—Lancaster Farming, Saturday. Feb. 19, 1977
106
(Continued from Page 105]
Faye says. “I became interested in ecology
about the time of Earth Day. I did some
reading, and felt they had a valid point.”
“It’s been a gradual, on-going thing. We
become more and more aware.” Much of
the change can be tied in with their move to
their small farm six years ago, but Faye
says, “The ideas were there on Robin Road,
but were not put into practice.”
“The whole thing ties in with self
satisfaction - the idea that I can do it myself.
I, as a person, am important to my own
welfare. We all have a need to feel self
worth. Tchnology and centralization have
taken over, but there is something basic in
each of us to be responsible for ourselves. It
gives us a reason for being here,” she ex
plained.
Faye says her family’s life has changed
drastically since their move. “The way you
look at life changes. For us, especially for
me, it means a deeper respect for the land -
a closeness to the land.”
“We are really an extension of the land. I
feel strongly that we must not actively do
anything to destroy the land. I must leave it
in the same condition or in better condition
than I found it.” She said this whole idea
permeates into everything her family does.
“Our family is definitely closer; we must
work together toward a common goal. My
husband believes in it as much as I do,” she
says.
The Forwoods have two children - John,
11, and Mark 6%. She said her sons “feel
they have the best of both lives. But the
older one realizes he has more respon
sibility. He’s more self-sufficient. He feeds
chickens and hauls wood. They think it’s
pretty nice. They love the land and room to
roam in the woods.” She says both boys are
aware of conservation and will notice
smoke-belching factories while driving.
Faye says, “We have cut down on our
consumption of electricity and fuel. We
spend more time in active work. I work
harder than I ever did before. But it is self
directed work - for my own self-sufficiency.
I get a great sense of accomplishment. I get
a fulfillment because I feel I am personally
doing something worthwhile. But I’m not
tied to the kitchen or to the house - not as
much as people think. I ski once a week.”
The Forwoods heat their downstairs with
the wood stove in the kitchen and a Franklin
stove in the living room which is lighted
sometimes. There is a coal system which
goes on from about 2:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. for
supplementary heat.
Faye said her husband spends most of
Saturdays cutting, hauling, and chopping
wood to keep the wood stove going. “But he
genuinely enjoys it. He feels it is a good form
of exercise and he gets to be outdoors. He
jokes about’going out to my gym.”
She said she and her family seek friends
who are doing similar things and adds,
“Some live much more simply than we, but
they all have the desire to conserve. We do it
not because it’s fashionable, but because we
feel we don’t have an option. It’s a
necessity.”
Faye says honestly that it does frustrate
Suburban
her to see how some others live. She said,
“I’m not saying people should give up
everything they have worked for or
deprive tbemsleves. But I don’t think
wearing a sweater in the Winter is a hard
ship. We need to re-educate ourselves.”
She added, “I don’t think each one of us
must alter life so drastically, but each must
do some part.”
She said that maybe this Winter’s energy
crisis is making people more aware of the
long-range problem. “I’ve talked with a lot
of people who it’s made aware.” But she
said she feels there are also those to whom it
will make no difference when the oil and gas
start flowing again. She said, “I feel we need
national leadership to make the public
aware that it is very real. It will cause our
children problems.”
Wilbur works for Wyeth Laboratories, and
skeptics have questioned Faye about this
seeming incompatibility. But she says, “I
am not opposed to technology and am not
opposed to modem advances. What I’m
asking for is_ moderation - a lesser
technology. What we need is a simpler
present - a hundred years ago was not the
good old days.”
The Forwoods have raised three steers,
which Faye said, “were delicious.” They
are not currently raising one for several
reasons. “We were getting more meat than
we needed and didn’t really save money. We
have found someone who feeds steers the
way we want them to be fed and we buy
meat from him.” But, she said an important
reason for not raising their own was, “We
couldn’t stand to see them be killed - they
really became pets.”
They raise chickens - 22 of them at the
present, which provide eggs for them and
about four or five dozen to sell weekly. They
also raised broilers and she said, “We know
what they’re fed. We feel it’s very important
to have food as much as possible in the
natural state. We feel having chickens is
another step toward being self-sufficient.”
Faye says she had never cleaned a chicken,
but one day she and her husband prepared
13. “After the first two, you just know how to
do it.”
“I grow all my own vegetables - last year
we had 24 different kinds. We have early
Spring, Summer and Fall crops, and I farm
as much organically as possible.” Last year
she estimates they farmed about 85 per cent
organically, but gave in to the potato
beetles. “Our goal is to be 100 per cent
organic. You can do a lot with interplanting
with aromatic flowers and mixing up your
own sprays.” For some of her gardening
information Faye said, she reads the
organic gardening magazine published by
Rodale Press. She and her husband are now
investigating the possibility of having a
solar greenhouse.
