Celebrating 60 Years Living in Community

Some of our readers know that September 17th will mark the 60th anniversary of the day Camphill Village Copake was founded here in Sunny Valley. In 1959 Karl König visited the United States and met in New York City with a group of parents who asked him to start a Village here. On September 17th a small group of people arrived with a grand vision and the support of a movement that had inspired Camphill communities in the United Kingdom and Europe for many years.

What followed in the next few decades was a period of rapid growth in the Village. This included workspaces, homes, and agricultural land that would define how many residents we could welcome into our special community and how we could all create a rewarding life together. If you can, try to imagine the generations who have lived in this community, the founders who left us long ago, the elders who remain and teach young volunteers and house leaders, and the new ways we are learning to grow together while always turning to our traditions to guide us.

In this community, we break bread every evening, nourish one another with the foods we grow, engage our minds and souls with therapeutic crafts and land work, books, music and plays. We travel abroad together, we spend winter evenings by the fire. We devour every precious bit of summer – strawberry picking and making jam, golden hour picnics, cannon ball jumps into the refreshing ore pit pond at nearby Taconic State Park. We remained safe and healthy throughout 2020, and we are so grateful to once again gather to celebrate our festivals and even the matrimony of two house leaders this season. We are truly blessed.

In September we will have a whole week to celebrate this anniversary and, hopefully, we will welcome many of our friends back to the Village to reconnect and of course, reminisce. But we will also consider what the future holds for this space that has blossomed over time. Camphill Village Copake is a unique environment—one that supports a well-rounded life for many people with vastly different abilities, ages, and relationships. We embark upon this new decade with experience, yes, but just as importantly with kindness, and always in pursuit of a good life for those with whom we share this community.

Our time at Camphill Village

Successful, joyful, fun, happiness, delightful, an abundance of love. Cats, cows, and sheep. Fantastic, kind, supportiveness, compassion. Happy!

60th Anniversary of Camphill Village. A lifetime of moments, A fun time of joy. Being with friends I like and adore. Special occasions with great friends. Happy! Making new friends and seeing old friends; visits from old co-workers, our families. Let’s embrace every moment of our lives.

Our words for the future: Nature, singing, hiking, hugs. Concerts, new friends, old friends, safe travels, and swimming. Communication, growth, support, being helpful. More co-workers, more friends, more cats. More Parties!

Written by Writer’s Guild members Amanda Balducci, Patricia Cinorre, Oliver Dawdy, Brooke Hogan, Danny Morse, and Susie Taube. Formatted by Sarah Krenicki.

The Village Bell Ensemble, taken in the mid 1980s. Front row: Frances Manley, Lori Roman, Ilene Oloff, Elias Rive, Bobby Boyd, and DavidTarshes. Back row: Karen Wallstein, Elke Schultz, Susan Olsen, andPriscilla Manney.

From left in the hay wagon: Jay Parker, Asger Elmquist, Alan Kugler, Bruce Marshall, Judy Sweet, Chris Lydon. In the tractor: David Tarshes,Charlie Willmore, Robert Zaken, Jon Stebbins, and Larry Silver. Taken inthe early 1980s.

Susie Taube and Oliver Dawdy show off their 60th anniversary t-shirts. Photo by Ariel Turner.