add a healthy portion of reduced apple cider to your gravy for extra dimension.
Buy Local – Small businesses need our support more than ever. Pick up local baked breads and desserts from your favorite bakery, and encourage your family and friends to do the same.

*Chef Amber Hokams trained at Le Cordon Bleu of Austin and has lead the culinary team at The Trustees’ Table since 2018.*

A Recipe to Share
We couldn’t offer up all of that advice without passing on a recipe for the star of the meal – dressing (it’s dressing not stuffing). Check out Chef Hokams recipe for Sausage and Mushroom Dressing and add it to this year’s feast.

Sausage and Mushroom Dressing
6 c Ciabatta Bread, Cubed

6 c Cornbread, Cubed

4 c Wild Mushrooms, Roasted

2 T Butter

2 T Kosher Salt

1 lb. Italian Sausage

1 c Diced Red Onion

1 c Celery, Diced

3 T Garlic, Minced

6 Granny Smith Apples, Diced

¼ c Maple Syrup

4 c Homemade Chicken Stock

3 T Fresh Thyme, Chopped

1 T Rosemary Chopped

2 T Fresh Sage, Chopped

½ t Cayenne Pepper

2 T Orange Zest

Add Ciabatta and Cornbread to 300 Degree Oven and Dry Toast for 25-30 minutes.

Add Sausage to Pan and Brown.

Remove Sausage from Pan (leave the fat) and add Butter.

Add Red Onions, Celery, Fresh Herbs and Cayenne.

Allow to caramelize over medium high heat.

Once caramelized add garlic and sauté until fragrant.

Remove from heat, allow to cool slightly.

Once cool enough to handle add all ingredients to a large mixing bowl.

You may need to add more liquid depending on the consistency you like.

Place in a 375-degree oven for 25-25 minutes.

Thanksgiving To Go
While reservations for dine-in Thanksgiving meals are all booked up you can still enjoy a delicious Thanksgiving To Go from our restaurant. Thanksgiving To Go carryout orders can be booked through Thursday, November 18. Let us do all the work this year while you and your family relax and enjoy delicious turkey, cornbread dressing and vegetables along with country ham and homemade bread and desserts.

Putting the Puzzle Together

November 5, 2021Billy Rankin

Billy Rankin, VP of Public Programming and Marketing

This is the sixth part of a behind-the-scenes look at the development of Local Economies, Global Impacts, a new exhibition that will open this December at Shaker Village.

In previous posts we introduced three main goals that the team at Shaker Village keep in mind when developing any new exhibit:

We also looked into the process of fabricating an exhibit.

It’s now crunch time, as we are in the process of installing each component that will make the final exhibit experience!

Placing the Pieces

Over the last year and a half we have conducted research, written content, selected artifacts, compiled images, designed graphics, chosen contractors, built components and finally, FINALLY, we are putting it all together.

This is where the rubber meets the road, so to speak.

Are the stands we built here at the Village going to fit the acrylic covers manufactured offsite? Will every artifact fit correctly on the platforms designed for them? Did we double-check that each component can actually fit through the doors? How heavy are those millstones, exactly?

With a planned opening on December 10, we are in that timeframe where we bite our fingernails, hoping that all of our planning has paid off.

It’s not always smooth.

For instance, as murals were being installed on the walls it became obvious there were several locations where we hadn’t accounted for the full height of the wall mounted lighting units. These will need to be modified so we don’t have a wooden frame obscuring an important quote. Fortunately, we have a talented team onsite that will make adjustments that, once completed, will never be noticed.

How Heavy Are They?

For an exhibit that aims to demonstrate the one-time enormity of Shaker industry at Pleasant Hill, you need BIG artifacts to help tell the story. Enter two, unfinished 500+ pound millstones from our collection. Once again the problem-solving skills of our exhibit team and partners were put to the test. How do you move these two behemoths into the East Family Brethren’s Shop? Once there, how do you display them?

Fortunately, with a combination of great planning, a well-built platform and a little help from the Village’s tractor, we were able to safely mount these two stones. Let’s hope this exhibit stays in place for a while!

Water at Work

Another interesting feature of Local Economies, Global Impacts will be our model waterwheel. This 9 ft. diameter wheel will demonstrate how the Shakers powered many of the mills constructed at Pleasant Hill. Maps, cutaway images and audio/video components will add greater depth to the history of mills at the Village.