She said she freezes the majority of their
vegetables and stores the rest in a cold
cellar. She home cans fruits which they pick
themselves, and this year they will be
planting their own fruit trees. In the past,
she said, they have traded produce for fruit
from a friend’s trees.
Faye says she is a very careful shopper
for the family food. “It probably takes me
longer than anyone. I feel very strongly that
artificial colorings don’t have to be in food. I
would like to see Madison Avenue put their
money into promoting natural foods.”
Baking is another thing Faye does for
herself. She said she purchased flour in 25-50
pound lots direct from the mill, and uses a
lot of whole wheat flour. “I know what I’m
getting,” she explains.
Not every family can or would like to
completely change the way they presently
live. Nevertheless, Faye said she feels that
if everyone makes a small sacrifice we
won’t all have to make a large one someday.
So she shared some simple ways to con
serve in any home. “We try not to use a lot of
paper products, and I always buy white
paper products.” She explained that dyes
are released in streams, and “I don’t think
it’s a necessity to have colored tissue.” She
said they use paper products for picnics, but
at home she gives her children and her
friends one plastic cup each for the day.
“Everything in our home is recycled. All
the newspaper is used to start a fire in the
stove. The wood ashes, which are a good
source of potash and provides nutrients for
the soils are put on the garden. I also try not
to use a lot of plastic products because they
won’t decompose. We use paper disposable
cups and I buy only returnable bottles.”
It can sometimes seem to rain frogs because their lightweight embryos can be carried into
the air by winds.
I Save with
9 John Deere
I Long Green
3 Dividends
This coupon is worth money.
You can apply it at your John
Deere dealer's to any item in four
classes of machines (one cou
pon only to any one mach me).
Ask your dealer about the spe
□ $5O Coupon
G $75 Coupon
Name
Address
Machine
s 5O Dividend
• 205 307,509 Rotary Cutters
• 45 78 88 Rear Blades
•965 1065 A Wagons
• 33,35 Bale Elevators
• 1750 W, 3000 W Portable Alternators
• HD TH, LH Senes Spring-Tooth
Harrow Sections
*125 Dividend
• 143 145 146 148 158 Loaders
• 220 335 535 550 Sprayers
• 308 398 Auger Elevators
• 15 kW 25 kW Alternators
This Long Green Dividend coupon has the redemption value checked when
applied against the purchase price of specified equipment offered by a
participating John Deere dealer, who sets his own retail prices If your dealer does
not have equipment in stock that is included in the Long Green Dividend Program,
the machine you want can be ordered from John Deere and the value of the
coupon will be deducted from the purchase price Only one coupon can be
applied against the purchase of any given machine Use of the coupon is limited to
products which can be delivered as determined by dealers orders and machine
availability
NOTE (1) You must pay any sales tax on the total purchase price—excluding the
Long Green Dividend, (2) this coupon is void where prohibited, restricted, or
taxed Offer expires June 15, 1977
A clothes dryer uses a lot of energy, and
Faye says, ‘“I have one but I never use it in
the summertime -1 hang out the clothes. In
the Winter I use a collapsible rack -1 use the
dryer very infrequently. The sun is free - it(
doesn’t cost a thing.”
Faye said that using a dishwasher once a
day uses no more water than washing dishes
three tunes daily. But it’s the drying cycle
which uses up the kilowatts. So she suggests
that a dishwasher be opened and the dishes
be allowed to air dry.
Doing complete meals in the oven is
another way to save on fuel.
Faye does most of her own sewing and
loves to read. She said, “January and
February are my months to settle in and
find myself.” She also quilts and crochets
and she said she enjoys outdoor things.
“Skiing is my passion.” The family enjoys
hiking, bicycling, and tent camping.
Faye said, “I enjoy Lancaster County, but
now is the time to sit back and call a halt to
development of industry. It all starts with a
deep respect for the land. When you have
this, you try to do everything you can fort
future generations. You can use it, but don’t
abuse it. It’s like going to a state park, and
leaving it in the same condition so people
can enjoy it later.
“It also means having a respect for life -
and everything else falls into place.”
WWMMi
„ . •
cial financing on certain tools.
Offer runs from 15 January to 15
June 1977. Clip Long Green
Dividend coupons, stop in and
save.
ENFIELD EQUIPMENT INC.
Whiteford, Md. 21160
G $125 Coupon
□ $2OO Coupon
*75 Dividend
• 609 709 Rotary Cutters
• 115 155 Rear Blades
• 1075 1275 Wagons
• 37 Loader
• 51 Post Driver
• 306 396 Auger Elevators
• 990 Bale Loader
• 4000 W 5000 W Portable Alternators
$ 2OO Dividend
• 737 1508 Rotary Cutters
• 700 750 Grmder/Mixers
• 428 Flight Elevator
• 40 kW 55 kW Alternators
301-452-5252