Homesteading Influences

I grew up with the stories from my Grandma, my mothers mom, about her life on a real Tennessee homestead. Her family truly made their subsistence from the land in rural Red Boiling Springs, TN. Grandma Jessie lived in the horse and buggy days. She remembered seeing her first car and first airplane, etc. As a boy I would ask her what it was like seeing all these brand new technological advances and she considered them as being rather unimpressive. I imagine it just came along gradually enough as to not overwhelm them back then.

Grandma Jessie loved to talk about her childhood and I was fascinated by the way of life back in the early 1900's. She was born in 1910. Her dad was a big influence in her life as he was a devout bible believing Christian, however I don't think they went to church much, beings they lived a ways out in the country. I got the impression that Grandma's dad, Great Grandpa Thomas, was a little rough around the edges, but he must have had a strong faith because he most certainly passed that on to her. When he would tell her how to behave when she went out away from the farm he'd say, "Not because I'm telling you but, this is how the Lord say's you should be and do and act". His words of wisdom made a strong impression on her even into her old age.

Grandma Jessie grew up learning how to work the soil behind a horse drawn plow. As a teenager she used to help her dad in the fields. Even after she was married, moved away from the farm and had children of her own she was still in pretty good shape after those years of hard work. My mom's oldest brother used to invite his friends over and asked Grandma to show them her biceps as they where quite large back then. Mom said Grandma had biceps like a man, even though she was rather petite. Quite the novelty for the area kids I would say.

All of my Grand Parents had experience with raising their own food. Even the Zion relatives grew huge gardens and had livestock. I have in my possession copies of letters that my ancestors wrote to each other back in the 1800's. They were homesteaders and it is very interesting to read first hand what life was like in those days. Basically they grew and raised all of their own food and usually raised some sort of cash crop in which to sell so that they could buy certain supplies and equipment that they did not make or obtain themselves. Perhaps I will post some of those letters in the future.

As a boy I believed that Christian's would have to endure the Great Tribulation spoken of in the bible and that, that time was not very far off. This might sound strange but, instead of being fearful of coming hard times I was excited. It must have brought out the adventurer in me because I thought that it would be a great thrill to leave society, staying a step ahead of the Anti-Christ and his accursed "Mark of the Beast", fending for ourselves by living off the land in far off and out of the way places.

I grew up in the 60's and 70's and that time of profound change in America's ideology had a strong influence on the way I viewed things, I imagine. When I was in 3rd grade some of my relatives packed up and moved to Arkansas to start a communal living kind of thing where they all would live off the land. However, the area they chose to settle in didn't take kindly to those rebellious hippie type folks and the local authorities trumped up charges with which to run them off.

They lived in Arkansas for about 2, 1/2 years and during that time my cousins used to write me and tell me about all their adventures. I used to hang on every word. We even got to visit them once and they showed me all the wonders of life in the country. From that moment on I was hooked. I learned a lot about how to survive off the land just from hearing about their experiences.

When I was in about 4th grade I began forming my plan on how to move out into the country and live off the land. I was an avid comic book reader and I found in some of them that they had advertisements where if you sold seeds or Christmas cards, depending on the season, that you could earn points for prizes. There were hundreds of prizes including all kinds of camping equipment. This was my chance to obtain the gear I would need for surviving the coming tribulation.

My first stint as a salesman was of selling garden seeds. I went door to door to all my area relatives and if I remember right everyone bought from me. I was able to get several prizes with my points. Unfortunately my career as seed man was cut off in it's prime. Much to my parents embarrassment most of the seeds I sold where duds. But, I wasn't to give up just yet. There was still the Christmas cards I could peddle. So that following season I sold stacks of those. I must have sold a bunch because I got all kinds of valuable prizes. Altogether from selling the seeds and cards I got a sleeping bag, tent hunting knife, hatchet, bow and arrows, canteen and cooking utensils. I was set.

Looking back I realize that I must have been more cute than a salesman, not to mention all my victims were related to me, because Lord knows I've never been blessed with that kind of power of persuasion. Also, It would be safe to bet that my folks probably spent a bundle on my wares to boot.

I had many a grand adventure with all my new survival equipment. I mean, this stuff was the real deal. It was surprisingly high quality for some comic book program like that. For years I slept with the sleeping bag on my bed. I remember it well. It was green with a print of Mallard Ducks on the inside. The tent was a one man pup. One time my Dad slept out in the yard with me and his head had to stick out a little but, it was perfect for me. Friends and cousins used to camp out with me in it as well. I sharpened many a spear point with the hunting knife and I got pretty good at throwing my hatchet. It was quite a thrill to hear the thud as I sunk the blade of it into an old log. And that canteen quenched the thirst of many a soldier in our imaginary military maneuvers.

A couple years later a buddy of mine named Ernie found out in some magazine that there was free land to be had in Canada just like in the old days in America. You could get it by homesteading on it for a prescribed amount of years. So that was our plan. When we turned 18 we were heading to the great white north. In the mean time Ernie moved away and I started looking at land catalogs. There was one that listed rural properties from all over the United States. I used to pour over those pages just dreaming of the day when I'd finally have my own piece of the country.

Eventually, Ernie and I grew up. We were 18 and he came back to town for a visit. He said "So, do you still want to move to Canada?" By that time I had other interests, I was running around with friends and was pretty heavily into moto-cross racing. I looked at Ernie and said "Naw, guess not". For me, the dream was put on hold for the time being. Last I heard, Ernie was living in Florida. I haven't seen him in years, I wonder if he still remembers our dreams?

After growing up and starting my own family the dream was rekindled since my wife shared with me the same enthusiasm for living in the country. Since my childhood, my views have changed about the Tribulation. I now hold to the pre-trib rapture theory. My motives have changed about homesteading. I believe it is a more wholesome and biblical way of life. I see city living as more akin to life in Sodom and Gomorrah. But all in all I see life in the country as a far more desirable way to live. I believe that the bible has a lot to say about that, but I'll save that for future posts as well.