Nearing Homestead Open House - August 30th
On Monday, August 30 at 6:30 p.m., The Good Life Center invites admirers, friends and neighbors of Helen and Scott Nearing to the Nearing Homestead at Forest Farm for an Open House. This will be the final Monday Night Meeting of the 2010 summer season. A snack of watermelon will be provided. Donations are appreciated. Members of the board of directors, the Forest Farm manager, garden interns, the arborist who cares for the trees, the carpenter who designed and built the new information kiosk, and volunteers will be on hand to welcome visitors.
During the past year, The Good Life Center board and volunteers have made substantial progress toward restoring the beautiful hand-built stone buildings, stone walled garden, and grounds to their condition and appearance when Helen Nearing was last in residence in 1995. Outside projects have included exterior site work to improve drainage around the house, tree work to remove hazardous trees and limbs and thinning to allow air and light to reach the buildings, clearing shrub over- growth to restore drives and pathways, restoration pruning of the Nearing’s small apple orchard, restoring the garden to its original footprint, and moving Scott’s compost bins to their original location near the greenhouse. Following the advice of professional conservator Ron Harvey of Tuckerbrook Conservation and a State of Maine environmental engineer, dehumidifiers and fans installed in the house have reduced humidity and reestablished a healthy indoor environment. The house received a thorough cleaning, window wells and gutters were installed on the exterior, and the Nearings’ welcoming blue screen door was repaired and painted. Moldy drywall partitions in the garage/workshop were removed by professionals and tests confirmed restoration of a healthy environment.
The vegetable garden is thriving under the loving care of two part-time garden interns, and the plentiful produce is gathered each Wednesday and donated to the Tree of Life Food Pantry in Blue Hill. It is once again planted in the manner of the Nearings (weeds and grass take note - you are not welcome within the garden walls!) A grape arbor damaging the garden’s stone wall was removed and the wall repointed by a stone mason.
Restoration of the garden and buildings at Forest Farm is continuing, and a fund has recently been established for the conservation and preservation of their extensive library of books. Donations are appreciated and needed. For more information, phone The Good Life Center, 207-326-8211 or visit www.goodlife.org.
Summer visiting hours continue on Thursday through Monday, 1-4 p.m., closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays, until Labor Day, and we will be open weekends in September. Visitors can see the beautiful stone home, stone greenhouse, and stonewalled garden— hand-built in the early 1980’s by Scott in his 90’s and Helen in her 70’s. A short film about them is shown, gardeners and volunteers will answer questions, and Nearing books are available for purchase. Visitors are welcome to bring a picnic lunch and enjoy the view of the Camden Hills.
Posted by JoanC | July 23, 2010
Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »
The Annotated Good Life - Monday Night Meeting 2010
Our first Monday Night Meeting will be held on Monday, August 9th at 7 pm at the Good Life Center in Harborside. Steward Greg Joly will explore the Nearing’s seminal book, Living the Good Life, through his research into its bibliography and footnotes. The Nearings wrote an eminently practical book, but the subtext, found in their footnotes and bibliography, point to a much more radical underpinning to their thoughts, deeds and ideals. Whether it be “the frugivorous nature of man” and the social consequences thereof, or the method of slip-form stonework construction, Joly’s research will help the reader, whether newcomer or old friend, more deeply appreciate the Nearing’s depth of studied inquisitiveness and intellectual rigor.
Posted by JoanC | July 11, 2010
Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Good Life Center Summer Hours 2010
The Good Life Center at Forest Farm in Harborside will be open for guided summer tours beginning in June. Regular hours each week will be from 1 pm to 4 pm in the afternoon on Thursday through Monday, we are closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The Center will remain open through Labor Day. As always, you can call or email us to arrange a visit at times other than our regular hours. We look forward to seeing you at Forest Farm. The gardens look lovely and the view out over Penobscot Bay to the Camden Hills is spectacular!
