Rural Heritage August/September 2025

allowed him to construct buildings that lasted for decades. It’s worthwhile taking the time and paying attention—be meticulous and accurate. Thirteen. Pursue beauty. The daily demands of rural life often compel a focus on utility rather than beauty. However, pursuing beauty was a key impulse in my dad’s life—beauty drove his passion for working with horses, which became the organizing principle for his life. Beauty also motivated him to study Spanish. He heard the language spoken when he worked in the West and found beauty in its musicality. So, he studied it and spent a number of years as a university Spanish instructor. Basing life choices on beauty might seem far fetched. But attention to beauty inspires much of the wonder and work of rural living. Many who choose to live closer to the land and animals do so partly for daily encounters with nature’s beauty, from watching domestic and wild animals to delighting in sunset views and magnificent trees. Homesteaders add arched gateways to beautify as well as protect cultivated spaces, and add benches for pausing to appreciate the garden’s glories. We plant flowers for prettiness and pollinators. Creating and sharing beauty through crafting and cooking is central to many home-making efforts, from knitting sweaters to baking cookies to making jam. Beauty is at the heart of laying a bountiful table and connecting with community over a good meal. Indeed, in her book On Beauty and Being Just (2001), philosopher Elaine Scarry argues that recognizing beauty can prompt us to pay attention to fairness and motivate moral behavior. Experiencing wonder at nature’s beauty inspires many to become environmental stewards. Consider how different our cities would look and feel if beauty, as well as cost and efficiency, were considered when building strip malls and big box stores. Most of us aren’t planning major construction projects, but we can pay attention to finding and embracing beauty in our daily lives. The lessons shared here are part of our rural heritage. As populations shift to cities, some of these “old ways” are fading. If you have an old timer in your life—a grandparent, aunt or uncle, neighbor—find ways to tap into and hold onto their memories. Keep this rural heritage alive by bringing it into the present. And remember—pass it on.

in all its 30 volumes of thin-paged fine-typed glory, was a treasured and frequently consulted reference. The internet, of course, has made it easy to access information and culture from around the world. Use the opportunity to explore and learn. Twelve. Be careful and precise. Dad has always been exacting in his use of language. He is careful about word choice, consulting a thesaurus to find a word with the precise shade of meaning desired. He is a stickler about grammar, and doesn’t hesitate to correct and educate his kids (and others!) on the finer points of usage. Indeed, while horses and riding were one constant in my childhood, words and writing were another. Some of the most cherished gifts Dad gave me when I was a child were writing aids—a fountain pen, a thesaurus, and a copy of H.W. Fowler’s A Dictionary of Modern English Usage—along with riding gifts (a pony, a saddle, and a hand-crafted tack box filled with grooming tools). Care and precision with words were central. That same care and precision extended to working with horses. Dad was always careful to double-check that a cinch was tight enough, that stirrups were the right length for young riders. He would pull out the leather punch to make new holes in the stirrup straps if needed. He made sure the harness and collar fit right and were adjusted properly. When working with animals, taking the time to fit gear properly is vital for comfort and safety. That attention to precision serves in all kinds of rural work. Dad built many structures on the farm, from smaller animal shelters and machine sheds to full size “pole barns” for horse stables and hay storage to cabins for visitors and our summer horseback riding camp. Though never trained in carpentry, his careful attention to angles, measurements, and leveling

Rural Heritage

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