Before my grandfather died I had a chance to interview him here and there. I would go over to his house and ask him questions about his childhood and growing up….the kind of stuff that no one else would know. I would ask him to sketch little maps of house and land and as he did that the stories would begin spilling out:
That’s where the well was. We lowered our milk and cheese down into it using a bucket to keep it cool.
The barn had a pool table in it. This is the window I once sent a pool ball crashing through.
This is where the wood-fired stove was that your great-grandmother cooked our meals on.
When we drove cross country this summer to our new home we made a detour up to Kansas to where my grandfather’s grandparents had homesteaded in the 1800’s. I had an old map and he had pinpointed the location of the farmhouse he grew up in.
The old farm was right here. We didn’t have any electricity.
When we got to Lindsborgh in early June, we ate lunch and then I showed to my grandfather’s map to a few locals to see if they could decipher where the location of the farmhouse was. Two women stared and chatted and then you could see a lightbulb go off: they knew exactly where it was….and it was still there.
Excited, we jumped in the truck and we drove from the town into the rural country. We drove down skinny paved roads with wheat fields for as far as the eye could see. Then we turned onto a gravel road. And then a dirt road. Then another dirt road. And finally we found it. I recognized it from the photos I had.
When we arrived at the farmhouse I think what hit us most was the remoteness of it.
What on earth did they do out here?
Where did they buy things?
Who did they talk to?
And the answer was so simple:
They worked all day.
They rarely bought things.
They talked to each other.
They shared with neighbors.
They went to church.
They were pretty darn self sufficient.
This was the American Dream.
And they were happy.
I recently read The Last American Man and it’s was one of those books that I stayed up all night reading because it really hit me how profound it was:
Do people live in circles today? No. They live in boxes. They wake up every morning in a box of their bedrooms because a box next to them started making beeping noises to tell them it was time to get up. They eat their breakfast out of a box and then they throw that box away into another box. Then they leave the box where they live and get into another box with wheels and drive to work, which is just another big box broken into little cubicle boxes where a bunch of people spend their days sitting and staring at the computer boxes in front of them. When the day is over, everyone gets into the box with wheels again and goes home to the house boxes and spends the evening staring at the television boxes for entertainment. They get their music from a box, they get their food from a box, they keep their clothing in a box, they live their lives in a box. Break out of the box! This not the way humanity lived for thousands of years.
Clever, ambitious, and always in search of greater efficiency, we Americans have, in two short centuries, created a world of push button, round the clock comfort for ourselves. The basic needs of humanity – food, clothing, shelter, entertainment, transportation, and even sexual pleasure – no longer need to be personally laboured for or ritualised or even understood. All these things are available to us now for mere cash. Or credit. Which means that nobody needs to know how to do anything any more, except the one narrow skill that will earn enough money to pay for the conveniences and services of modern living.
But in replacing every challenge with a short cut we seem to have lost something and Eustace isn’t the only person feeling that loss. We are an increasingly depressed and anxious people – and not for nothing. Arguably, all these modern conveniences have been adopted to save us time. But time for what? Having created a system that tends to our every need without causing us undue exertion or labour, we can now fill those hours with…? –The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert
More and more I’m craving a world of less convenience. The closest Target is 67 miles away. The closest Walmart is 20 miles away. It’s kind of nice not having so many choices.
I used to dream about the perfect house and perfect clothes. Now I find myself dreaming about fresh air and blackberry bushes. Baby chickens and maple trees. Hanging laundry and a good pair of overalls. And maybe building a cabin one day:
(Foxfire Books, Volume 1) : Hog Dressing, Log Cabin Building, Mountain Crafts and Foods, Planting by the Signs, Snake Lore, Hunting Tales, Faith Healing, Moonshining, and Other Affairs of Plain Living
I love the idea of plain living.
How did this happen?
And how do I show others…..
oh my goodness, I love your new outlook!! Isn’t it funny how being far from “things” can be exciting? It leaves room to explore, to be quiet, to appreciate what you do have around you—which is usually the most important people in the world!
I live in the country—25 minutes from the nearest WalMart. My city friends can’t believe how f-a-r I live away. I always ask “why would I want to live down the street from WalMart?” Although, sometimes I do miss convenience (even in the form of huge box stores) so your post really brought me back to what I know—I need to be reminded often. So I look forward to more blogs of how you are finding joy in your life—in the mountains!
God bless you!
Christie
My thoughts exactly. Thank you, it’s perfectly written. A simple life is a good life.
profound – thank you – I recently moved from a place that had no traffic lights – other than one flashing one at a four way stop to Greenville, SC where it can take 30 minutes to travel 5 miles – I miss the ocean too 🙂
I live in rural Wales. Our nearest town is 4 miles away, and our village boasts a post office that is open 3 days a week, a community centre, church and, rather randomly, a beauty salon. I buy our eggs from a local farm, a 10 minute walk across the fields. I use thè internet for clothes: I have very long legs, and shopping for trousers long enough normally involves an 80 mile round trip.
There’s a growing trend in the UK of out of town housing developments being built with local amenities, such as shops, to improve sustainability and improve community relationships.
