Our trees are especially verdant this time of year as they invite us into their bosky shade. Like a temple’s threshold guardian, a majestic Eastern White Pine towers above our meditation garden. Tagged as #1274 and described as “mature” in the
inventory of Colgate trees, this tree likely dates back to the beginnings of Chapel House itself. And it is featured in our logo (above). And of course, there are the twin European White Birches (
tagged #1263 and #1264) which greet the visitor arriving by the slate path. If Arden’s trees “shall be my books,” as young Orlando proclaims, so have many trees at Chapel House been ours, I suspect.
Recently several alums from the class of 1976 returned to visit Chapel House during a Reunion Open House last month. How did these now majestic trees appear to them when they arrived on a cold January day in early 1970s for an intersession class with our former director, Professor John Ross Carter, I wondered? Reunion visitors wandered about the house, sharing stories, drawing close to their favorite works of art. One alum ran a finger along the spines of library books until they found the book that changed their life. Even if its dust jacket is tattered or gone, its pages still beckon. Some sat quietly in the meditation hall’s orange glow, as others explored the newer additions of the Dalai Lama’s chair, African masks on display, or the Meditation Garden. Such roots run deep for many who return to Chapel House.
I am also reminded of the glorious trees visitors to Chapel House still encounter on nature walks in the area. I recently perused Chapel House’s copy of
The Hamilton Walk Book: Trails in the Upper Chenango. First published in 1973 by Colgate students from the classes of 1974, 1975, and 1976, it was a robust collaboration between students of all classes, professors (cultural geographer Ted Herman and English literature professor Robert Blackmore), cartographers (both ‘76) and the staff of the Rogers Conservation Education Center (a.k.a.
The Rogers Center). Guided walks, bike rides, and canoe journeys fill its pages, along with drawings of common fossils and landscape sketches. Chapel House gets a “shout out” in the “Roads Not Taken” local attractions appendix! For those unable to get their hands on one of the 2000 copies in print,
here is a digital copy. And for those interested in visiting us—whether overnight or dropping in— here is a
link to our webpage with more details.
Our Chapel House team—Pascal Dafinis, Kathy Keyes, Jeff McArn, and Joan McCarthy—join me in wishing you a restorative and peaceful summer.
Georgia Frank
Director of Chapel House
