Meet Kent Schuette, New Harmony Friend
Kent Schuette may be a familiar face to you if you’ve enjoyed one his informative tours of New Harmony, but you may not know that Kent designed the well-loved granite labyrinth that recalls the famous Chartres Cathedral in France.
Kent is a professor emeritus of Purdue University, having served 45 years on the faculty in Purdue’s Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture. In 2020, Kent was asked to become the David Lenz House Garden manager, a position he continues to hold with the Colonial Dames in the State of Indiana.
#1 What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Perfect happiness? Difficult question. I guess it is having life flow with energy and
excitement, work is play, you appear to be exactly where you are supposed to be, and
surrounded by exactly the right people. Recognize it and enjoy it when it happens.
#2 Which living person(s) do you admire?
The president of Ukraine and the people of Ukraine.
#3 Who are your favorite writers?
As an architect, I read mostly writers in the profession of architecture and design. First,
would be acclaimed architect Christopher Alexander, author of A Pattern Language: Towns,
Buildings, Construction, and a four-volume master work on alternative ways of viewing the built
environment, nature, and the planet. Next would be Australian architect John James, the great
scholar of Chartres Cathedral. Third would be British economist E.F. Schumacher, author of
Small Is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered and A Guide For the Perplexed. Last would be
John Philip Newell, Celtic spiritualist, author and poet.
#4 Who are your heroes in real life?
My wife, Suzy, who has put up with me for almost 50 years, and all my friends and
associates who have continued to be with me when they know my true self. God bless them all.
#5 What does the New Harmony Project mean to you?
I was first introduced to the New Harmony Project by Jane Owen who asked Suzy and me
to join her for a "performance/reading" at the New Harmony Inn Conference Center many
years ago. There I experienced my definition of pure happiness. The presenters were having
life flow with energy and excitement, work was play, and they were exactly where they were
supposed to be and surrounded by exactly the right people.
New Harmony is such a surprise to our many visitors. It seems to unlock writer's block and
they are participating in a personal, unique & authentic experience in a very unique and
authentic place. Having The New Harmony Project here is an amazing time. We, here in New
Harmony, look forward to every year.