The following is from a diary of Sally Kaufman, written in 1973
Nov. 4, we sold out
farm "Gnadenhof" to Jim and Chris Lowe who were interested in homesteading
and wanted to make use of our extensive gardens and fruits. We were
given the option of going back for plants, cuttings, etc.
Nov 5: We bought
the Lynch farm from the Ciszuiski's- 101 acres, 70 tillable, 25 in woods,
some fruits, 6 outbuildings, tenant house, and large Victorian brick house-
also a river and 2 ponds.
During the work preceding
our move, David Ballow and Pat (?) helped on fencing- it was a rush business
to get in a pig fence and electric fence for the cattle. The barns
had to be readied too. Meanwhile, I was painting-helped by Michael
Hudak- we got the living room done and a part of our bedroom (blue).
Moving day was clear.
We had brought pickup, van and trailer load after load, and still there
was a superabundance of stuff. We rented a u-haul and started at
nine in the morning. In preparation I had made a canner full of soup
and lots of rolls-it was none too much. People came and went all
day. Maynard and my jobs were mostly supervisory-and at that, when
the frozen foods were stored back in the freezer, a garbage can of meats-our
only meats- were left out-and not found for three days. The result
was a morning of canning in the midst of unpacking. Late in the afternoon,
we quit, leaving only what we could bring in the van and truck. Supper
was a panic, we invaded the Bangor pizza joint-20 strong- and for two hours
they made pizzas for us.
The week after was
spent running over to Gnadenhof trying to keep ahead of Chris as she brought
her things. By Thursday, we had finished cleaning up and got the
last things-plants-out.
The first snow came Wednesday after we moved- enough for Conrad to
make a snowman family. From then until after Christmas, we didn’t
see the ground. The men hustled around, getting wood in, mainly railroad
ties broken by the RR company, to burn in the furnace. I bought a
wood cookstove, adding to the need for small wood. The barns had to be
worked on and put in enough order to find things.
In the house, we sorted,
put things away and painted. The foyer was painted a lighter gold
and we finished the bedroom so Maynard could study. Bookshelves had
to be found and built.
Thanksgiving found all but
Jon around the table, a goose from our barnyard and all the trimmings.
After Christmas David Smith(not his real name) came to stay.
He had been arrested when entering the States in Maine and came here to
be tried in Michigan(David fled to Canada to escape the draft).
Sol(David's father) came several times and they made arrangements
with Brignall. David was very quiet, finally relaxed, and he has
shown a very quick mind. He is extremely helpful and has a great
number of skills.
The end of Jan. we
had the first meeting on the school. We were given pretty good publicity
by the Herald and Gazette. The meeting was held in the library at
Friedman and it was packed- 70 or so students showed up and one reporter
from the Gazette. The number overwhelmed us. Applications were
due Feb. 15 and there are 34, most all seem very nice. We are planning
a meeting here the 25th for them to see the farm and us to get aquainted.
Quite a few have come already to look around.
Butchering has begun.
Our freezers are full with one beef and one pig. Today, we did two
more pigs. Bob and Wanda Kohler came to help. Nathan is out
with a strange case of flu. Had to take him to see the Dr., running
a fever of 100 to 103 for 4 or 5 days. Others have colds too.
Michal's 21st birthday,
tried to make it big by sending a birthday cake to their dance, then we
all went out for supper. Don't know how successful we were.
Have about 30# of
soap made but much to go. Had to take fruit out of the freezer to
make raspberry and blackberry wine. It's really cold, so I don't
know how good they will be.
A new coop of organic farmers and gardeners is being formed by the
Yaegers and people from Sunshowers. Their first meeting turned out
a good number-quite a few grey haireds, some middle age and a number of
young people. We began the organizational part. It should help with
marketing, since Paul Schultz can help move produce to Chicago. Also
natural fertilizers, pest control, and seeds can now be bought in bulk,
saving everone money.
The Yaegers and Paul
Schultz came to see us. Paul stayed for supper last Sun. They
are a neat group. Really like Judy. Hope to get better acquainted.
Put up my sign for
eggs a few weeks ago-found more customers than I can use. Am supplying
the Day Training Center with bread now, too.
Also have met a few
people.
2/26
27 young people came
out yesterday to meet each other and us. They are very alert, eager
youngsters and having met them the selection becomes even more difficult.
34 applicants have stated they
are willing to invest 300 dollars and 7 and one half months.
Letter to Danforth Fellowship
We thought you might
be interested on our present activities. Following the publishing of Maynards
article "The New Homesteading" in Soundings, we began looking for a larger
farm in the vicinity of Kalamazoo on which to start a School of Homesteading.
We hope it will help youngsters who wish to settle on small tracts of land
and persue farming on a low technological level. We are especially
interested in potential or actual drop-outs, those who find values and
practices of our country at odds with their own value systems, and offer
them an alternative form of education and way of life.
We are now living
on a 100 acre farm with two houses, have had an open meeting at Western
attended by 70 young people We have received 34 applications and find ourselves
facing the difficult job of selecting 10 persons out of those applying.
We are hopeful the
experiment will prove to be successful and encourage colleges and universities
(including our own) and diversified farmers to incorporate such unconventional
alternative forms of education to offer their students.
We are including copies
of our brochure and application form.
Letter to: Mildred Loomis, School of Living, Heathcote, Maryland
We greatly appreciated
your encouraging letter, followed your suggestion to send a copy of Maynard’s
article to Mr. Borsodi and received a very helpful letter from him.
You might be interested in his article. Soundings has come out with
a paperback book, untitled.
At this point, we
have purchased and are living on a 100-acre farm with ponds, river, woods,
several outbuildings and a tenant house. We had a general meeting
at Western attended by some 70 young people and have received 34 applications
from which we must choose only 10 since we have space limitations.
It is obvious there is a great need for schools such as ours, and we hope
this will be a successful experiment and that it might encourage other
farmers and schools to offer diversified similar experiences.
I am enclosing the
brochure and applications forms we gave prospective students as well as
a picture of our house.
Sally Kaufman passed away on March 30, 1990.
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