Two tables in the Skaneateles Community dining room

Mrs. S. Vanvelzer remembered two tables in the Skaneateles Community’s dining room. One, she said, had ordinary food; the other had boiled wheat, rice and Graham mush without seasoning. The account appears in John Humphrey Noyes’s History of American Socialisms, rather than in an inspected dining record from the community. History of American Socialisms, chapter XV: The Skaneateles Community.

Her recollection places the invitation in Baldwinsville, after lectures during winter 1845. She said she went, was disappointed and stayed three weeks. That short stay gives us one person’s experience, not a verdict from everyone who lived there. History of American Socialisms, chapter XV: The Skaneateles Community.

Another visitor in the same chapter, E. L. Hatch, recalled tea, bread and butter. He reported an explanation: guests were offered the food they were accustomed to. His meal cannot be treated as the community’s universal diet, any more than Vanvelzer’s table could tell us what every member ate. History of American Socialisms, chapter XV: The Skaneateles Community.

The voices reach us through Noyes, who explained that he reconstructed and condensed some of Macdonald’s collected material. Keeping the speakers distinct matters. A brief recollection can preserve the arrangement of a room and the terms of a meal without explaining every household, disagreement or belief in the experiment. History of American Socialisms, chapter XV: The Skaneateles Community.