Day 36 of #BoxsterRoadTrip took Jo on a trip down Memory Lane from Schenectady, New York to Pittsfield, Massachusetts (and on to Great Barrington, MA).
We started the day with Starbucks to get our hearts started and then a trip from Schenectady to the Hancock Shaker Village. The visit was special for a number of reasons. First, the Shaker Village is fascinating because of it’s simplicity and beauty. The buildings are amazingly well built and the furniture (for which the Shaker’s are known) is classic. Also, if you don’t know about the Shaker religion, it is a very interesting faith to learn about (and almost extinct).
Then there is the famous Shaker Round Barn. A visit to this village should be on everyone’s bucket list.
But the Hancock Shaker Village holds a special place for Jo because her maternal Grandmother (Irene Dallmeyer) worked for the Shakers during the Great Depression, tending their apple orchard. She did the work in exchange for 50% of the crop. She used those apples to make (hard) apple cider, which she would then sell to help to support her family. It was special to see the apple orchard that Grandma tended.
After leaving the Hancock Shaker Village, we drove to Pontoosuc Lake and then by the house where Jo’s Dad grew up. The woman who currently owns the home came out to ask why we were taking pictures of her home and then told us that Jean (across the street) remembers Jo’s Grandmother Leah. Amazing! And another great memory to tuck away.
The last stop was to visit Jo’s cousin Mabel, who lives next door to the house where Jo’s Mom grew up. Mabel has done a magnificent job of putting together the family genealogy and she has graciously shared her work with Jo. We had a great visit with Mabel, went next door and took pictures of the house where Jo’s Mom grew up (this time no one caught us!). We then headed to Great Barrington, where we are spending two nights at a Marriott Fairfield Inn (our first hotel stay on this trip). Tomorrow we will sleep late (yeah) and it will be a lazy day. Even so . . .
The journey continues . . .