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Welcome to Quarry Hill's Blog!

Quarry Hill Creative Center in Rochester, VT, founded 1946 by Barbara and Irving Fiske, is Vermont's oldest alternative community and at one time was probably also its largest. In the 60s -80s, as many as 90 people lived here.
It was and is visited each year, often in summer (but in every season, really) by visitors from all over the world.
We welcome interesting and creative people who are peaceful, bring no weapons, don't believe in hitting children or killing animals, and enjoy the beauty of Vermont and of themselves.

Most of us do not adhere to any particular dogma or religion, though many do find Eastern philosophy closest to our own thought (some of us are also members of the Quakers/Society of Friends).
We value the individual, particularly people who are energetic and have a sense of humor.
Visitors are welcome-- and prospective residents, too. There are some places for rent, others for sale. If interested, get in touch!
And, please follow the Blog and comment whenever you like!

"The symbol is the enemy of the reality, and the reality is ever one's true guide, true friend, true companion, and true self." Irving Fiske, 1908-1990

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Quarry Hill then, now and always.

I have been baffled and distressed over the lsat few days by a posting on Amazon.com by one of the "kids" who grew up here, saying some things about me that were absolutely untrue and completely unkind. Quarry Hill was never a conventional place, but we did our best to watch, guard, love and protect our children. (From this boy's point of view, this is "delusional." I do not believe that all the QH kids feel negative towards the place, as they come back each year for a big, happy party/reunion around the time of my daughter's birthday. And everyone, including that person, has always been welcome. I believe that most people who grew up here knew we were doing the best we could to keep things happy and safe for them. Why would we have rules saying "no hitting the kids" if we believed in abusing them in other ways, or in ANY way? I am not sure who's being delusional here. If there are those who grew up here and would like to make a statement -- I hope in favor of QH-- please, do so. It would help. Or make it at Amazon.com where that person's movie is reviewed. I think you all know which one I mean. It's just that I could not agree that it was anything like QH. I made no personal attack, but the filmmaker did-- in spades. He then after that took the remark down, but not before many people, probably, read it. I would be most grateful for anyone who feels able to, speaking up and saying something nice about the place. YOU KNOW we tried all we could to make it a fun and loving place for kids. It wss not always possible to make it perfect... and seems to me that some people are not satisfied with anything less than perfection. Whenever I heard of a child not being treated well, I intervened, and everyone knows this is true. So, I hope we will have another pleasant gathering this summer, But I would like to ask-- please, don't come if you think the place is "bad." What's the point?

1 comment:

  1. But with or without the approval of anyone, the land is still here, the brook flows, the trees grow. The daffodils are coming up. All these things are peace itself.

    ReplyDelete