Off Grid Section

[Fredkc]

Off The Grid Section:
In case you've missed it, there is a "new" section on the forum by that name.

Now for some reason, new posts there don't show up in the "New Posts" section on the right hand side of the main page. So what I'm doing here is posting the fact that it's there, and that folk are posting to it.

If collecting information about "how to" is of interest, I would direct your attention to the FoxFire thread. (no, not FireFox, FoxFire)

There were 12 books, in all, in the first collection. Full of old hill folk lore, how-to's and good stories. If you can find them, a full set can get expensive. But I have seen books 1-6 on eBay going for as little as $40.

Well, after the initial post about them, MorningSong came through and found books 1-3, and 5 on Scribd. I later found book 4. This means that, if you have a (free) Scribd account, you can download the books in PDF form.

"So what's in them?"
Well I did a quick copy/past of the Table of Contents for books 1-4, to give you an idea. (more at bottom):

Book One:
"this is the way I was raised up" 15
Wood 31
Tools and Skills 38
Building a Log Cabin 53
Chimney Building 108
White Oak Splits 115
Making a Hamper out of White Oak Splits 119
Making a Basket out of White Oak Splits 123
An Old Chair Maker Shows How 128
Rope, Straw, and Feathers are to Sleep on 139
A Quilt is Something Human 142
Soapmaking 151
Cooking on a Fireplace, Dutch Oven, and
Wood Stove 159
Mountain Recipes 167
Preserving Vegetables 174
Preserving Fruit 181
Churning Your Own Butter 185
Slaughtering Hogs 189
Curing and Smoking Hog 199
Recipes for Hog 202
Weather Signs 208
Planting by the Signs 212
Home Remedies 230
Hunting 249
Dressing and Cooking Wild Animal Foods 264
Snake Lore 289
Moonshining as a Fine Art 301
Faith Healing 346

Book Two:
Sourwood Honey 28
Beekeeping 32
Spring Wild Plant Foods 47
Making an Ox Yoke 112
Wagon Wheels and Wagons 118
Making a Tub Wheel 142
Making a Foot-powered Lathe 164
From Raising Sheep to Weaving Cloth 172
How to Wash Clothes in an Iron Pot 256
Midwives and Granny Women 274
Old-time Burials 304
Boogers, Witches, and Haints 324

Book Three:
Hide Tanning 55
Cattle Raising 79
Animal Care 95
Banjos and Dulcimers 121
Purple Martin Gourds 208
Dipper Gourds 214
Ginseng 245
Summer and Fall Wild Plant Foods 274
Woodrow Shope Builds a Smokehouse 354
Building a Lumber Kiln 361
Butter Churns 369
Apple Butter 416
Sorghum 424
Brooms and Brushes 437
Cornshuck Mops, Dolls and Hats 451

Book Four:
Introduction 7
Knife Making 51
Wood Carving 68
Fiddle Making 106
Thomas Campbell, Plow-stock Maker 126
Wooden Sleds 134
Gardening 150
Bird Traps, Deadfalls, and Rabbit Boxes 194
Horse Trading 215
Making Tar 252
Logging 257
Water Systems 334
Berry Buckets 382
Cheese Making 385

Now, for everyone who plans on eating nothing but "5D lotus flowers", after "the change", none of this may seem too important; but for people who expect to be permanent, or temporary Ground Crew, or are looking to pass on knowledge to those who will be... Much of this stuff hasn't been taught in 100 years.

Anyway, the new section is Off The Grid, and that is just one thread. The more heads and eyes out looking for this stuff, the better, says I.

Hope you'll join in.

Fred

[Vidya Moksha]

the posts almost dried up once it was moved, and we were going well for a while, perhaps the mods could address this?
im gursssing it was Bill that moved it, i can see the logic of expanding it (though maybe not all the new categories).. but all discussion threads are 'invisible'