The local pub and the shop closed a few years ago, and there has been a significant reduction in the number of community events. Although rural living is great, I just wish there was a local shop where we could grab bread and milk etc without having to jump in the car. People used to gather in the shop on a Tuesday night to wait for the local weekly paper to be delivered. There would be discussions of plans for the parish, and everyone knew each other. I miss it. It’s very hard to balance the isolation and still be part of an active community, especially in an area where the vast majority don’t go to church. (Me being one of them.)
Thank you for a beautifully written post, it has made me think of my own situation and take note of what I crave. When the time comes for me to move to pastures new, I know what I need to think about!
I’m envious!
I totally know what you are experiencing. My fiancé and I just moved out of the city, into the country. It is refreshing and inspiring! I hope you enjoy xx
http://thethingssheseesblog.blogspot.com
Ashley — I’ve been reading your blog off and on for the last year and just today I have subscribed to your newsletter. Your writing and your adventure are so deeply inspiring to me. My husband and I are hovering around 60 years old (I’m 60 and he’s 57) , and in about one year we are facing an empty nest. (I was still having babies into my 40’s… uh…yeah) And we feel a bit like we are at a crossroads. It’s wonderfully exhilarating.
I look forward to checking in on you periodically as your life unfolds at the Hemlock Inn! Thanks so much for writing.
Thank you so much for this (and all your posts) Ashley. I found your blog several months ago while looking for wooden door plaques and have been checking in ever since!
Having been born and raised in London, I new my life needed to change when it became stuck in a rut. I moved out into the “country” as my friends called it (in reality it was only 40 mins away and not at all like the middle of nowhere). Over the few years I was there I met my fiance and had my daughter. But I soon realised that it still wasn’t the place I wanted to be. It was still too towny and built up, with most shops you could want practically on my doorstep and new houses being built everywhere you look.
After much hunting we are now (in two weeks) moving to a new house in a small village much further away, where there is deeper sense of community, just one shop and post office, a church and a school for our daughter and we cannot wait. We will be surrounded by farms and open spaces and the sense of relief we both feel over that is overwhelming.
Reading about your adventures at The Hemlock are amazing…it sounds more and more like the sort of place my fiance would love, as he loves hiking and exploring and going off the beaten track to see where it takes you. Maybe we’ll have to come and visit!
I lived in a small KS town from 2002 – 2003. I still own my 1901 home in Garnett. I loved small town. Grocery shopping every other week. Staying at home. Our WalMart was 23 miles away. Lowes & Home Depot at that time 87 miles. Target too. Now it is 60 miles away. We had a Dairy Queen, Subway, Sonic, Pizza Hut, & mom & pop restaurants. We cooked every night except pay day. Then we had take out. Where we live now in the country. My brother & parents are a mile away instead of 8 hrs. My grandchildren are 4 hours instead if 8. I miss my city commission meetings & a good friend. I miss the debt free home. I don’t like that we are 20 miles from Home Depot. 45 miles from Lowes. Soon Target will be 20minutes away. There are days I want to take my dogs, sewing machines, fabric, yarn, dolls, & return to KS. Especially since I have major damage due to a roof leak that no one listened to me about. Now more money & frustration. I take my little house anyway.
Yay! The Foxfire books! Now I have to read The Last American Man.
Ashley I couldn’t agree more. Last year we moved to a 1740 saltbox farmhouse and although it’s still a box (with modern amenities) I find myself thinking more and more about the previous families who’ve lived here, how simply hard they worked and all from the land. I want to do them right by embracing their simple home and keeping it as ‘natural’ as possible. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with everyone!
Love that you found the old farmhouse! And were able to interview your grandfather before he died. I wish I had done that, but my grandparents didn’t talk much about the “old days”, and now they are all gone. I really want to bring my family up to the Hemlock Inn in September, and would love to meet you while we are there! Are there any weekends you know you won’t be there? I’m thinking we might come the weekend after labor day. And do you think we could get by with staying 1 night or do we need 2? We only live about 2 hours away.
I wanted to tell you of an event that happens in Tennessee every year. I see that you and your family are having a wonderful time exploring the Smokey Mountains, so I thought you might enjoy this event – The National Storytellers Festival in Jonesborough, TN. Look up their website to get all of the information. It is an awesome festival; storytellers from all around the world! My family and I went every year for 11 years straight. At the time, we were living in Florida and it was easy to travel to Tennessee. Now we reside in Colorado so it is not as easy to get back there. Our family also enjoys the Smokey Mountains and all the beauty it holds. I hope you and yours will never stop exploring all that it can offer.
Maybe we’ll see you at storytellers this year. We plan on attending this year because our son will soon be going to boot camp and before he goes, Tennessee was the place he wanted to take one last vacation with mom and dad.
Thanks for listening and thanks for your wonderful blog. Linda
Us too! Step into a time machine and go back to when times were actually enjoyed, LIVED, where we had what we could actually produce or make and the loved ones we shared it with. Take me to a simpler time away from and outside of the box.
Have you ever seen this documentary? Its fascinating, and talk about getting back to the basics! When you said log cabin, it reminded me of this. Dick Proenneke moved to the Alaska wilderness and lived off the land for 30 years. Made his cabin using tools he made by hand. He felt “guilty” using tarpaper under his handmade roof. He fashioned door locks out of carved wood. Simply amazing!
http://www.aloneinthewilderness.com