The Pledge of Allegiance has been revered, censored, rewritten and politicized. It has given refuge to the occasional scoundrel and has hardly had a peaceful moment since it was created in 1892 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus’s voyage and sell some magazines. Now, it’s in the news again as football fans, atheists, super patriots and other interested parties debate the wisdom of requiring its recital before University of Connecticut (UConn) sporting events where they already sing the national anthem. There is no plan to read the Ten Commandments at halftime.The pledge has a fascinating history. Unlike the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution, it didn’t come down to us from the founders; it’s a century old magazine promotion that was so successful, it outlived the magazine. The original pledge read, “I pledge allegiance to my flag and to the republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty, justice and equality for all.”Its author was Francis Bellamy, a clergyman and a socialist, who had been hired as circulation manager by a popular magazine called The Youth’s Companion after being fired by his Baptist congregation for seasoning his sermons with socialism. Gilded Age Christians preferred not to be reminded about Christ and the money-changers in the temple or sharing the wealth, even in the form of loaves and fishes. Remember how Mark Twain affectionately poked fun at his Asylum Hill Congregational Church in Hartford as the Church of the Holy Speculators?At any rate, after Bellamy wrote the pledge for school children to recite on Columbus Day, it caught on nicely and reciting it became a semi-official ritual in schools and other public places. But first, Bellamy’s editors had to alter the text, telling him the words “liberty, justice and equality for all” might offend subscribers in states where equality for all was not exactly in vogue. Equality went.A few years later, the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) imagined that foreigners would slyly and subversively interpret “I pledge allegiance to my flag” to mean the flags of their native lands. So the daughters got the words changed to “to the flag of the United States of America.” From then on, it was abundantly clear what flag foreigners were pledging allegiance to and the DAR ladies slept better.Congress didn’t get around to making the pledge official until 1942. That was two years after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled schools could require students to pledge their allegiance even though it was considered sacrilegious by Jehovah’s Witnesses and other religious groups.After Jehovah’s Witnesses’ kids got beaten up for not pledging allegiance for a couple of years, the Supreme Court reversed itself and said participation was not required. Kids who didn’t pledge were still beaten up, but many faked pledging and were able to avoid beatings. This is known in some circles as the American way. The most contentious pledge debate has been over the insertion of “under God” between “one nation” and “indivisible.” This was done in the 1950s to strengthen the ongoing battle against godless communism in the era that also gave us Joe McCarthy. Credit for this addition must be shared by the American Legion, the Knights of Columbus and Hearst Newspapers, three organizations not known at the time for hiding their patriotism.By 2003, an atheist convinced the liberal 9th Circuit Court that saying “under God” in school violated the separation of church and state. But the Supreme Court ducked the issue by overturning the 9th Circuit on the grounds that the atheist had no standing to make his case. This left under God in limbo, so to speak.And now, UConn’s acting athletic director is seeking to use the pledge once again as a promotion tool. Paul Pendergast, filling in while the president looks for an “inspirational and charismatic” permanent athletic director, says the pledge is not only patriotic, but also a fine way to call attention to UConn, which doesn’t have as many traditions as other big-time sports schools. If people don’t want to recite the pledge, Pendergast has generously acknowledged that is their choice. And so far, none of these people has been beaten up, as far as we know. Simsbury resident Dick Ahles is a retired journalist. Email him at dahles@hotmail.com.
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The organic runway at HVSFW puts sustainable style among the apple trees at Stone Ridge Orchard.
Jay Ballesteros
That’s the question behind Hudson Valley Sustainable Fashion Week[end], a two-day celebration of sustainable style, local makers and the possibilities of keeping clothing in circulation. The weekend lands at Stone Ridge Orchard, a 200-year-old working farm, on Sept. 25 and 26, pairing an evening fashion show with a new all-ages Slow Fashion Fair.
“To me, slow fashion means intentional fashion. Careful, thoughtful, human,” said Joanne Louis-Paul, the event’s communications director. “Slow fashion is the speed at which one person can sew an intricately detailed dress. It’s taking the time to go to a thrift store or clothing swap and sifting through an unknown bounty of possibilities. It’s extending the life of a piece of clothing for as long as possible.”
In everyday terms, she said, “It’s stopping to think before purchasing anything or giving anything away.”
Friday’s fourth annual Organic Runway brings Hudson Valley designers to the farm for a sunset showcase of garments made from repurposed textiles and produced locally. Designers include Clare Bare, ennui, Kacy Coyle, KNUD, la vie après l’amour, Last Night on Earth, So Vicki and Touch Threads. The evening runs from 4 to 8 p.m., giving attendees time to pick apples and sip local cider before settling in for the runway.
“We’re all about the whimsy here at HVSFW,” Louis-Paul said. “The runway is so incredibly dreamy. Being outside makes for an unpredictable, one-of-a-kind backdrop every year, and there’s just nothing like that sunset glow.”
Models walk the organic runway at HVSFW. Ilan Harel
The unlikely pairing of fashion and farming is also part of the point.
“Once you’re sitting amongst the apple trees, you realize how much sense it makes to mend the relationship between fashion and nature,” she said.
