Radio announcers always introduce the song with the description: "A Shaker Tune." This is followed by the familiar "'Tis a gift to be simple ‹ 'Tis a gift to be freeŠ." Aaron Copland incorporated the melody into his work as did other American composers. Who or what are the Shakers and how did this melody work its way into the American songbook?

Donna Young performs Shaker hymns in the Meeting House of the Pleasant Hill, Kentucky community.
There are times when we're nostalgic for a simpler past. The Shakers lived that life at a small enclave in central Kentucky called Pleasant Hill. The Shakers were a communal religious group that, at one time, numbered 19 such villages scattered through New England, New York, Ohio and Kentucky. One group migrated west in the early 1800's and formed the village of Pleasant Hill. The formal name for the Shakers is "The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing." The Shakers formed in England under the leadership of a woman, Ann Lees, who arrived in America with eight other dedicated members in 1774. The term "Shaker" was applied to the group because of the intensity of their worship which involved dance, song and movement. Unlike other, more staid Protestant practices which glued parishioners to their pews, Shakers moved about as their spirits dictated, occasionally "shaking" with religious fervor.

The Shaker communities were organized in "families." They practiced strict celibacy and, though they lived in communal "family" houses, men and women used different entry doors and staircases and slept on opposite sides of a long hall. Additional members were brought into the community on a voluntary basis as long as they agreed to accept the principles of the sect. Orphans, widows, single men and whole families joined Shaker Villages. As children reached 21, they were given the option of signing the covenant and remaining in the village or going out into the "world." Most left and the membership dwindled over the years.

The Shaker philosophy was clearly defined. Their motto was "Hands to work, Hearts to God." Men and women were equal since they were all created by God. Villages contained both black and white members. Many of the blacks had entered the community as slaves of white converts. Because of Shaker principles, it was necessary for new members to divest themselves of all worldly goods including the slaves who were then given the option of becoming full members.

Pleasant Hill was organized by three evangelizing missionaries sent by New York Shakers in 1805. By the 1830's, Pleasant Hill membership consisted of about 490 Shakers but their numbers began to decline after the Civil War and finally, in 1910, the covenant was officially dissolved. Its rich farmland was sold and the buildings were turned to other uses. It had amassed 4,500 acres during its century of existence. The last member of the Pleasant Hill society, Mary Settles, died in 1923.

One Shaker community, numbering only four very old women still exists in Maine. Otherwise, they are no more.

Then, in 1961, a group of preservationists and historians decided that the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill should be restored as a tribute to the hardy people who lived and worked there. They began to reacquire the Shaker land. The end result, which was supervised by James Cogar and the same team which restored Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia, is a vibrant functioning overview of Shaker history.

There were as many as 270 buildings at Pleasant Hill including barns, privies and other workshops. The main structures in the complex have been renovated and rebuilt to their original design. Many are made from locally quarried stone. Others are wood-sided, but have been maintained to the highest Shaker standards. The settlement now has 81 air conditioned guest rooms in 15 of the restored buildings, all furnished in authentic Shaker style. The entire village is a National Historic Landmark.

The Shaker philosophy was very much oriented toward work. They believe that striving for perfection was a Godly goal and the merchandise they produced is still admired for its simplicity of design as well as for the quality of their workmanship. The Shakers were best known for the products they manufactured. They developed the machinery to produce flat brooms. Until this invention, brooms were round (think about the brooms in pictures of nursery rhymes) and with a flat broom, held together by strong flax or wire, a much larger surface could be swept with the same effort. In fact, 90-year-old Nooe Long has been making brooms at Pleasant Hill for the past 22 years. He can still make a broom by hand in about a half hour, though he explained that when there are visitors, it might take as long as an hour once he starts talking about his life and the product.