During our planning stages we looked at a number of different designs for the waterwheel. No mills remain standing at Pleasant Hill, so we found inspiration from archival images of the 1816 Grist Mill. The locations of bolts, spokes and other features were designed to mimic what the Shakers had built long ago along Shawnee Run.

Every End is a New Beginning

The installation of Local Economies, Global Impacts marks the beginning of a new phase of museum exhibitions at Shaker Village. These fully-realized exhibits will be a model for the museum experiences we will construct in buildings across the property. Combined with tours, workshops and other learning experiences, immersive exhibits will tell the story of the Pleasant Hill Shakers to our guests in a new and exciting way.

Be on the lookout for upcoming announcements about the opening of this new experience! We look forward to new generations of guests experiencing the legacy of the Kentucky Shakers.

Next Month: We’ll discuss the grand opening of this new exhibit, and how we evaluate the impact of the experience on our visitors.

Local Economies, Global Impacts is funded in part through a Museums for America matching grant, administered by the Institute for Museum and Library Services.

Celebrating National Arts and Humanities Month

October 25, 2021Shaker Village

Melissa Williams, Development Coordinator

Imagine yourself standing on the turnpike here at Shaker Village. Close your eyes for a moment.

Can you feel the soft, rustling breeze through the trees? The sun shining warm on your face? Each step you take is accompanied by the crunch of gravel on the path. In the distance the ducks are quacking, the donkey brays. There’s a group of people up ahead on a tour listening intently to the guide. They are nodding and smiling.

How do you feel in the moment?

This Place Matters

When our nonprofit organization formed in the 1960s, the original board members and the public worked tirelessly to restore the Village. It was a not an easy undertaking. They persevered because they felt the same way you feel when you visit Pleasant Hill: this place is special.

How is it special? It’s hard to articulate an answer to that question.

It’s educational. It’s entertainment. It’s fun. It’s an escape.

It’s a sense of peace. A feeling of lightness. A connection to nature and to beauty.

It’s hope in the midst of a chaotic world.

Finding Relevance Today

The Shakers built their environment to reflect their view of Heaven on Earth. Interestingly, their view of Heaven on Earth was adapted over time – both proactively and reactively. One notable example was the shift in how the Village was oriented. The community was initially laid out north to south. Within the first 20 years of establishing the Village, the orientation shifted to run east to west as the turnpike remains today. While there were likely multiple factors in this decision, the New Madrid earthquake in 1811 damaged the original meeting house. The need to construct a new Meeting House may have been the impetus for this change.

It’s lessons like this that the Pleasant Hill Shakers left us to examine. Their ability to adapt over time and their resilience is an important example that we can find relevance in as we navigate our changing world.

Celebrating National Arts and Humanities Month

Today more than ever, we all need someplace where we can take refuge. A place where we can rest. Where we can reflect. Where we can consider steps we can each individually take to help adapt our communities to be more inclusive, equitable, cohesive and proactive.

This year we join the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS), The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), and The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to celebrate the 35^th anniversary of National Arts and Humanities Awareness Month.

“Three and a half decades after its official recognition, National Arts and Humanities Month takes on new relevance to American life today. Music inspires and uplifts us, poems and stories spark our imagination, and museums teach us about the world and ourselves. The arts and humanities have the power to unite us, to heal us, to sustain us, to help us better understand each other, and to guide us through challenging times.” – joint statement by IMLS, NEA and NEH.

Shaker Village is a place where everyday we think about the human experience and study history, philosophy, religion, community development and more. Sixty years ago, the leaders of our nonprofit could not have guessed just how important Shaker Village would be today, but today it’s certain that Pleasant Hill will remain special for generations to come.

Access for All

October 15, 2021Billy Rankin

Billy Rankin, Vice President of Marketing and Public Programming

34 historic structures. 36 miles of hiking trails. 3,000 acres of natural and cultural landscape.

The vastness of the experience at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill is an incredible attraction for the guests that travel from around the world to visit Kentucky’s largest National Historic Landmark. However, this grand scale can also be a challenge for guests with limited mobility.

The Challenge

Consider the 34 historic structures at Pleasant Hill. Of these, 20 are buildings with multiple levels. While we admire the simple elegance of Shaker staircases, in the words of one recent guest, “They were great at building stairs, but not so much elevators, huh?”

