Paul and I couldn't have felt more at home when we visited my best-est Wellesley friend, Andy Eusden and her husband Charlie Armstrong in Auburn, Maine. This was Paul's first visit so he got the farm tour - outbuildings and a greenhouse with cistern that Charlie built for his many forms of agriculture - vegetable garden, flowers (oh those dahlias!) chickens, orchard, beehives, large fruit orchard, berry bushes and a large maple syrup production system.
We ate some great meals, slept in a cabin on the property, and indulged our hobbies. Andy and I joined her watercolor group for some painting time and Paul and Charlie had a very successful fishing trip on the Androscoggin River. We're beginning to plan for a fishing (and other things) trip together.
This front porch, overlooking an incredible mountain and sunset view was where we ate dinner and had some drinks.
I had been reading about the Shiloh community, an early 20th century Christian cult founded by Frank Sandford. My grandfather's friend, Arnold White, was raised in this cult community. After the "scattering" of the congregation (when Sandford was in prison for manslaughter) Arnold carried on with his life outside the cult and then made it a sort of personal mission to report on the leader's abuse of his members. Arnold wrote a book called "The Almighty and Us" which I have been reading. Andy and Charlie's home is very close to Durham where Shiloh was located so Andy and I hunted for the site. I expected to find ruins, at best, but look what we found! I have heard about Shiloh since I was a girl, but I had no idea that the building was still in existence. Note the metal crown on the tower. Two large building wings, mostly residence space, I think, were removed, as well as a large chapel and other buildings. The church building is now occupied by a Baptist congregation, and the son of the minister let me inside to see the chapel and other first floor church spaces. This Baptist church maintains information on the building's role in Shiloh's history. A group remained of the Shiloh followers and is still in existence, now calling itself The Kingdom. Here is a link to Kingdom Christian Ministries.
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