Our kids went to summer camp a mile from the Hancock Shaker Village in western MA. (In fact, the Shakers harvested ice for their in-ground ice house -- from the pond where the camp is/was.
We visited the village several times a year. I particularly admired their 3-level barn -- set into a hillside:
Top level: wagons brought fodder in from the fields
Mid-level: the cows fed on the fodder which dropped down through the center.
Bottom Level: Wagons loaded up the manure that dropped down from the mid-level -- and hauled it back out to re-fertilize the fields...
~~~~~~~~~~~~
In many, many ways, the Shakers were admirably clever; too bad they allowed that gene pool to run dry...
I visited that Shaker Village too-——and bought a shaker box,of course.
A beautiful place and the barn IS incredible.
I also have coffee table book about the place.
,
No disagreement as to the end result, I just want to emphasize that the author of the article hates himself and humankind. The Shakers were motivated by the opposite emotion.
"In many, many ways, the Shakers were admirably clever; too bad they allowed that gene pool to run dry... "
Incredibly clever. Did you know that Shakers invented the broom?? Or at least the modern broom?? It was the Shakers who first stitched across the broom straw to generate the flat/wide shape that is ubiquitous today. Prior to that, the broom's straw section was round (aka "witches" broom). All so they would spend a few seconds less time sweeping floors. The same attention to detail extended to EVERYTHING in their lives.