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?

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

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

August 27th, 2010 admin

By Dave Zuchowski

With a few minutes to go before my scheduled meeting with Lily Dale historian, Ron Nagy, I parked my car in a space between the gated-enclave’s museum and its Healing Temple, where daily services are held. Curious about the temple, I walked in on a packed session in which healers were gently placing their hands on volunteer’s shoulders to “channel their healing energies.”

Unable to linger for a longer look, I headed over to the museum, housed in what was once an 1890 schoolhouse where Nagy can usually be found from 11 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon.

“In 1879, a group of people interested in Spiritualism bought about 20 acres overlooking Cassadaga Lake in Southwestern New York,” said Nagy, sitting among the museum’s collection of photos and memorabilia from its earliest days. “They cleared the land and marked off property into lots and streets.”

One of many Mediums advertising services at Lily Dale. Photo by Bill Rockwell

One of the first buildings to go up was a hotel, a hung-suspension construction that, when additional floors were needed, was raised and new floors added underneath. The 1880 structure still stands to this day as the 43-room Maplewood Hotel.

“Eventually, the community bought additional land and, by 1900, 300 houses had been built,” said Nagy. “Lily Dale grew fast, mainly because of the train, which ran from Buffalo to Titusville, Pennsylvania. Currently, there’s around 165 dwellings, many of which are occupied by registered mediums.”

According to Nagy, Lily Dale was influenced by both the Women’s Suffragette Movement and the Women’s Christian Temperance Movement. To this day, no alcoholic beverages are allowed on the property.

Before exiting the museum, Nagy pointed out interesting items in the collection such as a “spirit painting” on one wall, a pair of aura glasses, used by a medium to see a person’s aura, and an unusual Spiritualist trumpet, a “condenser of energy for a spirit voice or apport,” a paranormal transference of an article from one place to another.

On a walking tour of Lily Dale, which originally took its name from the profusion of water lilies on the lake, we passed by pleasantly painted modest houses which line both sides of the streets and are fronted by colorful gardens.

A number of Spiritualist-related shops are scattered over the grounds and include the Bargain Shop, full of all sorts of New Age items, Crystal Cove, Herbs for Life and the Lily Dale Bookstore and Souvenir Shop.

Nagy and I skirted past the Pilgrim’s Path, a classical seven circuit labyrinth made of Canadian hemlock used for meditation, then up to the entrance to the Leolyn Woods, full of stately old trees and said to be the state’s second oldest natural growth forest.

Near the end of the forest trail, Inspiration Stump, an ancient tree stump about 3-feet in diameter and 2-1/2-feet tall, is said to hold some of Lily Dale’s most profound spiritual energy. Twice a day, registered and visiting mediums pass along what are believed to be messages from the spirit world to those assembled.

A look inside the Maplewood Hotel turned up a “precipitated painting” of Abraham Lincoln, said to appear on canvas without the help of human hands, in a room just off the lobby.

On the porch, I got a chance to speak with Robin Kepner of Bloomfileld, New York, who said she’s been coming to Lily Dale for 31 years for the peace, the classes and workshops and the people.

“I’m most interested in going to the Stump in the evening to take photos of orbs and do transfigurations, the practice of shining a red light on someone’s face to see different spirits,” she said.

Main entrance gate at Lily Dale. Photo by Bill Rockwell

At 2:30 in the afternoon, I entered Lily Dale’s massive 1,200-seat Auditorium, built in 1883 and remodeled in 1901, where a service was just about to begin. The daily sessions feature a speaker as well as a clairvoyant.
I ended my visit with a quick stroll along part of Fairy Trail, a path through the woods strewn with fairy and gnome houses and toy-like items meant to be enjoyed by children and those adults wanting to rekindle memories of the child within.

If You’re Going
Although Lily Dale is open year-round, the heart of the season is from late June through the last Sunday in August when visitors and residents alike can take workshops, seminars, mediumship demonstrations, healing services, evening entertainment, spirit walks and more. A gate pass is necessary to enter the grounds and can be purchased at the entrance. For more information, phone 716-595-8721 or www.lilydaleassembly.com.

Weekly demonstrations were given…crowds came from all over Chautauqua County and beyond. Laona became one of the “stops” for what was then called “Iterant speakers “[traveling lectures]…Andrew Jackson Davis, Mary Davis, Dr. James Peebles, Elizabeth Lowe, William Denton, Warren Chase, and John Murray Spear were some of the most out standing and well known speakers who appeared there.

