Alfred Shaker Museum

118 Shaker Hill Road, Alfred, Maine

Category: Student Essays

News from the Museum

By

On April 15, 2022

In Announcements, Apple Fest, Classes and Workshops, Events, Music Festival, Speakers' Series, Student Essays

Alfred Shaker Museum has an exciting season ahead with many of our past programs back on the schedule. As in past years, the museum will be open on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons from 1:00-4:00 PM.

Events will start with our Opening Day on May 7. Opening day plans include presenting our student essay contest prize after the winner reads the essay that won. Some treats will later be offered.

Our Emery Memorial Forum will launch this year on Sunday, May 22, when Hillary Zayed describes her long road to recovery after a horseback riding accident. Zayed has many surprising insights into her experience.

There will be a Simple Gifts Music Festival in July. The date is TBD.

One Sunday, August 14, Bob Greene will discuss Black history in Maine.

On Wednesday, September 21, Don Roy will talk about his own history with Franco-American music. Roy has won many fiddling honors and once was named one of New England’s top three fiddlers. Read about his remarkable career at donroyon-line.com.

FASM also aims to hold its Simple Gifts concert in July and Apple Festival in September. Watch our website for details.

Crafts Workshops for the 2022 Season

Student Essay Contest Entries are Now Closed

By

On March 12, 2022

In Announcements, Contests, Student Essays

The 2022 edition of the Student Essay Contest is now closed for entries. Judging will begin shortly.

Winners will be announced at the Museum’s opening day in the spring.

The 2022 Student Essay Contest is Open for Entries

By

On February 6, 2022

In Announcements, Contests, History, Student Essays

Alfred Shaker Museum Essay Contest

Write On and Win!

The Friends of the Alfred Shaker Museum (FASM) announce our eleventh essay contest for students in Grades 7 & 8. Two prizes of $125 and $75 will be awarded at the discretion of the judges.

Essays

Choose one topic from the list below. The essay should be 1,000-1,200 words and qualify as non-fiction. References should be sourced scrupulously at the end of the paper. Pictures may be included, but photos or artwork from the internet must be used only with permission from the webmaster. A paper submitted must “stand by itself” — that is, without the photos or art. If possible, plese submit your essay in Microsoft Word format, with one-inch margins and 12-point Times Roman font.

On the cover sheet, list your name, address, phone number, and email address (if any), your school’s name (or state where home schooled), grade level, and title.

Submit entries at our website at www.alfredshakermuseum.org, by March 10, 2022 at 5 p.m. All papers become the property of FASM; we will archive them and may publish them.

Winners will be announced in early or mid-April, and awards presented soon thereafter at a public event. Judges’ criteria include originality, creativity, content, range of sources, adherence to instructions, spelling, and grammar. You may use our museum’s library to research your topic — if you make an appointment to do so — by calling Mary Lee Dunn Maguire at 324-7088, or by emailing her at maryldunn@aol.com.

Choose one of the following topics as your essay subject:

  • Profile one of these Alfred Shakers: Joseph Buzzell, Frank Libby, John Vance, Joseph Brackett, Henry Green, Mildred Barker, Harriet Coolbroth.
  • What is the legacy of Alfred’s Shaker community?
  • What is the Shaker contribution to the town of Alfred?
  • What caused the decline of the Shakers in Alfred and elsewhere?
  • What is the relationship between Alfred’s and Sabbathday Lake’s Shakers?
  • Dining with the Shakers
  • What does FASM’s mural or our Alfred Shaker history on video tell us?
  • How the Shakers earned a living in Alfred

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén