Entitled "A brief history of Innisfree in Milanville," I was recently asked by the president of the Damascus Township Historical Society on Tuesday, July 23, 2024 at 7:00 pm. Interested members of the local community, as well as past visitors to the property and participants in programs of Innisfree Corporation (1970-1996), are invited to attend in person at the Damascus Community Center, 60 Conklin Hill Road, Damascus, Pennsylvania 18415. Afterward, slides and other content will be posted on this page, which is currently under revision. DTHS reportedly has no plans to Zoom the event. Slides and other material from the program will be hosted on this site afterward. So, watch this space.

My aim in the presentation is to describe what happened at Innisfree during the years 1970 to 1997 in the context of local history. Anyone who ever visited Innisfree over the years may contribute writing or media to share their perspectives and experiences. 

Innisfree, 1970-1997

Attention Past Innisfree Guests and Participants:

 

If your stay or experiences that you had at Innisfree were memorable or had an impact on your life, I invite you to will complete this short form. It asks about prominent memories that you still retain of Innisfree, what you learned during those years or remember about those summers most clearly. 

 

If you have photos or materials you are willing to share that were taken at or are related to Innisfree between 1970 and 1997, either privately with me or for display on this website and in a public presentation, please click below and complete. 

Click Here

Thank you!

/hx/

THIS PAGE IS IN PROCESS OF UPDATING AND EXPANSION.

Bud Rue reading in the breakfast nook
Bud Rue, 1986, in the breakfast nook at Innisfree.

"When we started Innisfree, it was an attempt to get away from what we perceived as an oppressive way of educating people. At this point, I'm not at all sure there is a way of getting away from it. It seems, in retrospect, there were many at Innisfree who were oppressed or dominated by the 'articulate' and I'm not at all sure of how to deal with that... I believe the humanistic principles we strived so hard for are reachable. They are costly. Very often, it hurts to get really close to a group. And too often, the 'high' being sought evaporates before attainment."

-- Bud Rue (1976). "Innisfree -- An experience in deviance: A personal account", unpublished graduate paper written in partial fulfillment of a seminar in education at Montclair State College Graduate School of Education.