Simply stated, Spiritualism is a religion where the adherent’s converse with the so-called dead.  Spiritualism is not a virus or a mental disorder—as some books contend. Spiritualism was a movement that formed around the belief that spirits of departed mortals had begun to communicate with the living, and that the living could converse in a systematic way with the land of the dead.

Hydesville, New York, 35 miles East of Newark…The Fox Sisters, Kate and Maggie, young teenagers, on March 31, 1848 began a “first contact” with a spirit, who it was discovered thru a system of raps was murdered in 1843. This man was a traveling peddler who was murdered for the money he had been earning on his rounds of the countryside. It was further discovered the name of the murderer was a man named Bell. The Bell family buried the peddler in the basement, and then moved away. The second family who occupied the house was named Weekman and they only stayed in the house for a year before raps started disturbing them and a spirit of a man appeared and touched one of them. Out they moved. Along came the Fox family who needed a place to stay while their house was being built. Little did they know the house was haunted, and they would also launch a religious movement that would continue into the 21^st Century.

That day of first contact with the spirit Charles B. Rosna on March 31^st 1848 is called the beginning of Modern Spiritualism because it was the end of old superstitions and the beginning of knowing and investigation. Corinthian Hall Rochester November 14, 1849 was the first public demonstration for the Fox Sisters. After the Fox sisters came forward acknowledging their ability to communicate with spirits other people were bold enough to also admit to spirit contact. [A skeleton of a man was found in 1904 when a basement wall collapsed in the Fox Cottage]

Why did so many religious movements have their beginnings in Western New York?   Was it the isolation, solitude and the vast areas of the frontier west of New England, New York City and Boston?  The proximity of the Great Lakes and Large bodies of water can cause more powerful thought vibrations or more powerful weather patterns—alone with your thoughts? New York was said to be the gateway to the west and the fertile land attracted many settlers. The majority of settlers were of the younger generation, an age group of people in there twenties—open to new ideas, disturbed by orthodox tradition and they had a solid Yankee heritage and moral intensity. They were more sensitive to religious influences. The adolescent mind readily lent itself to religious excitement. Everyone awaited the millennium, and each movement had it’s own way or methods with various interpretations of a “Bible.” The older and more established generation stayed behind content with what they had and where they were.

During the 1850s, a surprising number of Americans believed that the deceased could be contacted through trance mediums and séances. Many of the progressive leaders of the anti-slavery, women’s rights, temperance, prison reform and labor reform movements were involved in spiritualism and used it as a conduit for social and political reform. To them, spiritualism was a scientific alternative to religious systems that they believed relied on speculation and dogma.

Anyone who attended a séance or spiritualist gathering, and then was either convinced or impressed and talked about that phenomenon –especially an orthodox religious person of authority was x-communicated and that person would then say they were a Spiritualist.   Spiritualism grew by leaps and bounds especially with the on set of the Civil War and the disruption of civil authority and on going so called “radical” movements.

Western New York State was ripe for a new religious movement and the newspapers of the era took that as an advantage to market papers. There was no shortage of controversial discussions and spiritualism sold papers with the printing of spirit manifestations, rapping, materialization, spirit writing, slate writing, de-materialization and apports.

For every honest medium there were at least two fraudulent mediums, people who were only showmen “out for the money.” Some of the best scientists of the day investigated the true phenomena and some phenomena could not be explained away.

As we walk by the entrance gate to the present grounds, you will notice the original site where the first summer meetings took place.  This is now called the Leolyn Hotel, and ghosts of the past still linger there.  It is now again part of present day Lily Dale, but many overlook this special place.  The Leolyn Woods is a rare gem of remaining “old growth” forest in New York State.   Many of its ancient trees were seedlings before the white man walked this land.  The spirits of Native Americans still come to touch some of those who walk through this area.  In the woods is an energy “vortex” called Inspiration Stump.  We’ll linger at this location at the end of our walk, to sense the presence of Spirit.

If rainy, be sure to bring an umbrella.  The rain won’t “dampen our spirits”.  If it is pouring out, our tour will end in Assembly Hall, where the Spirits have helped seekers almost as many years as at the “Stump”.  The tour requires about an hour of walking and some stair climbing.  Those with any handicapped restrictions are welcome to attend as best they can.  We encourage you to have your own transportation.

All of your Spirit Walk hosts are familiar with Lily Dale and its “haunts”.  Each has a special love for “the Dale” and its history.  No two tours are alike.  While there is never a guarantee that you’ll see a ghost or sense a Spirit, you’re sure to gain a better understanding of them and of Lily Dale.

