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16 Comments

  3. I was born in 1939 the year “Hitiler” invaded Poland. I grew up during WWII. I learned to live without a lot of thing because they were not available. After the War we moved to my Grandparent farm in the California near Lindsey. We raised olive,cotton, cattle and hogs. I learned how to farm and ranch. We had Ford tractor but most of our hay was cut with and old horse drawn mower and rack. We ate OK because we grew a garden,fruit trees and raised our own poultry, hogs and beef. Us country kids didn’t have the best of clothes and shoes. We hunted birds, around the neighbor’s farms and ranches. We hunted deer in the Sierras. They were hunting license and no tags for deer. I think there may have been Duck stamps. I didn’t know you couldn’t hunt geese at night in the moon light until I was a teenager. I learned to can and freeze food, render lard and smoke meat as a young man. We didn’t have much but we got by. I spent 30 years in Alaska and all that my elder taught me came in very handy. The skills I learned from the old timer still works well except the body is wearing out. People today need to learn some of the old ways if they except to survive went we have a EMP or other catastrophic event. The guys with the badges probably will be far and few between. Our kids need to learn what it takes to make it if things go south. Good Luck The Gman

    1. Thank you for your post Gman. It fascinates me that tough people always find a way to survive. In this day, folks like you are few, and I admire your determination to persevere and survive. I would love to talk with you, your accumulated knowledge and experience is priceless. Thank you and God Bless.

      TWB

  5. I’m reading the book “Pioneer Women of the West” by Elizabeth Fries Ellet.

    I’m finding as the population began to move from the east coast into the virgin territories of Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee that the people, though very resourceful and self reliant still had to on many occasions re-supply from a fort where goods were stored.

    I have heard it said many times, if there is an EMP we’ll be back in the 1800s.

    No, not even the 1700s from the time period that the above book is written.

    It will be the Stone Age. It will be incredibly hard. Those without strength and skills will perish.

  6. Please write a book about all your travels and learning and skills!! As you said everything is over regulated to the point where it is hard to live a self-sustaining life. Even in the wilds of the north country there always seems to be someone to check your license, how you got to where you are, time of day, etc. etc. Because of greedy selfish people, who want to take everything for money, the watchers are everywhere. Those who are truly trying to live a subsistence life style practice natural conversion laws so there will be animals, fish, birds etc., for next year and the next generation.

  7. I recall as a teen in the late1960’s being with my grandparents here in rural Tennessee and helping around the farm. There was no phone, no electricity, no running water, but a hand drawn well. Nothing was missed. During my college years (the 1970’s), I asked my grandfather what it was like living on the farm during the Depression. His answer was “we didn’t know there was one”. How very satisfying and life affirming. They had hogs, cows, chickens, a garden, and cut rail road ties from timber on the farm for money. They were married and bought this farm 98 years ago when they were aged 15 and 13 years old. I’m proud of my heritage. They weren’t quitters and never expected anything from anybody.

    1. You should be proud, jima. Your Grandfather was a remarkable man, I just am not sure if they are made like that anymore. Cherish your heritage, this country became great because of folks like your Grandfather!

  8. I’ve said it before, History books make great survival books and antiques make great survival tools. I cringe when I hear and see technology being spouted for TEOTWAWKI preparedness. It is much easier to prep if you simply give up on the idea of needing electricity. Not to say I don’t have a generator and solar but those are not really for TEOTWAWKI but rather a short lived SHTF incident. Learn History, learn to survive.

  9. Well …………………….there IS a way to bring back the old ways of lving………collapse the money system ( world wide ). Problem is, after that it ain’t going to be purdy ! . So I will keep learnin those alone-in-the-forest – skills.

  10. Always loved that lifestyle where we went exploring up the creek when electronics weren’t thought of yet.
    One lifestyle we can look to here in upstate NY is the old order Amish. Although they do purchase some store bought items they live mostly the way they did several hundred years ago. They have had to adapt some to the way they milk cows and store the milk to prevent bacteria from growing though. Seems like a hard but satisfying life.

    As “weird Al” says if i finish my chores and you finish yours we’re gonna party like its 1699!

  11. Once a year resupply. This museum in Kansas City illustrates that beautifully: http://1856.com/arabias-story/

    Settlers depended on the boat to bring necessary implements and food. The museum has all those resupply items for us to learn from.

    I remember being on short rations at Camp Pendleton when torrential rains flooded the roads and there was no resupply. We made do and learned a few things. I was introduced to the P-38 so I could open a C-ration can and eat.

    Carry on.

  12. i was raised in the mt’s. of S.W Virginia in the 60’s. We were farmers on 650 acres and if we didn’t farm it ,hunt it ,or fish it , we didn’t have it . Our cash crop was tobacco and a small s.s check that my grand father got from working in the coal mines .We could not afford a Horse drawn wagon so he took trees out of the woods and hand hewed a set of runners and built a sled to haul crops ,wood , rocks or what ever else that needed moving . We used Carbide lights and a 22 single shot Colt rifel for coon hunting with my best friend (a Shepard dog) . As a kid of 7 yrs. i skinned the coon’s we hunted for their hides and tacked them to the smoke house wall to dry . My grand father would take them to the Stock Yard (which now would be called a Red Neck Flea Market ) and sell them . I might get from 50 cents to $2 depending on the grade. This was a lot of $$$$$ for a little kid. I used this to buy bullets and fishing supplies . We had no T.V and I was allowed to listen to the Grand O Opery an the news on the radio and that was it . we attended church on Friday or Saturday evening and then on Sunday . The nearest store was 10 miles down the mountain . I am grateful for that life experience and think i was blessed by God to be raised by such wonderful grand parents . We had a root cell cellar and a out house . Our water flowed from a hillside spring above the house to a 25 gal. crock on the back porch where the gasoline engine washing machine was for washing clothes . My grand maw heated water on the wood fire cook stove to wash clothes and fill a galvanized cattle watering trough in which we bathed . NOW IT”S CALLED PREPPING

  13. I can relate to this, but not actual life. When I graduated high school (’81), I wanted to be an Alaskan hunting guide. Bought the rifles (good excuse, lol) and began building a ‘grub stake’ for my hunting operation. An Alaskan fish wheel by the stream where my cabin would be. Even finding a lame Indian cook named Curly, lol. I had plans and dreams.

    My cousin also wanted to do this as well as one of his classmates. The classmate was able to go to Alaska, but came back six months later. Too hard – no one wanted to hire him (teaching a newbie was too much trouble was their excuse) and finding no work, he had to come back.

    So I remain an urbanite but do regularly go out hunting and camping. On private land, so fires gleaned from wood is no problem, we use stoves only when we are in a hurry or have a cold camp (no fire).

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