Reprint of talk by Hal Porter at the Florida School of Living Meeting held January 29, 1966 at the American Homesteading Foundation\u27s village hall, Melbourne Village, FL.  The talk has been reprinted in five installments

Porter, Hal

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Green RevolutionVolume 4 | Issue 7 Article 17-1-1966Some Thoughts on Homesteading, Part V - I WillCooperate With Nature; Who Will Go and DoLikewise?Hal PorterFollow this and additional works at: https://research.library.kutztown.edu/greenrevolutionThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by Research Commons at Kutztown University. It has been accepted for inclusion in GreenRevolution by an authorized editor of Research Commons at Kutztown University. For more information, please contact czerny@kutztown.edu,.Recommended CitationPorter, Hal (1966) "Some Thoughts on Homesteading, Part V - I Will Cooperate With Nature; Who Will Go and Do Likewise?,"Green Revolution: Vol. 4 : Iss. 7 , Article 1.Available at: https://research.library.kutztown.edu/greenrevolution/vol4/iss7/1THE GREEN FOR HOMESTEADERS, ON-TO-THE-LANDERS, AND DO-rr-YOURSELFERS Volume 4, Number 7 Some Thoughts on Homesteading, Part V-I Will Cooperate With Nature; Who Will Go and Do Likewise? By Hal Porter Instead of fighting the soil, the insects, the weeds, the weather, and the small animals which crawl, swim and dig, I would live and let live. and con­centrate my efforts ori building up the beautiful dirt in which things would grow. I would haul vegetable mat­ter, such as lawn clippings, leaves, and particularly palmetto leaves which others threw away; and spread it on my land. I would haul seaweed like mad whenever it appeared on the beach, for its mineral content in my mulch and compost. I would materially assist the chicken farmer, the horse raisers, the dairy farmers, and other grow­ers of animals to dispose of their wastes. I would also add rock minerals, like dolomite, ground phosphate rock, and ground granite, to the soil. Fertile soil, mineral rich. would produce healthy plants, which would mean health for me and my fami­ly and my chickens and animals and would also protect my crops from insects, drouth. and cold. Nor would . I be concerned about so-called filth and germs. The designation of animal ma­nures as filth is another form of snobbery. Anything which is as necessary to life cannot be filth. mn,.J\.-� � .. � ..,or--- d:Llr' :scrsrl....-cte ·C1.hu, ....beauty is in the eyes of the be­holder. One could say with equal justification that a stink is in the nose of the smeller. Those who object to the smell of ma­nure wrinkle their noses not at all at the stench of trucks and busses and enter a cellar bar where the horrible smell of stale cigarette smoke. stale liquor. and stale perfume assails the nose without even thinking of it as a stink. There they sit and lis­ten to a so-called singer whose noises would make any rooster cower in the hen yard, yet speak with ill nature of the neighbors· chicltens disturbing their sleep. These same people worry them­selves sick over germs and spend millions of dollars for disinfect­ants and seem not to be dis­turbed by the poisons in their cigarettes, food, and liquor. Knowing that without bacteria, germs, and all the other myriad tiny unseen animal and plant Two Meetings On West Coast Paul Marks (Box N, Los Banos, Calif.), chairman of the West Coast area of School of Living, reports a lively interest in two meetings to be held while Dr. Leo Koch, president. and Mrs. Mary Koch, secretary, of School of Living, are in that area this summer. A Bay Area meeting will be held on July 16 and 17. at Friends Center, 2160 Lake St. (at 23rd). Contact Pat Herron. 600 Stanyan. No. 11, San Francisco, for further information. A Los Angeles area meeting will be held Aug. 6 and 7, at the Anderson Research Center. 43" N. Kenmore, Los Angeles. Dr. and Mrs. Koch are eager to meet as many School of Liv­ing members and friends as pos­sible, to consider plans there. Members are asked to present their own concerns and sugges­tions. Further, plans are to pre­sent and discuss A Green Revolu­tion Manifesto (to be first pre­sented and read at the July 4 weekend festival in Ohio). life there would be no human life either, ,and that even the germs which are considered harmful can't attack a healthy body, I would accept these mi­nute forms of life as part of na­ture and be glad the good ones would help me and protect me from the bad ones. And thus I would fear nothing in nature, feel no hate or resent­ment, and be so secure that my only worry would be that life is too short and the days too short for me to do all the things I wish to do. Because I not only want to grow all these things but also observe and study them. I could pass up a lot of plays and musicals and other entertainment necessary to the cultured citizen for the untold pleasure and won­der of watching a butterfly formed and colored so much like an autumn leaf that it was in­visible when at rest on the ground. Like a small boy trans­fixed by the wonder of nature, I would run back into the house, from an inspection tour of the woods, fields, and garden, to tell my wife about a new plant in bloom, or a new bird seen. Life would be full. But I wouldn't live as a her­mit. Probably since there would be nothing of interest in homes of those in city and town I would insist that my friends come and sec 111e. ::- wou.ftf cur::.!_\7a::..�. t:t'J,e· friendship of those even vaguely interested in these things which I find so all-absorbing. I would hope that by example I might convince some to follow my path; that when they saw how healthy and happy my wife and I both were in our homestead existence, they might go and do likewise. I would continue to keep up a voluminous correspondence with like-minded folks for moral sup­port and greater knowledge and with some who were not of my particular outlook, but whom I might interest. And what more could I ask of life? July Activities At Lane's End Lane's End Homestead will be a small "grand central station·· this summer. as many persons come and go in an all-out effort to assemble and train a core of helpers, staff or co-workers to take over and develop activities that have been "piling-up" on the director. Mrs. Loomis. Richard and Phyllis Stane­wick. particularly, will be liv­ing at Lane's End this summer. Former teachers, they want "to find work more to their goals and liking than public school teaching. Their skills include craft, office, music and literary abilities. Intensive July Seminar The following have indicated plans to take some part in the month-long "End-All-War Semi­nar'" at Lane's End: Eleanor Woods, Blue River, Ore.: 0. T. Plumb, Streator. Ill.: Barney & Pat McCaffrey. on a tour of the U.S.: Mr. & Mrs. Josh Milner. Cleveland. 