It is wonderful to read all the stories and history from your families.
I am a first generation immigrant (1976 to be exact). Hippie movement, flower power, love and peace, San Francisco... you get the picture. I went from a very civilized nation (Frankfurt, West-Germany), to living in a barn, 24 miles away from the closest town (Tonasket, WA), without indoor plumbing and running water; we had an outhouse made out of cardboard walls. We also had a barrel stove, cardboard walls, ceiling, and floor, sectioned off inside a huge hay barn.
It was February 10th, 1976... 28 degrees below. Using the outhouse was a very teeth shattering experience
. I was never so constipated in my whole life
. A city girl became a "pioneer woman" in no time at all. I had no transportation, my next door neighbor lived 2 miles down a gravel road. I carried water in buckets to our cabin and used an old wood stove to cook on. We had a creek about 10 yards away from our home; during spring and summer I would use my fishing line to get fresh rainbow trout for breakfast. There was this neat little fishing hole which replenished itself every morning with 4 or 5 eight inch trout. I was 24 years of age... lots of dreams, wanting to live on a farm, growing my own vegetables, have dogs, cats, horses, chickens and goats. I learned how to garden, bake bread, make goat cheese, can and freeze food, and essentially live very simply and naturally. The only contact to the outside world was my radio... and snail mail.
I do miss this simple life again and am trying to recapture some of those experiences one more time. However, I would not be able to live without BT, email, and a fast internet connection.
Angie