Living Off the Land

By Edna Bell-Pearson
Published on April 18, 2011
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Bobwhite quail are fun to hunt, and mighty tasty on the dinner table.
Bobwhite quail are fun to hunt, and mighty tasty on the dinner table.
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Picking wild blackberries can be very rewarding.
Picking wild blackberries can be very rewarding.
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Mushrooms are abundant in the wild; just make sure you know which ones are safe to eat.
Mushrooms are abundant in the wild; just make sure you know which ones are safe to eat.
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Fishing provides more than food when you’re on the water.
Fishing provides more than food when you’re on the water.
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There's nothing quite like picking a fresh apple and biting into it right off the tree.
There's nothing quite like picking a fresh apple and biting into it right off the tree.
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A young buck casts a skeptical eye.
A young buck casts a skeptical eye.
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Harvesting a largemouth bass on a spinner bait.
Harvesting a largemouth bass on a spinner bait.

In 1949, my husband, Carl, and I decided to move to Arkansas, take life easy, and “live off the land.” We had been operating a flying service in Marysville, Kansas, since the end of the war, and before that Carl had flown B-24s and B-29s for the Air Corps. I was a photographer.

About as close as either of us had come to farming was Carl weeding his dad’s annual spring garden when he was a boy. He figured, however, that anyone intelligent enough to fly bombers and operate airports surely had enough sense to learn how to farm.

We ordered a United Farm Agency catalog, contacted an agent in Hardy, Arkansas, made an appointment to look at some property, and headed south.

Why did we choose this area? Because of the abundance of wild game; Carl loved to hunt and fish.

At the agent’s office, we looked at brochures and discussed available properties. We chose one that, according to Carl, sounded exactly like what we were looking for, then we headed for the country – or, to be more exact, the hills.

Home sweet home

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