0.: and Richard & Phyllis Stanewick. We would be very happy to hear from any others who want to share in '·assessing modern culture and defining and discuss­ing 17 major problems of liv­ing.·· Experience in useful V,Tit­ing. group dynamics and personal inter-relating will also be part of the month's project.-MJL July, 1966 REVOLUTION SCHOOL OF UY/NG, IROOKY/LLE, OHIO 45309 PUBUSHED MONTHLY 25c per copy, $3 per yeor Fund Drive Begins in Earnest-Confribufions For New Center Are Needed; $6,250 ls Goal By Aug. 27 On left, wall of Old Mill north dormitory needs repair; old wheelhouse to be removed or converted {per­haps into a sunheated growing pit). Three Lefever boys on road. On right, workshop banquet in July, 1966. Dee Hamiton Sprague is serving salad featuring day-lily petals. Inquiries, comm.ents and sug­gestions about the new School of Living Center being developed near Freeland, )fd., have been numerous. Plans .-e progressing, a huge garden is itoducing, work is continuing on lhe property, a successful open house was held in tl1.c ei'I..: ... "' J.1'.t:lJ.l. ·OL..L St.u1.a::<1)'·. Jun.t;; 12, and an in\'igclrati.ng confer­ence on intentional community was attended by nearly 100 per­sons, June 17-28. The Old Mill has already become a busy. sig­nificant center. Mr. and Mrs. W. B. Anacker are willing to turn over five buildings, the mill site, and sur­rounding acreage of their farm to us at a price of about $260 an acre. Further good news on the proposal comes from recent events and further considera­tions: • A survey shows that this por­tion of the farm contains 48 acres - one large flat meadow, but most of it partially wooded hillsides. for homesteads, camp­ing and summer cabins. • The original offer of this sec­tion for 815,000 has been re­duced by the $1.500 cash already contributed and spent by School of Living members in renovating the mill. • A contribution of $1,000 has been made by the Anackers. • Buildings on this section of the farm include the old stone mill, a good chicken house that can be remodeled for living quar­ters. a stone springhouse with usable quarters above, a carriage house and toolshed. and a corn crib and storage building. It would be difficult to find a comparable value in a compara­ble location for this total figure of (now reduced to) 812,500. All trustees and all actively con­cerned members are hoping oth­er members and friends will re­spond generously to quickly liq­uidate the total. Officers and members are launching a vigorous drive to raise a big down-payment by the end of August, and to complete full payment within a year. Several persons .now seem to be available to act as chairman of the fund for the new School of Living Center. It appears that this may develop into a business manager for all our activities. A person will definitely be in train­ing at Lane's End this summer · for this work. Send your contributions and pledges to: Building Fund, Lane's End Homestead, Brookville, 0. (Also, of course, subscriptions, book orders, etc.) The president of the School of Living, Dr. Leo F. Koch, issues this call: A Call For a School of Living Genter For some years the School of Living has been hoping and planning to establish a center to serve as its educational and busi­ness headquarte1·s. This goal is now in sight. The old mill owned by Mr. William Anacker, near Mary­land Line, Maryland, has al­ready been improved and for the better part of a year occupied in the name of the School of Living. This summer all of you are invited to visit it and avail yourselves of its facilities. Negotiations with Bill Anac­ker are nearing completion, and, hopefully. final details of a pur­chase agreement will be pre­sented for approval at the an­nual meeting Aug. 27. Members of the Board of Trustees who voted in April to proceed with this transaction have already pledged $50 each toward the purchase of the Old Mill proper­ty. The name proposed for it is the "School of Living Center." As president of the School of Living, I hereby ask each and every member to make a pledge in accordance with your means. NO MATTER HOW SMALL, each pledge will help to make the enterprise succ,<ssful. " The j;>urtnastc ·-tiH= ror t.I=--­Old Mill and some \43 acres is reduced to $12,500. We hope half this sum, or $6,250, will be given and pledged by our Aug. 27 annual meeting. Every dollar that can be raised before that date, for a down payment, will save all of us carrying charges and interest in the future. Now is the time to make that extra effort to put the School of Liv-ing on the map. The total sum received before 10 p.m., Aug. 27. will be announced at that time. Let us know your contribution on the accompanying form. Do it now! Help us reach our half-way goal! ' As the international crisis deepens, and the United States it­self becomes more regimented and intolerant of dissent, each of us must search his or her con­science and decide to be counted as libertarians. Your membership in the School of Living is a com-(continued on page 2) BUILDING FUND New School of Living Center Heathcote Road, Freeland, Md. Building Fund Lane's End Homestead Brookville, Ohio 45309 Date __ I want to participate in and support the New School of Liv­ing Center at the Old Mill Form, Heathcote Rd., Freeland, Md., as checked below: $ ____  $ __ gift to New School of Living Center Building Fund. pledged to New School of Living Center Building Fund, payable on ( terms or date) $_ ___  loan to Building Fund at _ _  % interest. Signed ___ _ _ Address City· - State __ _ Zip Code Amount Enclosed $ _ __ _ 

Some Thoughts on Homesteading, Part V - I Will Cooperate With Nature; Who Will Go and Do Likewise?

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Some Thoughts on Homesteading, Part V - I Will Cooperate With Nature; Who Will Go and Do Likewise?

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