Homesteading at a early age

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Sonny Barrett

Sonny Barrett

Super Friend
Neighbor
Joined
Aug 11, 2018
Messages
28
Location
Coventry , NY
I guess it qualified as homesteading before it was labeled homesteading before social media ...
I'm 66 yrs old and from the first memory as a child that is the way we lived . In rural upstate NY growing up didn't have all the conviences of modern day .. we lived in a old cinder block house which was great for keeping cool in the summertime , but made it hard to heat in the winter .
For heat we had a woodstove between the dining area and small living room that didn't have much room for more than a couch 2 overstuffed chairs , a small coffee table and a upright piano my mother used to play ..... ( notice lack of TV) ...
I remember the cold winter nights the sides of that old stove glowing red hot..... our kitchen was small , no running water ,, we had to carry water in old milk cans that had been used to ship milk to market .. a sink some under counter cupboards a refrigerator , kitchen gas range and a kerosene heater for real cold nights ... our bathroom consisted of what is now considered a compost toilet ,, a 5 hall in bucket under a seat with sawdust in it ... a medicine cabinet with a mirror on it ( the only one one in the house ) and 3 dressers ...
Our bedroom ,,, yes only one bedroom ... there was a set of bunkbeds for me and my brother ,, of course me being the oldest had the top which I did manage to roll out of onto the floor many times and my mother and father's bed on the other side of the room that was devided by a curtain. . The only electric we had was my father put a set of jumpers from a NYSEG line to our house ... guess it's safe to say that now being over 50 years ago statute of limitations has passed . LOL
We had a huge garden that was worked in all the time , no such thing as being bored backthen .. I remember when we harvested the "taters" we probly had 100 bushels .. ya ALL HAND DUG ... tons of carrots and beets .. we always had a Berger my dad and grandfather butchered usually when the first heavy frosts started coming in ... the only form of entertainment was my horse that I ride all the time cutting new trails thru the 300 plus acres behind our property... that's how I spent my first 15 years of my life until my parents purchased their own property , a double wide , driven well with running water and a real honest to god bathroom and septic that they had saved for 17 years to purchase ...
By today's standard it's called homesteading ,, 60+ years ago it was called surviving .....
This has brought back a lot of memories ,,, both happy and also sad ones ,, I hope I haven't bored anyone too bad with this but I guess I have paid my dues and qualified as a homesteader
 
Welcome Sonny! And yes, that was surviving and those are the skills people have lost and did not pass on to their children. Many of my homesteading friends do pass it on and those are the ones who will be helping the others when the time comes. Please do share more. I know you have a ton of the how to information for the ones who do not know how or what to do.
 
Welcome to the group. We homestead in a small scale compared to how you grew up. :) We have running water and electric. I truly believe it is good to introduce our younger generations to our kind of lifestyle and take every opportunity when the grandkids stop by for a visit.
 
Dani said:
Welcome to the group. We homestead in a small scale compared to how you grew up. :) We have running water and electric. I truly believe it is good to introduce our younger generations to our kind of lifestyle and take every opportunity when the grandkids stop by for a visit.
Click to expand...
Thank you for taking time to read my post ,, the younger generation wouldn't survive ,,, have a great weekend
 
Sonny Barrett said:
I guess it qualified as homesteading before it was labeled homesteading before social media ...
I'm 66 yrs old and from the first memory as a child that is the way we lived . In rural upstate NY growing up didn't have all the conviences of modern day .. we lived in a old cinder block house which was great for keeping cool in the summertime , but made it hard to heat in the winter .
For heat we had a woodstove between the dining area and small living room that didn't have much room for more than a couch 2 overstuffed chairs , a small coffee table and a upright piano my mother used to play ..... ( notice lack of TV) ...
I remember the cold winter nights the sides of that old stove glowing red hot..... our kitchen was small , no running water ,, we had to carry water in old milk cans that had been used to ship milk to market .. a sink some under counter cupboards a refrigerator , kitchen gas range and a kerosene heater for real cold nights ... our bathroom consisted of what is now considered a compost toilet ,, a 5 hall in bucket under a seat with sawdust in it ... a medicine cabinet with a mirror on it ( the only one one in the house ) and 3 dressers ...
Our bedroom ,,, yes only one bedroom ... there was a set of bunkbeds for me and my brother ,, of course me being the oldest had the top which I did manage to roll out of onto the floor many times and my mother and father's bed on the other side of the room that was devided by a curtain. . The only electric we had was my father put a set of jumpers from a NYSEG line to our house ... guess it's safe to say that now being over 50 years ago statute of limitations has passed . LOL
We had a huge garden that was worked in all the time , no such thing as being bored backthen .. I remember when we harvested the "taters" we probly had 100 bushels .. ya ALL HAND DUG ... tons of carrots and beets .. we always had a Berger my dad and grandfather butchered usually when the first heavy frosts started coming in ... the only form of entertainment was my horse that I ride all the time cutting new trails thru the 300 plus acres behind our property... that's how I spent my first 15 years of my life until my parents purchased their own property , a double wide , driven well with running water and a real honest to god bathroom and septic that they had saved for 17 years to purchase ...
By today's standard it's called homesteading ,, 60+ years ago it was called surviving .....
This has brought back a lot of memories ,,, both happy and also sad ones ,, I hope I haven't bored anyone too bad with this but I guess I have paid my dues and qualified as a homesteader
Click to expand...