Saturday introduces the inaugural Slow Fashion Fair, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with workshops, mending, fiber art, vendors, music, eco-friendly kids’ crafts and a clothing swap. There will even be sheep.
“We wanted to have a fair so we could invite more people in the eco-friendly ecosystem into the fold,” Louis-Paul said. “We get to highlight not only designers, but makers and artisans of all kinds.”
The organizers hope the fair appeals not only to people already thinking about climate and sustainability but also to those encountering the ideas for the first time. With mending, a clothing swap and hands-on workshops, the emphasis is on showing visitors things they can actually do.
“There are so many things anyone can start doing today,” Louis-Paul said. “From something as simple as sewing a patch onto a stain or tear to hosting a mini clothing swap at your house with friends and family, there are tons of ways to engage with your wardrobe more thoughtfully.”
She speaks from experience. Before becoming involved with the event, she said, secondhand shopping held little appeal.
“As someone who never liked the idea of thrifting, I am now completely sold on circular fashion,” she said. “I recently sewed a broken strap on a dress I got at a clothing swap, and I felt so accomplished! Being in this world has shown me that conscious consumption is attainable and fun.”
But behind the fun is a serious concern about what happens to clothing once consumers decide they no longer want it.
“Just because you throw it away doesn’t mean it goes away,” she said, pointing to discarded clothing accumulating in other parts of the world and the microplastics shed by synthetic fabrics. “The planet and people are suffering because of this throwaway culture we’ve adopted. If an outfit is new but super cheap, believe there’s a high cost to someone else.”
For more information and tickets, visit hvsfw.org
Susan Schneider, owner of Shandell’s in Ashley Falls, in her studio.
Susan Schneider, owner of Shandell’s in Ashley Falls, in her studio.
She has been creating lampshades for 25 years and has settled in Ashley Falls, where she is renovating a barn behind her house for a larger studio. Her mission: “Changing the view on plain white lampshades, one at a time!”
Besides using marbled paper, she uses papyrus, silk and hand-painted papers for the shades.
Shandell’s on Main Street, offers a large selection of marbled decorative home items on its website — trays, coasters and bookends, to name a few — as well as scarves and belts. Schneider will also customize items and creates custom wallpaper, gifts and favors for weddings and special events. She offers consultations by appointment.
Schneider explained how she began making lampshades.
“I was in business as an antiques and textile dealer, needing lampshades at the time (the early 1990s). I had a dealer who used to make lampshades. She was moving and sold me everything she had in her barn for making them. Arcs, templates for lampshades, and tools.”
Schneider used the marbled paper from the endpapers of old books to make small lampshades.
“I collected those voraciously.”
The papers were too small for the larger lampshades she wanted to make. To get paper in the size she needed, she decided to learn how to marble.
That was 10 years ago. She now has 20 tanks for marbling, including one 10-foot tank that allows her to make 3 yards of fabric at a time.
As she demonstrated the marbling process, making covers for journals, it was easy to see why she “got hooked.”
Susan Schneider, owner of Shandell’s, creates a variety of products with marbleized surfaces in her Ashley Falls studio.L. Tomaino
She explained that marbling takes a couple of days of preparation. She prepares water mixed with carrageenan the night before so that it thickens and becomes a viscous liquid onto which the acrylic paints can be dropped. Paper or fabric must also be prepared with alum, which “makes the paint stick,” she said, a day or two ahead of time.
When she was ready to start, Schneider first used a level to make sure the tank was even. Then she pulled a squeegee across the surface of the carrageenan mixture to break the surface tension, followed by strips of newsprint for the same purpose. She also dipped small pieces of newsprint into the mixture.
“The hardest thing to teach people is to break the surface tension first,” she noted.
Next, she used droppers to place rows of paint onto the mixture.
“It’s a joyful process,” she said as she chose more colors. “It’s totally the pleasure of the colors.”
She explained, “The colors are stopped from spreading by the surface tension.”
Then she added newsprint around the edges of the tank to break the tension again and added another layer of color. Next, she used a marbling comb, slowly dragging it back and forth across the width of the tank to create a feather-like design.
Combs come in many sizes, with teeth spaced at different intervals and in different patterns. She chose another comb to drag through the length of the tank, making the design more intricate before laying two pieces of paper on the surface. After a second or two, she lifted them, perfectly capturing the pattern, and carried them to the sink for a rinse with water.
Once she squeegeed away the paint left in the tank, she was ready to begin the process again.
Next, she created a different type of design, dripping colors in a less ordered array, then twirling them into curving lines and circles with a thin rod.
When the surface was ready, she laid a journal cover on top, then lifted it out, covered in a vibrant pattern of swirling colors.
For observers, the process can seem magical.
Schneider loves to share the delight of marbling by teaching classes at Dewey Hall in Sheffield. Upcoming classes will be held Nov. 20, 21 and 22. Beginning in November, she will also offer private classes in her home studio. Schneider had never pictured herself having a business like Shandell’s, but she discovered a passion for creating, as she says, “things that make you smile.”
For more information about her work and upcoming classes or to contact her for a consultation, visit shandells.com.
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