Though this comment was made in jest (and the guest was probably a bit winded from the climb), providing inclusive access to spaces throughout a historic property is a very real challenge. Here are three specific areas we’re working to address:

The historic, Shaker sidewalks that remain at Pleasant Hill are typically too narrow for wheelchairs, walkers and scooters. They can also become worn and uneven through aging, increasing the risk of slips, trips and falls.
All of the 13 buildings that contain overnight guest rooms at the property currently require guests to navigate at least one step to access.
Although there are educational exhibits in a dozen buildings at Shaker Village, only three of these buildings are accessible for guests using a wheelchair, and even in those, that access is restricted to only portions of the building.

So, how do we provide better access for guests with limited mobility, without damaging the aesthetic and historic integrity of this irreplaceable Village?

You Have to Start Somewhere

To be fair, there have been prior efforts toward accessibility at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill. There are outdoor lifts to provide access into The Trustees’ Table restaurant and to meeting spaces in the West Lot Dwelling. Public restrooms at the Village are accessible as well. The difference today is that these efforts are now part of a strategic planning process, and are being emphasized as a critical part of our site plan moving forward.

The biggest limitation to implementing plans for increased accessibility at Shaker Village is, of course, funding. Fortunately, we have been able to complete several projects through the generosity of private and corporate donors.

In 2020 the Village installed 20 outdoor, educational waystations thanks to a gift from Community Trust Bank. These waystations were placed in locations that are accessible, and have made a positive impact for those guests who are unable to navigate the multiple levels of exhibits in many of the buildings.

*Educational waystations can now be found along paths at the Village.*

Around the same time, new pathways that meet ADA standards were created near the 1820 Meeting House and through the heirloom apple orchard. These paths are part of a larger plan to connect all the major buildings at Shaker Village with ADA compliant paths and sidewalks, and were made possible by the contribution of an individual donor.

Continuing the Progress

This month, two projects are underway that will dramatically impact accessibility at two of the most important buildings at Shaker Village.

The 1815 Carpenter’s Shop serves as the Welcome Center for the Village. While a sidewalk addition in 2017 made it possible for all guests to enter the building from one side, passing through the building and into the Village has been prohibitive for guests in wheelchairs. A new, permanent ramp is being constructed that will resolve this issue.

*Once completed, this new ramp will allow all guests to pass through the Welcome Center at Shaker Village.*

The 1839 Trustees’ Office, home to The Trustees’ Table restaurant, is also seeing an upgrade to improve accessibility. A new sidewalk is currently being laid, leading to the front entrance of the building and connecting to the lift on the building’s east side. By replacing a non-historic stone path that had many bumps and divots, this sidewalk is not only ADA compliant, but much safer for all of the restaurant’s patrons.

Where Do We Go From Here

*The Shaker Village app will bring the story of Pleasant Hill to more guests with multimedia options.*

In the coming years, Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill will continue to make improvements that increase access on the property for all guests.

Here are some projects to keep an eye on in the months and years to come:

The Shaker Village App is about to go live! The App will provide an additional layer of educational information for all guests to the Village, and the multimedia content, with closed captioning, will not only provide more access for visitors with limited mobility, but also those with visual and hearing impairments.
More ADA compliant sidewalks, pathways and ramps will be built. There are still several important areas of the Village where access needs to be improved. In the coming years you’ll see work to provide this access in the East Family area of the Village, at key buildings like the Meeting House, and around trailheads and hiking trails in The Preserve.
Select guest rooms will be modified to meet ADA standards. This step will take a while, but we have our eyes on some spaces where building access and ADA compliance can be accomplished while maintaining the historic integrity of the buildings.

As with all undertakings of true value, there isn’t a shortcut to improving accessibility across a 3,000 acre historic property. Along the way there will be difficulties, and it will never move as quickly as we would like. However, Shaker Village should be a place where every single person can feel ‘kindly welcomed,’ and we are committed to living up to that standard.

If you would like to learn more about how you can support accessibility projects at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, please contact us at [email protected] or call 859.734.5411.

It Takes a Village to Sustain a Village

July 29, 2021Shaker Village

Melissa Williams, Development Coordinator

“We are so indebted to the fact that they had that foresight and that passion to do it. We’ve got to have the same foresight today, and the same sense of passion about this place in order to make sure it’s here for the next generation and the generation after that.” – Maynard Crossland, President & CEO

*Centre Family Dwelling today. A full renovation of this historic building was completed in 2019.*

This month the nonprofit organization that operates this historic site celebrates its 60^th Anniversary. As we cross this milestone, the enormity of what we have accomplished over the last six decades to preserve the site and interpret the Shakers is overwhelming. But, perhaps what makes Shaker Village most special, is what it means to each person who has visited in the last 60 years.

