Richard

Posts tagged with "New Harmony"

Morning in New Harmony

Sunday, 25. January 2009, 16:42:48

It's a cold, gray, overcast morning here in New Harmony right now - at about 10:30 a.m.

Much earlier though, I dragged myself out of bed and into an even colder morning down by the banks of the Wabash River.

It was worth it. Although I lost my first lens cap in about 10 years on a ploughed and frozen field.

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Evening at New Harmony

Sunday, 25. January 2009, 00:42:24

sunset, Indiana, twilight, pond ...

My son and I are enjoying a night in New Harmony, Indiana as a one night winter retreat. This means walking round the pond and watching Dr. Who videos.

Perfect.

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Verse 8

Wednesday, 1. October 2008, 01:47:52

The Lady of Shalott, poetry, Tennyson, New Harmony ...

But in her web she still delights
To weave the mirror's magic sights,
For often through the silent nights
A funeral, with plumes and lights
And music, went to Camelot;
Or when the Moon was overhead,
Came two young lovers lately wed.
"I am half sick of shadows," said
The Lady of Shalott.

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New Harmony at the beginning of March (continued)

Tuesday, 4. March 2008, 23:45:42

photography, Jacques Lipchitz, The Roofless Church, The Atheneum ...

The sun rose at 6:21 a.m. and I missed it. I was up early enough to catch a pretty cloud display, though. As I stood watching it, I realized, much to my astonishment, that it really was not very cold. This was a very pleasant discovery, that only improved as the morning wore on and it got warmer and warmer.

I walked back towards the New Harmony Inn, observing a lot of standing water left over from some recent flooding. All ice free, though. The flat land leading down from The Roofless Church towards the river was brown with mud.

Time for a breakfast interlude with my son, a very delicious omelette in the Red Geranium restaurant. After, I headed out again towards The Roofless Church

The Roofless Church is one of the two most extraordinary buildings in New Harmony. A high, slightly convolved, wooden cone shields a statue that is placed where the altar might be in a more conventional church. Otherwise, the church is completely open to the sky. For an event, a wedding for example, wooden seats are brought in and arranged in conventional rows facing the altar, but usually there are no seats at all apart from a few benches situated towards the sides to the church.

The altar statue, made by by sculptor Jacques Lipchitz is of a striking, womb-like, design that does not resemble the conventional altar cross at all. The church is maintained by the Episcopal Church but does not seem especially Christian. I sense more than a little Asian and even a some pagan religious influence at work here, despite its title - The Descent of the Holy Spirit.

From the church I walked west towards the other clearly striking building in New Harmony, the Visitor's Center or Atheneum.

Blazing white in the morning sun, this extraordinary building looks as if it just touched down from some other world.

Settled on a ridge just above the river's edge flood zone - again coated with water and mud - and next door to a sleepy midwestern town, I half expect aliens to walk out of it seeking a leader to be taken to.

The building itself was closed, not opening until spring. Inside is a reception desk and souvenir shop such as you might find anywhere, and that evaporates a little of the magic. I have always wanted to roam the stairs and walkways but they are usually, as indeed they were on this Sunday, off-limits.

I strolled away from the building along the path that leads to the river's edge, coating my shoes in that same Wabash mud, and paused to enjoy the river gurgling along past the bridge. It makes a lot of noise, swirling around the supports, and it led me to think there were cars going over, rattling the superstructure. But there were none.

I hope the bridge gets repaired soon. The road leading to it from the Illinois side of the river is very pretty, and the bridge itself - only a two lane structure - is a treat to cross.

Sometime, I'm sure. I splashed back towards the Visitor's Center and then onto the marble maze that lies very close to that building.

The path in - and out - takes you over the entire surface of the circular design, and there is always a very strong sense of peacefulness and satisfaction after making the journey.

Adjacent to the maze are the burial grounds for members of the Utopian community that founded New Harmony in the 19th century. A walled area with no grave markers, it, too, has a sense of deep spirituality.

I could have spent literally hours in any of these places in quiet contemplation, and I regretted that we had to leave after just the one night, but so it goes.

It was getting close to check-out time, so back to the New Harmony Inn, past some reconstructed wood cabins in the style of the earliest settlers.

I made it back to the room just in time; I had thought check-out time was noon when it was in fact 11 a.m. My son and I rapidly packed our bags (leaving behind a good number of things that we had to retrieve later), and then decided to spend a little more time in the village.

The maze could not be passed up - my son made the journey outward but crossed the lines to return. That is also a curiously freeing thing to do.

We finished our time in New Harmony by sitting in The Roofless Church. Half an hour or so of contemplation on a, by now, very warm day.

A very restorative trip, succinctly summed up by this quote from Beethoven, carved in wood and displayed on one of the many woodland paths.

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New Harmony at the beginning of March

Tuesday, 4. March 2008, 03:28:32

photography, sunrise, Wabash River, New Harmony ...

Sometimes a strong urge for a little spiritual renewal comes upon me. Something I find in nature, particularly woods and sea, but also in certain specific places. One of these is the village of New Harmony on the Illinois-Indiana border almost directly due east from St. Louis.

Unfortunately, my wife had to work on Sunday, so I took my son and myself off to the New Harmony Inn for an overnight stay.

The weather was spectacular. Sunny, bright and warm. (Contrast this with today and below freezing temperatures and 6 inches of snow forcast tomorrow!) The drive took two hours, and met a hiccup when we found that the main bridge into town was closed.

So we were forced to divert onto the I-64 bridge over the Wabash River and head down south into the village. Not really very far out of our way, and we got to see a little more of Indiana than we normally do.

We arrived at about 3:30 p.m., checked-in (straightening out a misunderstanding about our booking in the process and getting a couple of vouchers for free breakfast in The Red Geranium restaurant the following morning in the process), and found our room. My son settled into watching a Dr. Who video that we had brought with us while I wandered out into the garden.

There were many changes since I had last been there, about four or five years ago.

Several new statues in the garden, including an iron silhouette of a monk and birds and an angel settling on the shoulder of an old man.

That one was a little spooky.

I walked the circuit of the lake path, taking in the fields that led down to the Wabash River, and the small wood that adjoined the lake, pausing to gaze at the little waterfall that led into the pond.

That was just as I remembered it.

I crossed over the tiny copse that comprised the Paul Tillich Park. This gave me an opportunity to photograph the bust of Tillich that lies at the end of the path leading into the small wood. (Later I added it to the Wikipedia page on Tillich - one of the more contentious entries in the encyclopedia judging by the flags and reams of discussion!)

It always amuses me how much time and effort is spent arguing over theology, considering the sublect dwells so much on the unknowable.

I went back to the room with a swim in the pool in mind, only to realise that we had both left our swimming trunks behind. So we drove off the Evansville and a local Walmart, taking advantage of the journey to pick up a couple of Subway sandwiches for supper. Those, more Dr. Who, a brief swim before the pool was invaded by a crowd of beer-swilling teenagers, and a finally walk around the pond at night.

A clear sky filled with all the stars you cannot see from light-drenched St. Louis.

Across the lake, a light illuminated a small white chapel, casting a shadow of a cross and reflecting into the water. Quite a different atmosphere from the noisy pool, much more of what I had come for.

Back to the room and yet more Dr. Who before bed and a wonderfully peaceful sleep.

I woke up before dawn, and decided it would be fun to watch the sun rise by the Wabash River. So I gathered myself and my camera down to the riverside to see the day's beginning.