Shakers developed such common items as the circular saw, the apple peeler and a large commercial sized washing machine. One product for which they were best known to the "world" was packaged garden seed ‹ the same sort we buy today at a home center. Their seeds proved very reliable and Shaker seeds were much sought after throughout the growing American farm economy. The Shakers were not, however, a separatist cult. They were very much a part of the world around them. They adapted machinery that would help them produce their goods better and cheaper and would welcome people from the "world" whenever they came into their Villages. During the Civil War, though pacifist and abolitionist by nature, the Shakers welcomed and fed troops who happened by.

Pleasant Hill offers visitors the opportunity of touring the "family" houses that have been carefully restored. Costumed interpreters are always on hand to answer questions.

One of the Shaker trademarks involved placing pegs on a rail well over the floor. When chairs or other items of furniture were not needed, they would be hung on these pegs ‹ upside down to keep dust off the seats ‹ and to permit floor sweeping with ease. In some of the artisan's houses, craftsmen like Nooe work on Shaker objects and explain them to visitors. Lawrence Lay has spent the last 16 years as a woodworker. He carefully hand crafts wooden boxes that are exquisitely simple and beautifully formed.

In the wash house, Lillian Young explains the process by which soap was manufactured and clothes were washed. In the cooper shop, Mark Ross, who began his working career as an Information Technologist, now hand crafts buckets and wooden planters which are sealed with metal bands and made from carefully cut staves.

The 40 room Central Family House, which housed as many as 100 people has been restored to show how the Shakers lived. Their every day lives were ordered by work, but they also enjoyed such creature comforts as were available in those years. The kitchen is a model of efficiency, the dining room ‹ with separate tables for men and women ‹ fed the group in three seatings. The meeting house was the religious center of the Village. On the main level of this building is a room roughly 60 by 45 feet with no columns to obstruct the view of the speaker and plenty of room to allow for dancing. The walls have no adornment. It is ultimately simple.

Four times during the day, a large bell attracts visitors to the meeting house where Donna Phillips, who is the coordinator of music programming, conducts a program on the background of Shaker religious rites and music. Donna has been at Pleasant Hill for six years and holds degrees in music education and performance. She explains how the Shaker music evolved and, as she sings the songs, visitors who are seated on hard wooden benches begin to understand the intensity of the Shaker experience. As Donna twirls and bows through the songs, the words take on a special meaning. Finally, to conclude the program, Donna sings the 1848 melody written by a Shaker, "Simple Gifts." It's then that you can understand what the words really mean:

"When true simplicity is gained,
To bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed.
To turn, turn will be our delight,
'Til by turning, turning, we come around right."
There is a continuing archaeological project at Pleasant Hill involving students and faculty from the nearby University of Kentucky. Pot shards and glass jars are uncovered regularly. Clothing scraps and woven pieces also have survived the years since they were discarded. A Pleasant Hill experience extends to the dining room where Shaker recipes, and in some cases Shaker foods like salsify are served, family style, by costumed waitresses. Breakfast includes steaming hot pumpkin muffins and a dinner entrée might be a home style pot roast. These dishes are interspersed with some Southern fare ‹ biscuits and gravy, grits and sausages. There are always fresh and poached fruits available. Processed fruit is another Shaker trademark product. They were among the first to can their fruits and vegetables and offer their produce in glass jars and later, in tin cans, for sale to the expanding markets of the Midwest and Eastern U.S.

Reaching Pleasant Hill is not difficult. It's an easy drive through the gently rolling countryside of Kentucky with it's green fields and white horse farm fences. Or you can fly into Lexington and, by special arrangement and at an additional charge, have a Pleasant Hill car pick you up and drive you into a simpler time. A two night stay, including meals and Village admission is only $190 per person double occupancy. A Pleasant Hill experience gives a family an opportunity to flee the tumult of the city for a different time and for a different life style. There's a certain comfort in knowing that there was a time and place when people actually believed and practiced the words of the song:

"'Tis the gift to have friends and a true friend to be.
'Tis the gift to think of others and not to only think of 'me'
And when we hear what others really think and really feel,
Then we'll all live together with a love that is real."
Resources: Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill: 800-734-5611 or www.shakervillageky.org

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