A Fresh Start (Every Six Weeks)

Posted on April 29, 2009 in Content Marketing, by Lena Anthony

This week, I cleaned off my desk, read all the mail I’ve gotten recently and started responding to all the query e-mails I’ve received from freelancers and publicists over the past six weeks. I’m not proud to say that these things don’t happen on a regular basis, but that’s the reality of my job.

It’s so fast-paced sometimes around here that I can’t seem to make time for the little things like this—and so when I do, it genuinely feels like a new beginning.

And I love new beginnings, so this is probably the way it’s going to stay!

May/June American Spirit Salutes the Shakers (and Tests Some DNA)

Posted on in Magazines, by Jamie Roberts

We’re Shaker crazy here at Hammock. Not only does the May/June issue of American Spirit feature a cover story on the restoration of the Mount Lebanon Shaker Village in New Lebanon, N.Y., but Jamie recently paid a visit to the beautifully restored Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill. (Read about her trek to Kentucky here.)

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May/June Semper Fi Hears From the Marine Corps Commandant

Posted on in Magazines, by Bill Hudgins

General James T. Conway, 34th Commandant of the US Marine Corps, leads the May/June issue of Semper Fi, which we publish for the Marine Corps League. In an exclusive interview in late March with Semper Fi contributor Otto Kreisher, General Conway presented a frank assessment of the state of the Corps as it winds down its presence in Iraq and moves in greater numbers into Afghanistan as part of the Long War on Terror.

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All Well and Good

Posted on April 28, 2009 in Editorial, by Bill Hudgins

Recently a wine-buff friend of mine poured a glass of pricey Bordeaux for me. “How about that aroma?” he asked. I had to confess to him that my sense of smell has deteriorated a lot. “I usually smell good, but I don’t smell well,” I quipped.

Few pairs of words get more groans from us grammar hair-dividers than “well” and “good.” Above, “good” describes me, while “well” describes my olfactory prowess. Each word can be either a noun or an interjection without any confusion; “well” can also be either an adjective or an adverb, while “good” can serve as an adjective.
And this is where the debate starts.

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Bringing the Shakers Back to Life

Posted on April 24, 2009 in Content Marketing, by Jamie Roberts

I first heard about the Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill near Lexington when American Spirit featured Kentucky in its travel section a few years ago. With the Shakers as the cover story of our May/June issue, I decided it was time to pay a visit to America’s largest restored Shaker community for a firsthand look at a utopian way of life.

The Shakers lived by the saying, “Hands to work, hearts to God.” But as one of Pleasant Hill’s costumed guides remarked, their motto also could have been: “Work smarter, not harder.” Many of the artifacts on display in the living history museum (made up of 34 restored buildings in the middle of 3,000 acres of farmland) were labor-saving devices, which the Shakers did not patent, freely sharing with the world. (Although their claims to be inventors of the clothespin and circular saw are unlikely, their dumbwaiters and flat brooms and kitchen gadgets were models of efficiency.) Even some Shaker barns were built on slopes so that hay could be pitched downward instead of upward. Smart choice if you’ve ever shoveled out a barn!

The goods they sold to the “outside world,” from packaged seeds to classic furniture, were known for their reliability and craftsmanship. However … even though there’s evidence that their formula for house paint lasted more than 100 years, I’m not sure I’d like the idea of pulverized brick mixed with animal blood slathered on my walls.

Pleasant Hill does a great job bringing the Shakers’ principles to vivid life. I was mesmerized by craftspeople demonstrating Shaker techniques, from woodworking to spinning and weaving to broom making. (Tip: always hang your broom so the bristles don’t get bent.) And the village farm, with its heirloom vegetables and historic animal breeds, offered a hands-on look at the importance of agriculture to the Shakers. Actually, the farm might have been my favorite part of the community: I loved that Percheron horses are still used to till the gardens, English sheep are still shorn for their wool and Dominique chickens provide the eggs served at the Inn’s dining room. (Ok, it made me laugh, but I didn’t exactly love that one of the wily goats grabbed and ate half my map.)

Pay the Shaker community a visit if you’re ever up in bluegrass country. And be a pal and bring me back some homemade corn sticks and Shaker lemon pie.