It seems like nowadays there’s no room for a slow paced life. New developments are popping up everywhere, traffic is getting worse, and people are constantly needing to get things to done. Well when I pulled up to Mr. and Mrs. Spicer’s home, all of that seemed to go away. With hardly any other houses near them and barely any traffic, being at the farm reminded me of how simple life can be, and how easily you get caught up in everyday stresses. But sitting on 5.5 acres of land, the Spicer’s way of life takes a completely different perspective on how life used to be, and maybe how it still should be.

Built in 1921 by his great-grandparents, the farm has made a great impact on Mr. Spicer’s life. Due to complications, the farm was at one point sold of the family for over twenty years. One day, Mr. Spicer took his son Charlie to the farm when he was an infant, even though Charlie couldn’t understand anything, Mr. Spicer wanted to share a significant part of his life with his son. I guess you could say it was destiny, but the owner of the home arrived and informed Mr. Spicer that he was putting the house up for sale, and a year later the farm was back in the Spicer family name again.

“Hardly any people this day in age have a connection with their past. It’s a connection I was fortunate to grow up with having access to the farm and that I will be able to share with my kids. Buying the farm didn’t just mean purchasing a piece of property, it meant preserving my family’s name and legacy.”

But after twenty years, many things can change. The owner of the home had not kept up with the maintenance and slowly let the house deteriorate. Instead, the owner had turned one of Mr. Spicer’s favorite rooms in the house, the parlor, into basically a garage where he stored about five motorcycles. Although the motorcycles broke through the original wood the home was built with, Mr. Spicer describes it as a blessing in disguise because it exposed the house had termites.

Although the termites are gone, many renovations and additions are being added onto the home.

“It’s not about creating a perfect twenty-first century home. Rather, preserving and restoring my home tastefully all while trying to keep it as raw as possible.”

Not only did buying the home mean maintaining the house itself, but it also meant maintaining the 5.5 acres of land it sits on. So what motivated them to begin a “farm-life?”

“Before we bought the farm, we were living in Shenandoah where people lived sustainably. We were interested in becoming self-sustaining ourselves. So one day we tapped our maple tree and maple syrup and thought “we can do this”. So buying back the farm was the catalyst that made us want to try a new life-style. Buying back the farm was the perfect opportunity” said Mrs. Spicer.

The Spicer’s land is filled with plenty of grass for their animals to graze and their fruits and vegetables to grow. The land not only benefits as a place to raise and grow their own food, but also serves as economic opportunity.

“Right now I have three cows, two of them are pregnant. After the babies have grown next fall we will be able to sell them and make some profit off of them. We have three turkeys as of right now, but with Thanksgiving and Christmas coming, we’ll only have one left, which we’ll see for someone else to eat. So the animals help us live a self-sustaining life, benefit us economically, and provide a great ambiance for the land” Mr. Spicer said.

Almost all families are dependent on going to the grocery store to buy what they need. But what if that convenience was taken away? Mrs. Spicer shared that living on the farm is much like a quote stated by Henry David Thoreau, a famous author from the 1800’s. Thoreau quotes in his novel Walden and Civil Disobedience, that, “…the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” Mrs. Spicer explained that by utilizing and living off the land, they’re more in touch with nature, and aren’t constantly searching for the next big thing and it takes the constant need for material needs out of the equation.

Often times parents come home from the grocery store, only to complain that they forgot yogurt, bread, or other common foods eaten in a household. But what if you had to make all those things? When I had arrived, Mrs. Spicer had just finished picking pumpkins from her garden and was making her own yogurt. To help live more sustainably, Mrs. Spicer cans and preserves the fruits and vegetables from her garden, makes her own bread and yogurt, along with trying to balance her job and family.

“We’re very isolated in our efforts. Farming is a lost art. But when you walk down the aisles of the grocery store, it’s boxes of unreal food.  Even if you buy organic food, you still don’t know where it comes from and you’re going to pay top dollar. Instead, I have everything I need in my yard. At times it can be overwhelming and I’ll have to go to the grocery store. In this day in age it’s impossible to be a purist. We don’t live in a society where people are offering to come over and help us, there’s no more community support. And that’s definitely one of the toughest parts.”

Although buying back the farm has been a monumental task, Mr. Spicer couldn’t imagine living life any other way.

“Having the heart of the property back meant so much to everyone in my family, and it’s allowed our family to create a self-sustaining lifestyle. Even though a lot of labor and time is required, I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to bring back a piece of our family’s history” Mr. Spicer said.