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tion and watching news coverage of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Senerchia was making cherry wood turnings in the shape of acorns, an Early American symbol of strength. Thereafter, he placed one acorn on a newel post in most of his barns; in Hutchinson’s there are three acorns—one on the newel post and two atop the walnut braces that support the summer beam. The barn is more than a weekend home for Hutchinson; it is her haven, where she comes to paint as often as she can. It is also the extension of an intellectual connection between Hutchinson and Senerchia. Both admire Eric Sloane (1905-1985), a writer, artist, philosopher, historian, and environmentalist who identified with Early American settlers. Sloane believed that a nation’s heritage is a reflection of each person’s contributions to his country. “The moral strength of the nation,” he wrote, “is only as strong as the moral strength of its individuals.” PROPERTY
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Senerchia leaves a quote from Sloane inside each barn he raises. In Hutchinson’s, burned into paneling at the top of the stairs, it reads: “It takes only an instant for a person to be directed to a path that he will follow for the rest of his life.” Now 54, Senerchia experienced his “instant” when he was 22 and his wife brought home a library book that set him on a lifelong journey. That book, Diary of an Early American Boy: Noah Blake 1805, was the real diary of an observant boy. It was reprinted and illustrated by Sloane, and filled with information on farming, building, and cooking in the early 1800s. Senerchia put away his power tools. “The book opened a world to me,” said Senerchia, a woodworker since childhood. “I was hooked. In the sixties, I was absolutely living the Woodstock era life. I had gotten into blacksmithing and boatbuilding, as well as rock ‘n’ roll. The book, through American history, taught me about harvesting timber and how to
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MAINE BOATS, HOMES & HARBORS
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April / May 2008
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Issue 99