Singing in the Fields: The Story of Sylvestor Manor

If you take a drive up the North Fork of Long Island, catch a short ferry ride with breathtaking views and wind your way through the rural area streets of Shelter Island, NY, you’ll begin to hear the music coming from Sylvestor Manor Farm.  This former plantation has been in the hands of the same family for 15 generations.  Benett Konesni is the descendant of Nathaniel Sylvestor, who started the plantation in 1652.  Sylvestor Manor acts as a time capsule which has recorded every major era of food in America; The Native American Era, plantation era, Revolutionary War enlightenment era, and the era of industrialized food.  Sylvestor Manor is currently working towards a fifth, sustainable era by embracing its history.  Young volunteers come from all parts of the country to work on the organic farm that distributes its crop through a farm stand, as well as working with local vendors and farmer’s markets.  The workers typically have some background in music and are reviving the old traditions of field work songs not only to make the day easier, but also to distinguish themselves.  Reviving the old traditions from the farm’s past sets them apart to help sell crops, and the profits from which go towards restoring and maintaining the historical manor in what Konesni calls a system of “preservation through cultivation.”