Eden Springs

I picked up this little book, Eden Springs by Laura Kasischke at the library.  I had no idea what I was getting into.  I read it in a single hour of cardio at the gym and was enthralled.  Turns out the story is based on truth which is often stranger than fiction.  In a small town in Michigan, on the shore of a great lake, a group of religious followers of a guy named Benjamin Purnell, settled.  They grew fruits like peaches and plums, followed Benjamin's idea of religion called "House of David", and built a community in the early 1900's.  Part of the community was a baseball team, also a mansion, a resort, an amusement park complete with rides, and boat rides.  Members of the community wore white.  And Benjamin, as the leader, got to have sex with all the girls in the group.  The book has pictures of the community and it's members set near Benton Harbor, Michigan.  Once Benjamin's shenigans were uncovered by the other people in Michigan the group was run out of town.  The buildings remain there and there is a House of David museum in the town.  And someday if I am driving east out of Chicago, I just might make a detour to Benton Harbor and check out the House of David museum.