New York Times interviews archivist Shepp for Lily Dale lawsuit article

Coordinator of Archives and Special Collections Mandi Shepp was interviewed by the New York Times to give expert insight into the history of Spiritualism and what life is like in Lily Dale, a hamlet in Chautauqua County the Times article described as a haven for Spiritualism.

The article, “This Community Welcomes Mediums, but First You Have to Prove Yourself,” explored a lawsuit against the nonprofit that runs the Lily Dale Assembly that has put the spotlight on this tiny community whose residents believe death does not exist.

According to the article, the three women filing the action went through a rigorous process in become Lily Dale-registered mediums in 2022, but were ultimately rejected.
Not becoming a Lily Dale-registered medium adversely impacts a medium’s ability to earn money, and only those mediums with Lily Dale certification can give readings on the Lily Dale grounds that annually attract thousands of visitors for workshops, readings and celebrity lectures.

“I was asked by the reporter to give a walking tour of the town during this past October while discussing some of its history and broader connections to Spiritualism, as well as the history of the radical religious and social movements in this area of New York, including the suffrage movement, the temperance movement, Freethought, the Burned-Over District and the utopian community movement,” Mx. Shepp explained.

An initial telephone interview proceeded the walking tour that also included a New York Times photographer.

Having previously served as the sole librarian and then library director of Lily Dale’s Marion H. Skidmore Library for a total of four years, beginning in 2014, Shepp was well-positioned to furnish an overview of Lily Dale and its context within Spiritualism and its growth in Western New York.

The vice president of the Lily Dale Assembly board of directors, the official historian who is also a longtime resident and one of the three litigants were also interviewed for the article.

“The underlying belief in Spiritualism is that we don’t really die. We pass on, but we carry on in the spirit world, which is exactly like this world, but with less restrictions,” Times reporter Anna Kodé quotes Shepp as saying in the article’s lead paragraph.

Among eight photographs accompanying the article is one taken of Shepp at Inspiration Stump, where some mediums have held services.

Access to the newspaper article that was published in October online