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A Rare July 4th Tribute to FarmersToward the end of a 4th of July celebration in town, cannons fired and a man commented to Mr. Wilder, ******************************************************************** "'That's the noise that made the Redcoats run!' Mr Paddock said to Father. "'Maybe,' said Father, tugging his beard. 'But it was muskets that won the Revolution. And don't forget it was axes and plows that made this country.' "'That's so, come to think of it,' Mr. Paddock said... "That night when they were going to the house with the milk, Almanzo asked Father, 'Father, how was it axes and plows that made this country? Didn't we fight England for it?' "'We fought for Independence, son,' Father said. 'But all the land our forefathers had was a little strip of country, here between the mountains and the ocean. All the way from here west was Indian country, and Spanish and French and English country. It was farmers that took all that country and made it America.' "'How?' Almanzo asked. "'Well, son, the Spaniards were soldiers, and high-and-mighty gentlemen that only wanted gold. And the French were fur-traders, wanting to make quick money. And England was busy fighting wars. But we were farmers, son; we wanted the land. It was farmers that went over the mountains, and cleared the land, and settled it, and farmed it, and hung on to their farms. "'This country goes three thousand miles west, now. It goes "way out beyond Kansas, and beyond the Great American Desert, over mountians bigger than these mountains, and down to the Pacific Ocean. It's the biggest country in the world, and it was farmers who took all that country and made it America, son. Don't you ever forget that.'" --from "Farmer Boy" by Laura Ingalls Wilder (our family's favorite book on sustainable agriculture) ****************************************************************** With only 2-3% of the population farming now, we are rapidly loosing those freedoms these farmers fought so fearcely for. We are even on the brink of losing our rights to farm our own land and raise our own food. We are purchasing more and more of our food from China as more and more farms in the United States are driven out of business. This is very grievous and concerning. Our salute goes to the farmers of the past who didn't sell out to another country, who fought for their families, land and country, who settled and tamed the wilderness and who met basic needs by feeding their families and communities from their sustainable farms. They were independent, self-sufficient, common-sense, knowledgeable, family-oriented, strong, tough, hardy, leaders of their communities, respectable, Bible-believing, discerning, non-gullible folks who are rare breeds in this day and age and who we could benefit greatly from by studying them. Grateful for our agriculture heritage, The Farmer's Wife 11:43 - 2006-Jul-4 - post comment
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Description Sharing our thoughts, events, ups and downs, as we restore a once profitable farm to its former greatness as a Christian agrarian family. Home User Profile Archives Friends Lighthouse Farm Our DVD's for homesteader's Homestead Series e-books Lighthouse Farm Podcasts No NAIS Recent Entries - Pig-headed or chicken-hearted???? - Health care - the way it used to be - The Egg Hog - Back in blogdom after chasing sheep - Ode to Winter 2007 - Chicken and Hog DVD's are now finished!! - Video clip of the birth of a piglet - News about Haitian friends!!!!! - Authentic AgricultureTM - Welcome! - A Peaceful Night in the Pasture - Big Sale at The Old Schoolhouse!! - Rendering Lard - Hog Butchering Time - John Ray - Founder of Biology - A Breath-taking Field Trip - Fat and Sassy - Real Men Eat Quiche - Green Tomato Recipes - Harvest - Two Cents Worth on Pinching Pennies... - Cockle burrs and stinging nettle a blessing? - Gourmet Meals At The Farm Table - Seeds Worth Saving - Sweet cartoon - Commercial rice supply has been contaminated - Spermicidal Corn - Agricultural Science Fiction Horror Flick or Truth? - SImple Entertainment - "Gardening is like a treasure hunt!" - Pigs don't stink - Diggin' For Gold!! - Rain - a Blessing or a Curse? - My Sheep Know My Voice - er - Chain Saw... - The Old Farm Dog - An Alarming Nightime Visitor - Farming Magazine - A Pig's Nest - Meager chicken harvest - Bacon + Garlic = Piglets? - A Rare July 4th Tribute to Farmers - Fencing in more pasture - Three months on our new place.... - Blood suckers in Minnesota :( - Miss Bacon and Rocky Mountain Oysters - Sheep without a shepherd - Haying with my man! - Mink solutions, anyone? - Goat meets pig... - I Smell a Skunk... - URGENT!! Please forward!!!! - Did Adam Smell Like That? - Minnesota!!!!! - Problem solved - God is good - The Rat Trap and One Happy Girl - New Podcast - Farm Restoration - The Beginning - An Honorable Gentleman Has Died - Why teach our children about agriculture? - Cheap, Safe Food??? - New NAIS links worth reading - Old Tractors Never Die - A Lawyer comments on Constitutional Rights and NAIS - Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks - Big Bellies and Big Bags - Hosting Haitians on the Homestead - Minnesota, Here We Come (after we sell our house) and "the Chip" - And God saw that it was good - Greetings |