The Oneida Community and other such enterprises

Setting the table: Oneida Community Collectibles

Nancy Gluck

AntiqueWeek (January 1996)

Oneida, Ltd. is a familiar name to collectors of sterling silver and silver plate. Before 1935, when the present name was adopted, the company was known as Oneida Community, Limited. Why Community? The word "Community" in the original name reflected the beginnings of the company as a 19th-century utopian commune.

Here's a link to a pictorial by Gluck showing many silverwear patterns.


The Oneida Community: Some history about John Humphrey Noyes and the interesting community that he founded. A counterpart, in todays world, I guess, would be the reverend Sun Myung Moon.


The Moonies

Just can't help it, my thoughts seem to revert to religion and politics, when controversial subjects come to light.

In the early 70's I met Josh & Cricket, a couple who lived in an old bus. They parked in my back yard for a while, and Cricket had some hair raising stories to tell about her experiences with the Moonies. I won't go into a lot of details but, from what she had to say, her life was controlled by them including her sex life and her relationships with people outside the moonie community. So controlled, in fact, that she had a hard time escaping and had a few psychlogical issues to deal with when she finally did.

Sun Myung Moon, since those times, has grow very very rich, and owns the Washington Times, among other such luceative enterprises.