These are not GHOST HUNTS! The purpose is SPIRIT AWARENESS.

The Author can be reached at ronnagylilydale@gmail.com or his web site www.ronnagy.net

The Spirits of Lily Dale

a new book, by Ron Nagy with Joyce LaJudice.

Available now. Direct from the Author.

All autograph requests honored.

Cover art being considered for The Spirits of Lily Dale, a new book by Ron Nagy with Joyce LaJudice

Lily Dale is a spiritualist community located in Chautuaqua County, New York about an hours drive from Buffalo, New York. A small village of Victorian and Gingerbread homes nestled on a wooded hillside along Cassadaga Lake; this is the largest center for the Religion of Spiritualism. The community of people are caring and friendly and have a deep commitment to God/Infinite Spirit. Spiritualists believe that life continues after the change called death and this is proven thru mediumship. Spiritualism is not witchcraft as some uninformed people have assumed. Not all Spiritualists are Mediums or Healers. But all residents must be Spiritualists and apply and be approved by a Board of Directors elected by the Assembly members at an annual meeting.

Lily Dale contains almost 165 homes and about 200 year round residents. There are two Victorian hotels, 8 private guest houses, a Post Office, and Fire Department, 2 Spiritualist Churches, an Auditorium that seats 700 and a Cafeteria, public eateries, 2 variety stores, a Book store and various meeting buildings. The summer season of activities attracts about 25,000 visitors who listen to lecturers, attend workshops, public mediumship demonstrations and laying on of hands Spiritual Healing. Lily Dale contains the second oldest natural growth forest in the State of New York, called the Leolyn Woods.

This year was the “Dale’s” 130^th anniversary. Lily Dale has remained almost as pristine as it was in 1879 when it was formed. The original purpose was and still is to promote the understanding of the science, philosophy and religion of Spiritualism. Activities and discussions are promoted concerning, charitable, literary, scientific and civic thoughts. About the time Lily Dale was formed there were almost 400 religious camps of various denominations in the United States. What made Lily Dale unique is the founders had planned streets, lots, and all the amenities for eventual year round living. The reason for the rapid growth of the “Dale” was the closeness of the DAV&P (Dunkirk, Allegany Valley and Pittsburgh) railroad, nicknamed “The Dolly Varden.” The passenger train ran from Dunkirk, New York to Titusville, Pennsylvania where many prominent Spiritualists lived. All you had to do was get off the train at the Lily Dale stop and walk across the bridge to the front gate of Lily Dale.

For the people visiting Lily Dale this was an escape from domestic routine, they could relax without the fear of conflict or violence. They could enjoy responsible leisure and absorb progressive ideas from the many lectures and classes. This was a utopia, a realization on a small scale of the ideals our society was striving for—security, intelligence, humanity and order. No poverty, no drunkenness, no crime and no police— culture, kindness and equality. Lily dale has survived to this day just as our founders visualized because the people can agree to disagree and then compromise.

There are 40 registered Mediums that are tested and approved by the Board of Directors, for a private reading look for signs on the front of the houses. Public message services are held each day during “camp” season in the Leolyn Woods at Inspiration Stump at 1:00 and 5:30, and Forest Temple at 4:00.

The Lily Dale Museum is a treasure of Spiritualist memorabilia, vintage newspapers, period photographs, precipitated spirit paintings, spirit slates and séance trumpets. This is a one of a kind collection; researchers and writers from around the country frequent the archives.

More information can be obtained by calling the Assembly office at 716-595-8721 or visit our web site at www.lilydaleassembly.com.

It is unknown as to who first suggested the sunflower as a suitable emblem of Modern Spiritualism. However we do know that for centuries long before the Christian era, the sunflower was regarded as the emblem of Truth and Constancy. Since the days of mythological fables, the sunflower has been a favorite emblem of Constancy.

From the Sunflower, the bright color “yellow” also became among the ancients, the symbol of Truth and Constancy. For this very reason, it was adopted by the Women Reformers of the 1800′s. The adoption of the Sunflower has been the emblem of Spiritualism at least since 1892.

The Spiritualists at the Cassadaga Lake Free Association [Lily Dale] adopted the Sunflower as it’s seal as shown in it’s Constition and by-laws developed in 1892 and adopted in 1893. In 1900 William Bach manufactured the first lapel pins bearing the Sunflower emblem.

In 1928 the Sunflower was adopted as the official badge of International Spiritualism at the conference for the International Federation of Spiritualism.

“As the Sunflower turns it’s face to the light of the sun-so let Spiritualism turn the face of humanity to the Light of Truth”