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In Search of Authentic Homesteaders

- Or, What Does a Homesteader Look Like?

By Sheri Dixon

An attempt to define the indefinable; that urge that starts deep in the gut and isn’t helped by burping, or chocolate, or anything but digging your bare toes into Mother Earth.  The impulse to answer the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” with something other than an acceptable occupation like Butcher or Baker or Candlestick Maker-

 The impulse to stand tall and announce:

“I am a Homesteader.” 

home⋅stead⋅er

  Spelled Pronunciation [hohm-sted-er] – noun

Origin:
1860–65, Americanism; homestead + -er ¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) -
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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Of course the above is a very basic and unemotional definition.  It’s from a dictionary - it’s supposed to be boring. 

In the last few years, my family and I have had the good fortune to travel and meet a number of folks who share our homesteading dreams and visions.  

Some of these homesteaders have had the graciousness and good humor to fill out a survey I sent to them in search of The Real True Homesteaders - people who for all intents and purposes look absolutely (mostly) normal to society most of the time, but whose hearts beat with the rhythm of the seasons and whose fingernails are never quite clean. 

These are the surveys and their answers.  

These are their photos and stories. 

At the end of each survey, I’ve added my own comments and observations - most telling, and what seems an integral facet of the homesteaders’ character, is the tendency to downplay their actual accomplishments.    

One of the things I hear most from people who have an interest in this lifestyle is, “Well, we aren’t REAL homesteaders - we live in the city.” 

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