Posted by JoanC | March 2, 2010
Topics: Forest Farm Updates | No Comments »
Nearings featured in Vermont Folklife Center Talks
This past summer the Vermont Folklife Center featured a series of three talks on Helen and Scott Nearing. You can hear the talks in podcast format by going to the Vermont Folklife Center website: vermontfolklifecenter.org. Once at the homepage, look for the Multimedia heading on the right hand side of the page (in blue and you may have to scroll down) and click on Podcasts. The Vision and Voice Documentary page then displays and you can select the talk you wish to listen to by clicking on the green link under the talk title. I can personally recommend all three talks. You will not be disappointed!
Posted by JoanC | November 20, 2009
Topics: Forest Farm Updates | Comments Off
August Monday Night Meetings
August 10th, 2009
Larry Dansinger - Consensus and Conscious Communications in Our Daily Lives
Mr. Dansinger’s interactive program will examine consensus as a process for discussion and decision making. Larry has given workshops on consensus since 1980, been a member of the Good Life Center’s Group of Stewards, and worked with Helen Nearing to organize several programs on simple living. He lives in Monroe, Maine and works with the nonprofit Resources for Organizing and Social Change to promote nonviolent action and community organizing throughout Maine.
August 24th, 2009
Live Simply and Pay As You Go: Simplicity and Frugality as a State of Mind
A panel, including Beedy Parker, Joan Cheetham, and Emilie Hermans, will offer personal experiences, insights, and tips based on two Nearing precepts: Live Simply that Others May Live (Helen) and Pay As You Go (Scott). The Nearings’ message is more pertinent than ever in these times of economic crisis, global warming, and increasing pressure on the world’s shrinking resources.
Posted by JoanC | August 3, 2009
Topics: Monday Night Meetings | Comments Off
Nearing Events in Vermont - Summer, 2009
The Vermont Folklife Center in Middlebury, Vermont is offering four intriguing Nearing programs this July and August. The following three talks will be held at the Folklife Center at 88 Main St., Middlebury, Vermont at 7 pm.
Thursday, July 23rd - Rebecca Gould’s talk is entitled “Sacred Natures: The Nearings, Homesteading, Localvores and the Way Ahead.”
Thursday, July 30th - Elka Schumann will offer “A Granddaughter’s Recollections.”
Thursday, August 6th - Greg Joly will reflect on “Scott and Helen Nearing, Pikes Falls, Vermont and Social Pioneering.”
To conclude the series on Sunday, August 9th (3 to 6 pm) the Folklife Center will sponser the First Forest Farm Open House at Upper Taylor Hill Road in Winhall, Vermont! Greg Joly will give a talk on the history of the Nearing Vermont time and the Forest Farm buildings. It will be a potluck gathering, so please bring a vegetarian dish to share. Music will be provided by Jessie Lepkoff. For more information on this open house call Darlene Palola at 802-297-2810.
Visit the Vermont Folklife Center’s website at www.vermontfolklifecenter.org
Posted by JoanC | July 22, 2009
Topics: Forest Farm Updates | Comments Off
Monday Night Meetings - Summer 2009
The Nearing tradition of Monday Night Meetings will continue with three programs at the Reversing Falls Sanctuary in West Brooksville. The dates are July 20th, and August 10th and 24th. Programs begin at 6:30, desserts will be served, and all are welcome. Donations are appreciated.
July 20 Richard Garrett - Nearing Photographer and Documentary Linguist
Mr. Garrett will present a slide show of Nearing images dating to 1970 and featuring photographs from their out-of-print Stone Greenhouse book and images chronicling the construction of their last hand-built stone home in Harborside. He will read from correspondence covering his twenty-five year relationship with Helen and Scott. The second half of Garrett’s program will focus on his documentary linguistic work with the Penobscot Native Americans in Maine. Garrett lives in Wellington, Maine and is a founding Steward of the Good Life Center.
Posted by JoanC | June 30, 2009
Topics: Uncategorized | Comments Off
« Previous Entries