The "Oh! That Sweet Serenity" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading a story that appeared in my local daily newspaper titled "Sweet Serenity." Began with...A charming corner cottage in a car-free area of Mount Gretna sits frozen in time.  Time stopped here not a century ago, when the cottage was built.  The clock stopped this summer.  July 15....to be exact.  That Monday, work on new sturdy supports for the wrap-around porch stopped, along with all outdoor construction in the area.  It's quiet season in this Mount Gretna neighborhood.  Until September 1, power tools like leaf blowers are illegal.  The rules bring a unique deadline for construction in a community where many of the homes are more than 100 years old.  However, locals say the sound of silence is worth an inconvenience that lasts a few weeks.  For example, leaf blowers quickly do the dirty work that comes with living in wooded retreat.  During quiet session when the brooms come out, Ted Martin's porch chore takes longer.  Yet in that time, he finds himself chatting with neighbors as he sweeps. "I think that's a lot of the essence of the place," he says.  If the idea of quiet time seems overbearing or an odd rule from a bygone era, consider another neighborhood here just adopted its own quiet season.  Mount Gretna's modern history goes back to the 1800s, when trees became charcoal for local iron furnaces.  By the end of the 1800s, it became a place for arts, education, recreation and religion.  It's one of a few remaining Chautauqua communities in the country.  Programming in these four pillars continues today along with some of the traditions from the past.  It took a while for some of those traditions, like quiet time, to show up as rules.  When it was founded, it was a religious encampment." says Martin, a member of Camp meeting's board of managers.  "Most of the people who came, had a pretty good sense that, you were there for faith reasons, that Sunday was to be observed, that you were there for prayer."  The first record he found about noise comes from 1927 with a blanket ban of loud and boisterous conduct plus no playing pianos, Victrolas and other musical instruments after 10:30 p.m.  The code of conduct also has rules on bathing suits, alcohol and porch behavior, interesting enough for him to frame and hang on his own Mount Gretna porch.  Through the years, the noise rules add new technology like radios and quite hours shifts.  In 1985, quiet Sundays and a summer quiet season became the law and has stayed since then.  Over the years, new residents have moved in and have come to appreciate that period of quiet, to be contemplative, to be on your porch, to be with your neighbors and be away from noise," he says.   The time of quiet season, July 15-August 31, makes sense in a community that first gathered in summer for Bible festivals, church services and lectures, often outdoors.  Those summertime outdoor events continue.  Summer isn't the only quiet time in Gretna.  The winter is still, but the spring neighborhoods tend to come alive.  Families look forward to the awakening and activity that comes with prepping cottages for warm weather, but with quietness in mind.  Construction projects need to be scheduled around the quiet season.  When a new roof was needed on the tabernacle, it needed to be finished by Memorial Day to avoid possible leaks on visitors during warmer weather.  These quiet time rules apply in the Campmeeting neighborhood.  The board started by looking into rules on short-term rentals.  Noise rules made sense, especially in a tight neighborhood with lots of summer activities, most of which are outdoors or held in buildings without walls.  "It's to protect the ambiance, the culture, the spirit of the community."  A quiet session was enacted from Memorial Day through September 15 from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. weekdays and all day Saturdays and Sundays.  One resident said they have a lot of respect for the history of Mount Gretna, especially Campmeeting with the quiet season.  "It preserves a bygone era and I think that doing something that preserves that history is wonderful and adds to the charm and uniqueness of the community."  Some interior work can still go on during quiet season. But, outdoor construction is on hold until September 1.  However, September 1 is on a Sunday this year....followed by Labor Day.  Therefore....on September 3, quiet season will be over and it is back to work again.  Living in Mount Gretna during the summer months can be a real treat.  Reminds one of "Times from the past when life was so much more simple."  It must have been like...."Oh! That Sweet Serenity."  "Oh!....for the 'Good Ole Days."  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.