It’s been almost 40 years since the Homestead Act was repealed. But the legacy of self-sufficiency and living off the land continues today. Julie Sabatier host of the public radio show, Destination DIY, visited some modern-day, Northwest homesteaders. She has this story about people who grow and make most of what they need in everyday life.
Goode and Carol Jones are what you might call “Old School” DIYers.
Carol: "Well, when we grew up, DIY was called “making do.”
She’s 66 now. Carol and her husband Goode live just outside Salem, Oregon. They call themselves “experimental archaeologists.” They’re both fascinated by primitive art and tools. In the summertime, they conduct workshops on “early living skills.” And Goode has an impressive collection of clothing made from hides he tanned himself as well as arrowheads, baskets, bowls and other stuff he’s made. But Goode doesn’t just use these skills for a few weeks in the summer. He’s a year-round maker.
Goode: "I broke the handle on one of these spoons the other day. So, I forged out a new handle for it."
Goode has a forge behind the outdoor kitchen on the property he and Carol have shared for the past 17 years...
Goode: "Where I do a lot of iron work and things of that nature."
Carol: "We work as a team. Goode can make almost anything, but I’m like the artistic director."
Goode: "Real quick, the greenhouse back here’s almost all recycled material. That’s where I start a lot of my plants that we’ll live on through the year."
Even though they make more than they buy, Carol says she doesn’t identify as a modern-day homesteader.
Carol: "If we were younger...(laughs) Homesteaders are awesome people, but that’s going back a little too far for me. I don’t want to start from zero again, to have every single part of every single day be work, something you had to make or do yourself."
Beka: "Well, she’s right, but what is life if not work?"
Rebeka Vincent is half Carol’s age and she lives with her husband Nik and their three kids on a small homestead in Clackamas County, Oregon.
Beka: "I don’t know if it’s a homestead. We call it an urban homestead because I don’t know what else to call it."
President Lincoln signed the Homestead Act in 1862 as a way to encourage westward expansion. The new law allowed any US citizen to claim 160 acres of government land for a small filing fee. After five years, homesteaders could qualify for ownership for the property, provided that they lived on the land and improved it by building on it and planting crops. The law was repealed in 1976, but the concept of homesteading stuck around and is still associated with self-reliance. That’s how the Vincent family interprets it.
Beka: "It was exciting. We woke up this morning, we came out and we found a new mama who had hatched 10 little, baby ducks. And ducks actually are perfect for Oregon homesteading. We do have chickens, but ducks are so well-adapted. They love the rain. They come out and dance in the rain."
Stella: "There are ducks, chickens, goats and turkeys." (wing flap)
9-year-old Stella was holding an unruly chicken that chose that moment to flap its way out of her arms. That might be why she forgot to mention that they also have geese and rabbits. Many of these animals will eventually become food for the family. And they do a lot of their own butchering. 13-year-old Josh says that took some getting used to.
Josh: "Yeah, it was a lot harder when we were younger. Like, the first time we butchered a lot of chickens, we accidentally got one of my favorites in there and, yeah, that was kind of sad."
The kids sometimes complain about all the extra work they have to do when they get home from school, but Stella says she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Stella: "And it’s really fun doing this lifestyle because, like, we get more out of life than if we were just couch potatoes."
The Vincent Family and others like them are proof that a simpler way of life is still possible, even in our increasingly digital world.