Yesterday, Cliff and I went to the new Aldi’s store in St. Mary's for groceries. As we were taking our cart to the car, there was a vehicle in front of us. Cliff was pushing the cart and thought the driver was going forward but she was backing up. The driver’s window was down so Cliff hollered, “Go forward.”
She screamed, “I’m backing up to the parking place I missed. Get out of the way!”
It happened so fast and I said to Cliff, “No respect.”
We moved off to the side so she could back up into the parking space. A lady who was standing outside of her parked car was talking to the driver as she who backing up and proceeded to tell us that both parties were responsible. I felt myself getting angry and wanted to tell her to mind her own business and that if her friend, the driver, would have hit either of us, the insurance company would deem it her fault.
Instead, Cliff and I put our groceries in the back of our vehicle while the two women stood next to their vehicles talking. As I was returning the cart to the store, I thought quickly about what I heard about returning evil for good at the FIS (Food Independent Summit) in Ohio that Cliff and I attended the past week in celebration of our 22nd anniversary. Rather than return the cart to the store I walked over to the ladies and asked if they would like a cart. The woman who tried to tell us she saw both sides of the interaction, had a look of surprise on her face. She said, “Thank you.”
To be honest, underneath, I was still seething at their rudeness and wanted to say, “Oh, you do have some manners.” Instead, I replied, “You are welcome.” And walked back to our car.,Afterward, I felt quite good about myself for taking the higher road and was grateful to have put into practice one little thing that I learned at the FIS.
The Food Independant Summit came up on Facebook in April when I was still recovering from my knee surgery. I hadn’t planned any vacations or trips for the summer as I wasn’t sure how I was going to be able to do walking long distances. When I saw this event, which included a picture of Joel Salatin, a ‘lunatic’ farmer who Cliff has followed for quite a while, I thought it would be doable to attend. A variety of speakers would be presenting information on growing and producing food, topics which interest both Cliff and me. The location was in Walnut Creek, Ohio, in the heart of Amish Country, three hours from Ridgway. We are familiar with Walnut Creek as we have been buying Walnut Creek brand butter, peanut butter, seasonings, popcorn, and flour from the Amish store on Meffert’s Run Road in Wilcox. I registered for the two-day event that was to be held in mid-June, fully expecting to be able to walk around with my new knees.
Attending the event didn’t disappoint. Although we arrived a little late the first day, due to driving back roads and glitches with the GPS-we even had to unearth the road map to find out way- the half-day event was well worth the drive. A crowd of people were gathered underneath a large tent. Men wearing blue jeans and beards, women in long pastel and blue dresses wearing white caps, boys wearing blue jeans and suspenders and chopped haircuts and little girls wearing long dresses with braided hair, and folks like us, who the Amish call English folks, dressed in casual wear were listening attentively to the presentation.
The first speaker we listened to spoke about how consumers won’t buy tomatoes at 2.99 a pound but will pay over 10.00 a pound for them if they are made into salsa. We were fortunate enough to catch the last speaker, Rory Feek, who spoke about the need for community. I recognized him from the speaker roster as he would be singing and story-telling later in the evening. He introduced himself as not being Amish, although he could have passed as Amish with his beard and Carhart overalls, but said he is Amish-ish. I immediately felt connected to him as I often tell people that I am Omish since my life is a mix of mindfulness and homesteading like the Amish. Rory has a calming, melodious speaking voice and I was looking forward to hearing more from him in the evening.
After the presentations, it was time for an Amish Feast. I had paid for our meals online but was still looking for the tickets on my phone. I told the Amish man who was guiding people into the food line that I couldn’t find the tickets online. He waved us on through and said, “This is all based on the honest system.” We sat under a tent and enjoyed a delicious meal of farm-raised chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, salad, homemade whole wheat bread with fresh strawberry jam, and cake for dessert.
In the afternoon, there were workshops and lectures in three tents a few hundred yards from the main tent. Cliff and I listened to Joel Salatin speak about composting, most of which we knew-we did learn that roadkill can be incorporated into the compost but needed to be far enough from the homestead and covered well so as not to draw in unwanted animals. Joel told the audience that burning leaves is an immoral act. In the fall, people drop off bags of leaves at Little Mill Creek that we use in our compost pile after Cliff mulches them with the riding lawn mower so we were relieved not to be committing an unforgivable sin, in Joel’s eyes.
After the composting event, Joel had a chicken butchering demonstration which Cliff attended. I opted out and walked around the numerous vendors. There were free samples of tea, homemade sausages, carob treats, and a variety of other items. People were demonstrating and selling pottery, candle making, and fermenting foods. Boxes of canning jar lids, with the label Superb, were stacked four feet high leading up to a canning workshop next to a booth that was selling pressure cookers. The workshop reminded me of working with Barb Miller at Penn State Cooperative Extension when she taught canning to the public.
Wanting a souvenir, I found a couple selling cotton t-shirts with earthy designs. I picked out two, one with a large monarch with the words, Got Weed underneath and the other with a design that says, “Eat Well-Feel Well.” As I was waiting in line to pay for the shirts, I recognized the guy-but couldn’t remember his name-that said he was Amish-ish and told him about me being Omish. Rory Feek was kind and shook my hand.
