We at Beans, Bullets, Bandages and You are happy to introduce you to our newest contributor, Buzz.
Buzz has an great deal of knowledge about many things near and dear to preppers who are working to become more self reliant and self sufficient by increasing their personal food production.
I’ll let Buzz tell you a bit about himself in his own words
“I recall having a school history project to ask someone that went through the “great depression” what it was like. As an 9-10 year old, after school and when grandpop came home from work , I ran over across the field to my grandparents house to ask them.
I will never forget when I asked grandpop “how did you make it through the depression?”… He looked at me, tilted his head and thought a minute. He then asked me, “which one?”
He recalled a time in 1895 when his father went to town on Saturday ,got a haircut and bought a newspaper. He brought it home, sat at the kitchen table and read it to my great grand mother “kitty”. He asked her, “did you know we were in a depression?” They lived in a dirt floor cabin on a tenant farm in a rural area on the eastern shore and were so poor they didn’t know any different.
My grandfather lived through the depression of 1895, and the one following the crash of 1929. He also lived to see a man walk on the moon. He was successful beyond his own understanding. Through his hard work and tenacity he raised a family and paid for a farm during the “great depression” and succeeded to become a prosperous farmer. He taught Dad and I a lot about putting your shoulder to the wheel and working. “what ever it takes to get the job done”, and “Take pride in your work” was the example he presented to us.
Dad was drafted into the army in 1944. When he mustered out and came back to the farm he began a construction business building houses including one gas station. He also built wooden boats (mostly 12 to 18 footers) pram or bateaux style for sportsmen or local watermen that crabbed, trapped or duck hunted.
As a family, we did what ever it took to put food on the table and pay the bills. I always worked at more than one job. Sometimes 2 or even 3 .
Charity
One of our family’s habit/tradition was to provide charity to those that had less than we did (don’t know who that was sometimes)…
The folks always seemed to have a charity “project” of some type. The standard operating procedure for the vegetable operation was that no church or charitable organization was to ever pay cash for any vegetable grown when it was to be for use in a dinner or church social, charity event etc. That held true from when Grandmom and Grandpop purchased the farm in 1927 until we stopped raising fresh market veggies in 2007.
We worked hard to put food on the table for ourselves and some “extra” for those that may not have enough. I still follow those practices through today.
I still plant a garden large enough to provide for our family and possibly someone else in need. I still raise chickens for eggs and meat to share. I still share the harvest of the game on the land the Creator has blessed us to live upon and be stewards of.
I may no longer live in a dirt floor sharecropper shanty as my grandfather, but I still live by and adhere to the principles that he provided as a legacy for us.
Like you and Spice, I don’t know it all. There is a lot more that I don’t know than what I do. I do try to learn as much as possible. Mom always told me if the Almighty didn’t intend for you to use your head, he would have given you 2 backsides… “
Salty’s footnote
We hope you enjoy reading articles by Buzz as much as we do!
Salty.