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Ordinary Spirits in an Extraordinary Town: Finding Identity in Personal Images and Resurrected Memories in Lily Dale, New York

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Ordinary Spirits in an Extraordinary Town: Finding Identity in Personal Images and Resurrected Memories in Lily Dale, New York Utah State University DigitalCommons@USU All Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 12-2010 Ordinary Spirits in an Extraordinary Town: Finding Identity in Personal Images and Resurrected Memories in Lily Dale, New York Mary Catherine Gaydos Gabriel Utah State University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd Part of the Folklore Commons Recommended Citation Gaydos Gabriel, Mary Catherine, "Ordinary Spirits in an Extraordinary Town: Finding Identity in Personal Images and Resurrected Memories in Lily Dale, New York" (2010). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 792. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/792 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Utah State University DigitalCommons@USU All Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies, School of 12-1-2010 Ordinary Spirits in an Extraordinary Town: Finding Identity in Personal Images and Resurrected Memories in Lily Dale, New York Mary Catherine Gaydos Gabriel Utah State University Recommended Citation Gaydos Gabriel, Mary Catherine, "Ordinary Spirits in an Extraordinary Town: Finding Identity in Personal Images and Resurrected Memories in Lily Dale, New York" (2010). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations. Paper 792. http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/792 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies, School of at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Take a 1 Minute Survey- http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ BTVT6FR ORDINARY SPIRITS IN AN EXTRAORDINARY TOWN: FINDING IDENTITY IN PERSONAL IMAGES AND RESURRECTED MEMORIES IN LILY DALE, NEW YORK by Mary Catherine Gaydos Gabriel A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE in American Studies (Folklore) Approved: _____________________________ ____________________________ Jeannie Banks Thomas, Ph.D. Lisa Gabbert, Ph.D. Major Professor Committee Member _____________________________ ____________________________ Bonnie Glass-Coffin, Ph.D. Byron R. Burnham Committee Member Dean of Graduate Studies UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY Logan, Utah 2010 ii Copyright © Mary Catherine Gaydos Gabriel 2010 All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Ordinary Spirits in an Extraordinary Town: Finding Identity in Personal Images and Resurrected Memories in Lily Dale, New York by Mary Catherine Gaydos Gabriel, Master of Science Utah State University, 2010 Major Professor: Dr. Jeannie Banks Thomas Department: English Every summer, Lily Dale, New York, a community founded on spiritualist beliefs and steeped in an eccentric explosive past, hosts thousands of visitors seeking to communicate with dead friends and relatives, while the residents lead ordinary lives in the midst of the supernatural hype permeating their town. Their stories are considered by most to be secondary to the illustrious trappings of the community in which they occurred. My research employs oral histories prompted by personal photographs to showcase the residents’ everyday experiences amidst the town’s infamy, illuminating the undervalued individual experience of those living in communities of such extraordinary repute. The attitudes of the residents displayed when sharing their memories is contextualized in the material behavior exhibited historically in the Spiritualist religion, spirit photography, and the formative years of Lily Dale’s growth from a summer camp in the late 1800s to a town of permanent yearlong residents practicing unorthodox beliefs. Through the residents’ sharing of images and memories, they reveal that their “ordinary” iv lives include a deep-rooted understanding of the Spiritualist lifestyle by unconsciously weaving spirit encounters and metaphysical events in and out of their conversation without making distinctions that they are in any way unusual. Spirit is not only in the air in Lily Dale—to the residents it is the air. (221 pages) v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many trusted friends and mentors, both long-term and more recent, played critical roles in bringing this project to fruition. I am deeply grateful to them all for investing their knowledge, time and energy in my work and in me. The absence of any one of these great folks would diminish this project considerably. These remarkable people are listed below in a loose chronological order in which this project unfolded. Tom Barkman: my first photography instructor and subsequent friend who helped me appreciate the secret stories held by a photographic image. Kevin Martini-Fuller: photography instructor and dear friend, and endless source of inspiration; thank you for getting me to Elko where I discovered folklore. Sally Haueter: my first folklorist friend who explained to me, on that initial Elko trip, what folklore actually is. Jeannie Thomas: major professor, mentor, and friend who “gets” me, introduced me to Lily Dale, and gently and astutely helped me shape this thesis into its current version. Lisa Gabbert: professor, mentor, and friend who freely shares her ready smile, twinkling eye, and supporting hand whenever needed. Steve Siporin: professor, mentor and friend who patiently listened and laughed while I talked incessantly about nothing, egging me on with esoteric connections. Sita Bell: dear friend and fellow graduate student who provided me with a shoulder, an ear, laughter, and the correct sentence structure whenever asked. Katie Stout: dear friend and fellow graduate student who spent hours listening to me whine while pouring me wine, and even more hours reading and rereading this thesis, making sure I exhibited a semblance of sense in my writing. Susan Glasier: Lily Dale Assembly Director who was a staunch ally before, during, and after my research, and without whose help the road would have been much longer. Lily Dale Residents: contributors and friends who gave generous amounts of time to share images and memories. Thank you for welcoming me into your lives. vi Shelley and Frank Takei: Angel House owners and dear friends who ended up being my guardian angels, especially when I showed up on their doorstep wounded; I am forever grateful for the H.P. Room. Ron Nagy: Lily Dale Museum Director and constant resource who regularly went the extra mile for me both in person and through midnight email requests. Bonnie Pitblado: supervisor, mentor, and friend who blindly trusted me to balance work with research and writing, and who gave unending understanding and support throughout. Bonnie Glass-Coffin: committee member, mentor, friend and touchstone through the last two years; thank you for providing light along the way. Bill Gabriel: husband, best friend, and life-long partner. Thank you for clearing my path to make this possible, and for all your thoughtful kindnesses when I was on the edge, your tireless editing, and the coffee, popcorn, and wine—in that order. M. K. Gaydos Gabriel vii CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...............................................................................................v LIST OF FIGURES......................................................................................................viii INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................1 SPIRITUALISM .............................................................................................................8 Religious and Social Precursors...................................................................................8 The Fox Sisters and the Onset of Turmoil..................................................................11 Women’s Rights and Spiritualism..............................................................................21 Physical Manifestation of Spirit Gone Wild...............................................................29 Spiritualism Goes Legal ............................................................................................40 PARTNERSHIP OF PHOTOGRAPHYAND SPIRITUALISM.....................................42 HISTORICAL LILY DALE..........................................................................................50 LILY DALE TODAY ...................................................................................................61 The Temples and Readings........................................................................................66 The Pet Cemetery......................................................................................................72 The Fairy Trail ..........................................................................................................79 The Maplewood Hotel...............................................................................................86 The Lily Dale Museum..............................................................................................93 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY...................................................................................96 FINDING IDENTITY IN PHOTOGRAPHS AND MEMORIES ................................104 Raised In Lily Dale..................................................................................................107
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