After meeting back up with Cliff we got a bag of kettle popcorn made over a fire. Cliff was excited to show me a book titled, Beyond Labels by Joel Salatain from a vendor selling books. I didn’t pay too much attention as Cliff has read dozens of Joel’s books and when he talks about them they all sound the same. I would learn later that this one was different. A vendor giving away free copies of a journal titled Plain Values caught my eye so I picked up a few to read later when we returned home.
Feeling a little exhausted and needing a short nap, we headed to thee Airbnb, located in Dundee, Ohio, about six miles from the event, that I had reserved. When we arrived at our destination, I immediately thought I had made a big mistake. The road leading to the Airbnb was lined with dumpy trailers and old, abandoned vehicles without doors. I hadn’t told Cliff any of the details of the trip. When I turned the corner and pulled up beside a log cabin he asked, “Is this where we are staying for the night?” With a look of disbelief, he asked how I was able to find it. He was delighted that we weren’t staying at a hotel.
The historical log cabin, named Black Rock Cabin, was surrounded by a tall wood fence that blocked the view of the unsightly neighbors. The grass was mowed and the walkway to the cabin was concrete. We were in awe of how nicely decorated and clean the cabin was inside, with all the amenities we would need, including chocolate, marshmallows, and graham crackers for smores. In front of the fireplace, there were large comfy chairs and wood if we wanted to build a fire. There was a comfortable bed and bath upstairs. Outside there was a fenced-in area with a jacuzzi and an outdoor fire pit.
After getting rested up we drove back to the FIS event on back winding roads that felt like we were on a roller coaster. The only other travelers on the road were Amish folks riding electric bikes up and down the hills and a few horse and buggies. Hamburgers and side dishes, with homemade ice cream and strawberries were being served at the event so we grabbed a quick bite to eat and found a seat under the main tent to listen to the evening entertainment. A lead musician played the guitar and sang Johnny Cash songs. My heart smiled as Cliff sang along to the words of Orange Blossom Special and other familiar tunes.
Next up was Rory Feek, who is a phenomenal singer, and song and story writer. He lives in Nashville and has written songs for famous country singers. In two hours he told and sang about the story of his life, of being a single dad raising his two daughters, meeting and marrying the love of his life, Joey, and the two of them winning third place at the Country Music Awards. The couple had a beautiful little girl named Indiana. Two years later, his beloved and beautiful wife, Joey, passed away from cervical cancer, leaving him as a single parent, again. He ended the show by singing a duet titled Papa What If with his nine-year-old daughter who has Down’s syndrome that they performed at the Grand Ole Opry. I had tears in my eyes at the end of the show. Rory introduced a couple who had adopted four children with special needs and are in the process of building a one-room schoolhouse for their children, just as Rory had done for Indiana on his property in Tenessee. After the performance, we went back to our little log cabin and enjoyed a warm soak in the jacuzzi under the night sky.
The next morning, we found a diner called Rosalie’s to have breakfast, Cliff’s favorite meal of the day. The diner had nicely decorated old doors to separate the booths during COVID. While I was taking pictures of the doors, some older men who were having coffee and solving the world’s problems by talking politics asked where we were from. Cliff loves to talk to people and immediately struck up an interesting conversation with the men, one who was a VietNam vet and another who worked on the Pymatuming Dam in Sharon, Pennsylvania, where I was born. They shook our hands and invited us to stop back and talk with them at the diner anytime we were traveling through. The experience reminded me of the story Rory told about him and his family starting a diner in Tennessee as a way of building community and meeting people.
When we arrived at the event the next morning, David Stelzer, Founder and CEO of Azure Standards spoke about the importance of family-owned businesses over corporations. We learned that two corporations distribute the majority of natural foods in America. He talked about his family-owned business that started small and distributes food across the country.
Justin Rhoades, creator and owner of Abundance Plus shared the trials and errors of homesteading and stressed the importance of giving children responsibilities and letting them be innovative and learn from their mistakes.
A young lady who hailed from Michigan spoke about canning. Sara began Tik Tok videos on canning during the pandemic and now has 1.5 million followers. Her philosophy on canning food is to start small and work your way up to processing larger amounts of food. We had the opportunity to speak with her afterward and told her what a great job she did and that Cliff and I have been canning for the last forty years. She said hearing from experienced people like us meant a lot to her.
After another delicious Amish feast, we headed back down to the vendor tents for one last sweep. We purchased two boxes of Superb bulk canning lids that are made in Walnut Creek, Ohio. They are sturdy lids that we believe can be used more than once, although the company doesn’t promote that due to FDA regulations.
On our way home, Cliff and I talked about all that we learned and felt good about the lifestyle we have chosen. In our opinion, there is nothing more gratifying than growing our food in the summer, canning food for the winter, and living a simple life. We discussed the importance of connecting more with other people who are homesteading in our area.
When we returned home and I was sorting through all the packets of information we gathered, a postcard advertising Azure Foods caught my attention. I checked out their website to see where their delivery drop-offs were located. I was thinking we might have to drive to Buffalo or Erie to pick up an order but was delighted to see a drop-off location in Marienville, only thirty miles from our house.
And the Joel Salatin book Cliff bought but that I wasn’t interested in, is co-authored by Dr. Sina McCullough and is full of information on nutrition, health, and food. We’ve been having some great discussions about the importance of eating whole foods which contribute our good health to our diet. We are also going to make a concerted effort to buy as much food as we can from privately owned businesses and farmers and perhaps attend the Summit next year for our 23rd Anniversary.
