Michael Rubalcava: Amateur Ecologist
(Page 2 of 3)
September/October 1980
By the Mother Earth News editors
ALAN MCFARLANDAND JONATHAN HALL: POWERFUL PURCHASES
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After several years of intensive research and extensive preparation, Alan McFarland and Jonathan Hall inaugurated the McFarland & Hall Energy Store in March of this year. Located in Pennsylvania's rural Bucks County, the shop deals in the sale, installation, and servicing of products that aid in cutting home fueling bills. The store's items—which are selected for quality and job—and cost-efficiency—are complemented by a wide variety of topicrelated books, as well as by knowledgeable counseling from the establishment's proprietors.
While the bulk of the company's business is currently handled through mail orders (send 50¢ for a catalog to McFarland & Hall, Box 295, Route 32, Point Pleasant, Pennsylvania 18950), in-shop activity is rapidly increasing as the operation's reputation spreads: Alan and Jonathan invite folks to stop in, have a cup of tea, and look around . . . and those who do inevitably encounter a highly energizing experience.— BarryRosenberg.
ERNEST WILKINSON:WILDERNESS SURVIVAL
When Ernest Wilkinson helped coordinate Colorado's Search and Rescue Association several years ago, the expert outdoorsman became aware that there was a need for a program to prevent wilderness accidents in the first place. Wilkinson's rescue experiences—searching out lost hunters, hikers, and backpackers in Colorado's mountains—convinced him that many of the people who die of "expo sure" simply didn't know how to improvise with the materials that were available to them.
As a result, Ernest and his wife Margaret began teaching basic outdoor skills . . . by guiding classes into the mountains to help them obtain firsthand experience in the wilds. During the winter the Wilkinsons' students learn how to build snow caves and igloos, and study other cold-weather survival techniques . . . while their summer lessons include gathering and cooking wild edibles, weaving cordage from plants, and repairing shoes with pine pitch.
Ernest acquired his own survival skills as a trapper back in the 40's . . . an occupation that led him to tame a number of wild animals that have appeared on posters and Sierra Club calendars, on television, and in the movies. On occasion, Ernie's work takes him into the city . . . but he rarely stays for long. "Margaret and I have never felt the need for a change of pace," says Wilkinson. "The wilderness life is like a permanent vacation for us! "— Peggy Serry.
