Ron Nagy’s The Spirits of Lily Dale captures the mood and exuberancy of the heyday of Spiritualism and “The World’s Largest Community of Spiritualism, Lily Dale, NY.” The reader experiences a first hand account of what life was like back then through the clever narrative device of excerpts from popular publications such as the Banner of Light and the Sunflower! Excerpts from these publications make you feel that you are back in time experiencing the vibrancy of Spiritualism and Lily Dale at its peak. You feel you know some of the major founders and free thinkers of the day! The photos take you back in time and you get an overall feel of the climate of the nation and the events that led up to the formation of Cassadaga Lake Free Thinkers Association and ultimately to Lily Dale “The Worlds Largest Community for the Religion of Spiritualism”. As a resident of Lily Dale it takes me back to what the Dale represented yet also has me looking forward with optimism about the future of such an important spiritual community.
I can feel the Spirits of Lily Dale when I walk the grounds now.
Highly Recommend! Thank you Ron for your dedication to preserving the history and spirits of Lily Dale!

Prologue to the book Slate Writing–Invisible Intelligence by Ron Nagy Galde Press 2008

Old houses have secrets, in closets, in the attic, under floorboards, especially the second step to the upper floors. Always feel for a loose brick in the chimney my grandfather told me. He contracted to tear old houses down, a “junk man”—so I thought. Actually, he was an explorer of antiquities. He first searched for the forgotten hidden treasures of the past inhabitants of those houses. Treasures those inhabitants held close to their hearts and trusted to reveal to no one until it was too late to remember. I always thought he was just saving the copper pipes, window glass, mantle trim, brick and stone to resell to contractors for the upscale mansions that were being built along the main line of Philadelphia. I was the “gopher”, go for this and go for that. I was always going for something I couldn’t find and when I returned my grandfather would have this ironical grin on his face. I learned some valuable lessons from my grandfather.

The old house I live in now is no different, there are hiding places…magical areas for a grown up kid as myself to venture into.  My house was built in 1882. By 1901 the house’s main parlor was being advertised for rent as having a séance room, seventeen feet square, with bay window, closet and upright piano. How many séance’s were held here over the years and who were the people who attended on a regular basis? What knowledge was obtained and was all the information revealed or was it suppressed, then written down and hidden away? Could I find something that no one else discovered?  Had anyone ever tried?

When identifying a precipitated spirit painting first look at the eyes.  There are no eyelashes and the eyes are penetrating and look alive.  You will definitely receive a different feeling from the precipitated painting, as if the entity was actually compressed into the canvas.  Check for brush strokes or sketch lines that are the human artists telltale pre-painting routine.

Brush strokes are not always what they appear to be.  When the hair materializes on canvas, how else would Spirit form the hair without a grouping of fine lines?  The hair would only appear as a blurred blending of colors.  There are precipitated spirit paintings on display in Lily Dale’s Museum, Maplewood Hotel, Marion Skidmore Library and NSAC Office on Cottage Row.  These paintings can also be seen at the Morris Pratt Institute in Wisconsin and the Hett Art Gallery at Camp Chesterfield in Indiana.

While preserving these portraits, I had the opportunity to examine first hand the variations and similarities of several portraits by the Bangs Sisters and Campbell Brothers.  I removed the backing from the wooden frames (what today would be referred to as dust covers).  This exposed the inside of the old glass that covered the paintings.  The old glass that was pressed against the portrait for the past hundred years had none or very little residue on it.  I have recently taken apart a naturally done old pastel work of art and the complete face of the subject was imprinted on the glass.

An artist by the name of Randall Bentley pointed out that it is a significant indication that deserves to be investigated further.  If by chance the Bangs Sisters or Campbell Brothers used deceit to complete their portraits then there would have been more particles on the glass coverings.

Using a Bausch and Lomb 10x Coddington magnifying glass, I was able to closely examine the precipitated portraits, checking for peculiarities in each painting.  Using a cotton swab or my finger, the Campbell Brother’s portrait of Napoleon still felt damp as though the precipitate had not dried enough to be framed…even after a hundred years!

The Bangs Sisters painting of Leolyn Pettingill did not leave any residue on the cotton swab or finger at all.  It could not be determined by a professional art framer whether the painting was a pastel or an oil painting.  The precipitated painting nicknamed Clara is believed to have been done by the Bangs Sisters.  It left no residue on the glass. However, a fine white dust believed to have been paint dust from her dress was covering the tin plate that had been used as the dust cover.

I found some mold marks on the portraits of Mr. Thomas Skidmore and Mrs. A.B. Caldwell, both of which are believed to have been done by the Bangs Sisters.  Previous poor storage could have easily caused this condition.  However, I found that besides some minor mold markings were scattered precipitate residue on the areas on the canvas surrounding the heads of the portraits.  I believe this to be part of the precipitation process caused by the magnetism from Spirit to the medium.

When putting the paintings back together I used a conservation glass and cotton matt to keep the glass from ever touching the portraits again.  The rear dust covers were also replaced.

Precipitated Spirit Paintings by Ron Nagy Galde Press 2006

Prominent American Spiritualist magazine founded in 1974 by the merger of Chimes and the Psychic Observer. The Psychic Observer Corporation was founded in 1937 in Jamestown, New York, by Ralph and Juliette Pressing. The first issue of the Psychic Observer appeared in August 1938. In 1957 the Pressings retired and Agnes F. Reuther became editor. Two years later Tom O’Neill acquired the periodical, then issued as a tabloid. In 1960 he was informed by Andrija Puharich, then a young researcher, that he had discovered several of the more prominent mediums at Camp Chesterfield engaged in a conspiracy to conduct fake materialization séances. Puharich presented the photographic proof, pictures taken with an infrared camera. O’Neill published the pictures and announced the findings as a dark day for Spiritualism.

As a result of the exposé, O’Neill almost went bankrupt, as advertisers loyal to the camp pulled their support from the periodical. He relocated his publishing enterprise to North Carolina and for a brief period published under another title.

O’Neill died in 1965 and the Psychic Observer ceased publication. In 1968 it was purchased by Alice Tindell and moved to Washington, D.C. It was issued as an open forum magazine, but in effect it was the periodical of the National Spiritual Science Center, the church headed by Tindell. It was published by the ESPress, the church’s publishing concern. Henry Nagoka edited the new publication.

Chimes began in 1942 under the editorship of Bert Welch and his wife. It was later purchased by June and Leighton Denton. Chimes, Inc., the publishing company, also had a book distribution service and facilitated the Dentons’ healing ministry. Chimes faithfully served the American Spiritualist community for a generation until it was discontinued as an independent publication in 1974.

Psychic Observer and Chimes was discontinued after the July/ October 1981 issue. www.answers.com