RECOUNTING VISITOR MEMORIES

A couple of years ago we asked our Facebook followers about their first visit to Shaker Village and we had 100+ responses. While we knew that Shaker Village was a special place, the comments confirmed that our visitors feel that way too. We were both inspired and humbled by the outpouring of love.

“My college professor took us on a field trip there and we had lunch. I was 20. I’ve been smitten with Shaker village ever since.” – Debi Cain

“I have been several times, but the best was when all our family went with our dad. He is no longer with us, but the memory is everlasting. This is a beautiful place, with rich history.” – Cindy Bates

“I was 11 when we moved here from Michigan, 1995. We visited Shaker Village and I know I loved it then. I am an annual cardholder, take my children as an adult now.” – Kenna Routt

“I believe I was about 8 or 10 years old when my parent took me. I liked it then but really grew to love it when I started coming back as an adult in my late 20s.” – Laura Hall

“I visited Shaker Village when I was around 13. My most memorable visit was Valentines Day 1985. My husband proposed that night.” – Connie Howerton

Over the years we have hosted individuals from across the country and abroad. School children have explored The Farm and the historic buildings on field trips. Families have stayed with us over the Thanksgiving holiday year after year. We’ve held events like Craft Fair, the Chamber Music Festival and Illuminated Events that have become annual traditions for many. Each visitor has a personal, unique reason that keeps them connected to the site and coming back time after time.

This week we are launching a public Tribute to Shaker Village to capture the reason(s) why you love Shaker Village and your memories of visiting over the years. Click here to visit the Tribute page and join us in celebrating this important anniversary.

PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE

The stories that you share with us highlights how important it is to be persistent in our task. As we celebrate this milestone, we are already looking ahead to the next 60 years and considering how to preserve this site for future generations.

To prepare, we are continuing to work on strengthening our business operations, which means continued improvements and innovations to the guest experience. We are currently undertaking a $2.1 million project to install 20,000 square feet of new, permanent exhibits across the site. Fundraising for this project is at about 17% of the goal, with contributions from private donors and funding through grant awards. These exhibits, and the Shaker Village App (launching soon), will provide guests with new ways to discover Shaker history. The dual approach of physical exhibits and a digital experience will also provide Shaker Village with the flexibility to adapt the guest experience over time as audience expectations continue to evolve.

The guest experience is only one of the keys to our future success. We must also continue the preservation work of the 34 historic Shaker buildings that began in the 1960s. Shaker Village takes a dual approach to this important work by committing to annual maintenance while also taking on full-scale restoration projects such as the one underway now on the 1817 East Family Dwelling. Full restoration will be needed periodically in the future as regular use of the buildings and environmental factors impact the structure.

To ensure the future of the site we are also working to build our endowment. Since 2014, we have raised $6.2 million to grow our endowment to approximately $10 million. There are several endowment funds, including one dedicated to building maintenance and preservation, that will provide operational income in the future. These endowment funds are critical to ensuring a strong financial future.

HELP SUPPORT THE NEXT 60 YEARS

If we can learn one thing from the community leaders who helped form Shakertown in the 1960s, it is that we should remain undaunted by the task of preserving this site for future generations. They succeeded in saving the 34 historic buildings that remain at Shaker Village today and they succeeded in drawing an audience who fell in love with and understood the specialness of Pleasant Hill.

*A clipping from “The Harrodsburg Herald” announcing the opening of three buildings in Shakertown, and an open house celebration.*

You can help support Shaker Village’s next 60 years!

Come and visit us! Participate in the Daily Programs, dine at The Trustees’ Table, and stay overnight in one of our 72 hotel rooms.
Hike or Ride on the trails. We have nearly 37-miles of multi-use trails that run through our stunning nature preserve. The summer and fall are great times to explore the natural habitat.
Bring a friend with you! Or tell a friend about the experience you had when you visited.
Purchase an Annual Pass. We offer three types of passes which provide you with special benefits and your passholder fees directly support our programming, historic preservation, The Preserve and more.
Donate. A gift of any size will support Shaker Village today and help us build a bright future.
Consider a donation to the Endowment. Your gift today, or through a planned estate gift, carries your love for Shaker Village and your concern for the site forward into the future to ensure Shaker Village is here for the next generation and the generation after that.