Revisiting the Good Life
(Page 2 of 4)
October/November 2008
By Roger Doiron
Although the Nearings did not have children, I think they would have approved of this part of our calculation. One of the reasons the Nearings decided to leave their first homestead in Vermont was because they felt they had failed to build meaningful relationships with their neighbors and didn’t see any potential for doing so. If our own experiment in happy, self-sufficient living does not meet our expectations, it won’t be for lack of social opportunities.
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The deep family connections we enjoy come at a price. Compared to remote Harborside, my town looks like boomtown with all the telltale signs of modern American suburbia: subdivisions, sprawl and drive-thru everything. If we chose to move into the belly of the beast, it was also because we felt there was more possibility to question and reform the consumerist philosophy from within than as outsiders. To do so, however, meant buying into some of the philosophy ourselves in the form of a mortgage, a decision the Nearings would not have supported. In order to be truly free, they thought one needed to be free of debts and free of the “stuff” Americans go into debt to acquire.
A Visit to Forest Farm
Our trip to Harborside last summer offered a refreshing break from the minivans, soccer fields and heavily leveraged homes of Scarborough. After its beautiful waterfront location, the second thing we noticed when pulling our own minivan into Forest Farm was the mailbox, which still bears the Nearing name. Scott and Helen may be long gone in body (they died in 1983 and 1995, respectively), but for those visitors who admire their writings, their presence can still be seen and felt. Their legacy lives on in their inspiring books, and in the sturdy stone home they built and the celebrated gardens they created.
As impressive as the physical structures, gardens and literary works themselves is the way they were created. The Nearings raised simple living to an art form, dividing their days into three units: four hours each for “bread labor;” for music, writing and avocations; and for social and civic interaction. Bread labor, for the Nearings, included physical tasks such as gardening, building projects and producing their “cash crops,” i.e. maple syrup in Vermont and blueberries in Maine.
The concept of bread labor remains an important one at Forest Farm. Today, the diverse and orderly gardens and structures are maintained by resident stewards who receive free room and board at the farm in exchange for their work. Although the main walled garden is only about 40-by-40-feet, it’s bursting with healthy plants.