Sonny it didn't bore me at all, I enjoyed your little story. As I'm sure many here will.

I had a taste of it although it wasn't because my mother ' also a very talented pianist' choose to live this way since she was a raised in the city. But we cleared lots of land by hand and hauled water up hill from the well in buckets when pump went out and that was often and we best not spill any. She would set the points on the pump with match book cover, seemed to fit perfectly. I'd lay with her on that concrete floor and hold flashlight,which sometimes caused me a mama inflicted injury if it wasn't aimed just right.
But we had a great life because she also had a place in the big Atlanta city. Had the best of two worlds. Guess that is why I don't like to be in one place all the time. I have never been stationary for long. She was always fighting with the huge dairyman whos cows would break down our dam on our lake. And she always had her Pearl Handle 38 S&W next to her and practiced often. could shoot the head off an aggressive rattle or water moccasin from a good distance. She never killed the ones who kept their distant, but one did bit her inside our car and she had to fight to save her leg.
 
katlupe said:
Welcome Sonny! And yes, that was surviving and those are the skills people have lost and did not pass on to their children. Many of my homesteading friends do pass it on and those are the ones who will be helping the others when the time comes. Please do share more. I know you have a ton of the how to information for the ones who do not know how or what to do.
Click to expand...
Thank you for reading it Kat .... you've paid your dues also
 
Meerkat said:
Sonny it didn't bore me at all, I enjoyed your little story. As I'm sure many here will.

I had a taste of it although it wasn't because my mother ' also a very talented pianist' choose to live this way since she was a raised in the city. But we cleared lots of land by hand and hauled water up hill from the well in buckets when pump went out and that was often and we best not spill any. She would set the points on the pump with match book cover, seemed to fit perfectly. I'd lay with her on that concrete floor and hold flashlight,which sometimes caused me a mama inflicted injury if it wasn't aimed just right.
But we had a great life because she also had a place in the big Atlanta city. Had the best of two worlds. Guess that is why I don't like to be in one place all the time. I have never been stationary for long. She was always fighting with the huge dairyman whos cows would break down our dam on our lake. And she always had her Pearl Handle 38 S&W next to her and practiced often. could shoot the head off an aggressive rattle or water moccasin from a good distance. She never killed the ones who kept their distant, but one did bit her inside our car and she had to fight to save her leg.
Click to expand...
Thank you for reading it , there are so many that cannot even comprehend what it is about
 
katlupe said:
Welcome Sonny! And yes, that was surviving and those are the skills people have lost and did not pass on to their children. Many of my homesteading friends do pass it on and those are the ones who will be helping the others when the time comes. Please do share more. I know you have a ton of the how to information for the ones who do not know how or what to do.
Click to expand...
I know I'm going to spending a lot of time on here ,, a lot of interesting articles on here ,, thank you for steering me here ,, it means more to me than you can imagine
 
Sonny Barrett said:
I know I'm going to spending a lot of time on here ,, a lot of interesting articles on here ,, thank you for steering me here ,, it means more to me than you can imagine
Click to expand...

Now you can see why I was so "into" the homesteading life. Just was hard doing it alone, so to speak.
 
katlupe said:
Now you can see why I was so "into" the homesteading life. Just was hard doing it alone, so to speak.
Click to expand...
I was born into it ,, never liked it but no choice ,,, nowadays
"" homesteaders"" the majority have the conviences if electric, water , sewer ... not truly the conditions we had ,, some will never know ,, it was hard growing up that way
 
Sonny Barrett said:
I know I'm going to spending a lot of time on here ,, a lot of interesting articles on here ,, thank you for steering me here ,, it means more to me than you can imagine
Click to expand...
Sonny Barrett said:
I was born into it ,, never liked it but no choice ,,, nowadays
"" homesteaders"" the majority have the conviences if electric, water , sewer ... not truly the conditions we had ,, some will never know ,, it was hard growing up that way
Click to expand...


But if we think about it Sonny, todays generation has it even worse in many ways. It is a very dangerous time for them with so much violence and crime and their future is not looking that good either. At least we had the possibility of a great future ,not so with this new generation. Their nation has been sold out and they have been brainwashed by their communist professors strategiously placed in places of higher learning. I get mad at them but I have to try to understand too.
 
