Everybody talks about lightning and yes, there are things you can do about it
By Albert H. Carlson
Issue #37 • January/February, 1996
What was a beautiful sunny day with large white billowing clouds low on the horizon has turned progressively darker. The clouds are now almost black, and the...
Funerals don’t have to be expensive
By Kelly McCarthy
Issue #95 • September/October, 2005
Being of Celtic extraction, I am naturally disposed to dwelling on the blacker side of life. I started to wonder what would happen to all the dead bodies...
Power Up Light, Water, Communications in Emergencies
By Jeffrey R. Yago, P.E., C.E.M.
April/May/June, 2019
Preparing for any emergency or future disaster is never easy. What should you prepare against; what is the likelihood it will actually happen; how long will it take...
Just for Kids: Visit the great prairies
By Lucy Shober
Issue #35 • September/October, 1995
Did you ever get an urge to just take off and go someplace exotic? Maybe the North Pole or the Amazon river basin? If you would care to...
Get out of debt, stay out of debt
By Darlene Campbell
Issue #67 • January/February, 2001
Decades ago it was advised of young high school graduates to deposit a set amount of money into the bank each month, and when they retired they would...
Just for Kids: Take a nite hike!
By Lucy Shober
Issue #22 • July/August, 1993
Click on pictures for printable, full-sized versions to color.
How many times have you lain awake in your bed on late summer nights listening to the symphony of creatures...
Disaster preparation!
By Gary F. Arnet, D.D.S.
Issue #74 • March/April, 2002
Are you prepared for a disaster that could affect the daily function of your life or the lives of your family members? Or do you even...
Preparing for winter
By Jackie Clay-Atkinson
Issue #161 • September/October, 2016
In some climates, winter's no big deal — just a little rain and cooler weather. But for the rest of us, winter is something to be prepared for....
Teach speed reading to your children even if you can’t speed read yourself
By George Stancliffe
Issue #59 • September/October, 1999
For over two years, I have had the hobby of teaching speed reading to people in the community where I live. So far I have taught over 300...
Growing and Using Bamboo on the Homestead
By Jereme Zimmerman
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Issue #161 • September/October, 2016
Bamboo: The very word evokes an image of groves of tall, leafy plants swaying gently through the air...
In the classroom and at home, this system will help you grow self-reliant kids
By Marjorie (Sultzbaugh) Harrison
Issue #42 • November/December, 1996
My husband Allan started teaching sixth grade at the Moreno Valley, California, Unified School District in September of 1959, without even slightly knowing how. Fortunately for him,...
Help your home survive in the path of a wildfire
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Help your home survive in the path of a wildfire
By Brent Stainer
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By Brent Stainer
These firefighters fought hard to save this house, but the best way to save your house is to make basic preparations...
Drive your own freshwater well
By Len McDougall
Issue #128 • March/April, 2011
The well point's slotted holes permit water to enter, while stainless steel mesh inside keeps out abrasive sand.
X marks the spot. How "witching" for water works is a...
Homemade pest traps
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By Patrice Lewis
Issue #164 • March/April, 2017
Last summer, my little compost bucket near the kitchen sink became home to a zillion fruit flies. Once they’re established, it’s devilishly hard to get rid of these...
Homestead helpers
By Charles Sanders
My parents were children of the Great Depression. They learned to get by on very little, to make or repair or reuse almost anything, and never throw anything away — it might...
Gee-Whiz: From Paper to Canning
By John Silveira (aka O.E. MacDougal)
May/June 2017 Backwoods Home
The greatest inventions in history are the ones we now take for granted. Fire and the wheel-axle combination are among them. If we weren’t taught in...






























