ONEIDA From Free Love Utopia to the Well-Set Table

Narrator Khristine Hvam finds drama in the many branches of the Oneida Community's family tree. Oneida, one of the most famous mass-marketed silverware brands today, had its roots in a free-love religious group. Parts of the story of the communal living experiment begun by John Humphrey Noyes are lost. Descendants long ago burned the book that chronicled them. But there's still some of the story left for descendant Ellen Wayland-Smith to tell. Hvam often gives Wayland-Smith's account an admiring tone, even as she hints of fire and brimstone in the religious aspects. Wayland-Smith touches on sexual topics and the relationship between eugenics and birth control, so listeners may find her family's history discomforting. J.A.S. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2016]