Meerkat said:
But if we think about it Sonny, todays generation has it even worse in many ways. It is a very dangerous time for them with so much violence and crime and their future is not looking that good either. At least we had the possibility of a great future ,not so with this new generation. Their nation has been sold out and they have been brainwashed by their communist professors strategiously placed in places of higher learning. I get mad at them but I have to try to understand too.
Click to expand...
The new generation would not be able to survive ,, never have had to go past the frozen food isle at the supermarket.... 60 + years have changed things
 
Sonny Barrett said:
I was born into it ,, never liked it but no choice ,,, nowadays
"" homesteaders"" the majority have the conviences if electric, water , sewer ... not truly the conditions we had ,, some will never know ,, it was hard growing up that way
Click to expand...
But the only thing, and this is the thing that worries me the most about moving, is that when something happens and being prepared is the only way to survive, I will not be able to. In the beginning of moving to Peaceful Forest, I did not want to add the power system at all. I wanted to live like it was the old days. Now I am reading about urban preppers, and the only way they can survive is to have a place to "bug out" to in the country IF they can get out of the city. Electric is meaningless even in a country home unless you are generating the power yourself, unless something bigger happens and your power goes down too. Better off at my age, to just shoot myself. But for people in the country, they can learn how to do without the services. And survive.
 
i very much enjoyed your story. it brought back memories of my grandmother telling me her stories of the great depression. i was the only one of her grandchildren that was not bored by them. i have brought a lot of those lessons with me in my adult life. one of her favorite tools to teach us was the movie GONE WITH THE WIND and SHENADOAH.
 
katlupe said:
But the only thing, and this is the thing that worries me the most about moving, is that when something happens and being prepared is the only way to survive, I will not be able to. In the beginning of moving to Peaceful Forest, I did not want to add the power system at all. I wanted to live like it was the old days. Now I am reading about urban preppers, and the only way they can survive is to have a place to "bug out" to in the country IF they can get out of the city. Electric is meaningless even in a country home unless you are generating the power yourself, unless something bigger happens and your power goes down too. Better off at my age, to just shoot myself. But for people in the country, they can learn how to do without the services. And survive.
Click to expand...
never talk like that ,, you are a survivor , you would have plenty of help if needed but in our lifetime you will never see it happen ...
enjoy you golden years , there are plenty of supporters out there for you ...
 
katlupe said:
But the only thing, and this is the thing that worries me the most about moving, is that when something happens and being prepared is the only way to survive, I will not be able to. In the beginning of moving to Peaceful Forest, I did not want to add the power system at all. I wanted to live like it was the old days. Now I am reading about urban preppers, and the only way they can survive is to have a place to "bug out" to in the country IF they can get out of the city. Electric is meaningless even in a country home unless you are generating the power yourself, unless something bigger happens and your power goes down too. Better off at my age, to just shoot myself. But for people in the country, they can learn how to do without the services. And survive.
Click to expand...

I am glad they have the option but not so sure it will work our as planned. They see a piss ant from space now so nowhere to run or hide anymore unless your real strong and healthy which many of us are not Either of the two. Saying this I will say,'if I could I would also have Bug out location. But since we have to work with what we have hope we can enjoy what little piece of content we can while we can.
Too bad I can't do what I preach though.:eyeballs: It just sounds good to type I guess.
Do best we can do and hope for the best.
 
timmie said:
i very much enjoyed your story. it brought back memories of my grandmother telling me her stories of the great depression. i was the only one of her grandchildren that was not bored by them. i have brought a lot of those lessons with me in my adult life. one of her favorite tools to teach us was the movie GONE WITH THE WIND and SHENADOAH.
Click to expand...

My oldest grandaughter is the same way, and others not as impressed although they do seem to like it ok.
Gone With The Wind,Shenadoah, both are :great:
 
Welcome to the forum @Sonny Barrett . It's good to meet you! There are several people here that were raised a lot like you were. My advantage here in Alabama is the Weather here doesn't get quite as cold as what you had to endure up yonder. It was a good thing too cause we were raised in a frame house with a tin roof and no insulation. We could watch the chickens under the house and the stars at night from our pallet on the floor. My oldest granddaughter didn't even know you could wash dishes in the sink until she was 7 years old, and we wonder sometimes where we went wrong with our kids.
 
Welcome, Sonny! I am a native of South Dakota. I spent summers on my grandparent's ranch. They raised cattle, pigs and chickens. They never had running water and for around 20 years lived in a home that was 12 by 24 where they raised their 7 children, including my mother without electricity. Then they got a new house, 24 by 24, and now had two bedrooms and electricity. My parents had 40 acres until my mother's death. My childhood was spent with grandparents who had raised their families during the 30's. All of that has had a major influence on my life.
 
welcome to the forum.
gumpy said:
Welcome to the forum @Sonny Barrett . It's good to meet you! There are several people here that were raised a lot like you were. My advantage here in Alabama is the Weather here doesn't get quite as cold as what you had to endure up yonder. It was a good thing too cause we were raised in a frame house with a tin roof and no insulation. We could watch the chickens under the house and the stars at night from our pallet on the floor. My oldest granddaughter didn't even know you could wash dishes in the sink until she was 7 years old, and we wonder sometimes where we went wrong with our kids.
Click to expand...
i agree with everything gumpy said. one set of my grandparents didn't have running water until 1975. some of us grandkids would go over every day and draw water from the well for them, and do whatever chores we could. it usually wound up being me,brothers and sisters because we lived closer. but looking back i think it was more because we were taught to take care of our elderly and it was the right thing to do.
 
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