FICTION - The New Homestead
 

The New Homestead

Chapter 1 – New Beginnings


It was just another cool spring morning in mid-March when Allen went out of the house headed for the tractor shed. Today’s work would require some long hours and he wasn't looking forward to it at all. January and February had been some of the wettest on record in the mountains of West Virginia, getting a 5 day break in the weather was a blessing from God, Allen wasn't about to turn down. After checking all the fluid levels and toping the old Ford 3000 off with tax free off road diesel, he fired her up. She definitely wasn't as pretty as she had been back in early 1970 when she rolled off the assembly line but she was still every bit as useable. Allen glanced up at the cans of blue Ford paint on the shelf and wondered if he would ever get around to painting the old jewel like he promised himself he would when he found her along side the road for $3000.00 the fall before. The thick black smoke from the cold engine start had subsided and the engine was purring away at a low idle like a kitten by the fire. Might as well get started he though as he climbed in the drivers seat. Driving out of the shed, headed toward the new barn Allen was thinking about the work ahead and how much he had wanted to get this done, even though it would no doubt prove to be back breaking, tiresome labor before it was through. Backing in behind the barn Allen skillfully lined up on the old double bottom plows sitting in the shadows. After attaching the three point hitch to the plows he pulled the lever and lifted them into the air behind the old Ford and slowly moved toward the area the new garden and crops were going to be put in. This whole new homestead had been purchased with cash when he and his wife Denise had sold the old family place outside of Charleston. The decision had not come easy but the property was only a couple acres and the old family in the neighborhood had died off and riff-raff was moving in, hardly a day went by that a meth lab wasn’t busted within a few miles of the old home. Owing very little on the house and property, once sold it left a considerable amount in the bank to fix up the Bug Out Location and start a new life far away hidden in the mountains 40 minutes from the closest town of Ripley.

Allen had been plowing and turning soil on a slightly sloped hillside for a couple of hours and thinking quietly as the old diesel tractor worked for it’s living under him. Just a few months ago the BOL had been covered fully by trees, actually the trees were so close together over the whole property there wasn’t anywhere for the first few to fall when cut, they just leaned over into other trees causing some dangerous widow makers for the first day or two of clearing. Eventually Allen and his wife met a local neighbor named Pete who owned and operated a dozer, he came in and cleared a couple of acres all the way to the dirt and opening the homestead up considerably. He actually ended up taking the scrub pines to a mill for pulp and paid $3 a ton on top of the dozer work which worked out in Allen and Denise’s favor. The septic tank was installed by Pete’s brother for a lot less than the going rate and he even installed a 2000 gallon concrete cistern while doing the work at no additional charge. Things certainly were looking up and the old BOL was becoming a fine homestead at a very quick pace. Plowing the ground with the tractor was the easy part, getting down from the tractor and cutting the small roots and stumps from the ground was going to be the backbreaking part. After the dozer pushed all the large trees and stumps into a pile along the edge of the new garden / crop site there were still a lot of small stumps and brush left in the ground and all of that had to be removed by hand from the large lumps of clay the tractor turned over. Today would prove to be just one of many days needed to get this job accomplished and turn the previously wooded lands into productive fields so that family would have plenty in the uncertain economic times ahead. As the sun was headed quickly to the West, Allen backed the tractor into the shed for the night and slowly walked his tired, dirty and worn body to the mobile home they were living in until the house could be built. Walking in the door he could smell the aroma of freshly ground and baked wheat bread filling the air but all he could think of was a quick shower and a good night’s sleep. But his two over energetic daughters had different plans, they were bursting at the seams and full of pride after having made dinner for the family this evening. Allen and Denise had been foster parents for years and had either accidentally or by the grace of God been blessed with 8 and 10 year old sisters needing a home which eventually led to their full adoption. These girls were a breath of life after all of Allen and Denise’s natural born children had grown up and left the nest several years prior. After 27 years of Marriage these girls were a gift from God in so many ways it would be impossible to name them all. Dinner was a simple affair; some of Allen’s locally famous homemade canned vegetable beef soup and fresh bread, the conversation over dinner covered everything from homeschooling achievements, the bad news covering every paper and T.V. station in America to the progress made on the fields. After dinner they read some from Proverbs, discussed the blessings God had given them all and then without much fanfare headed to bed for some much needed sleep. Events and changes were brewing on the world scene that would lead to some tougher days ahead, only time would show the devastation that power hungry politicians and world leaders could unleash on a mostly unsuspecting population. This family however slept well tonight , because they had prepared for most of the unknown, moved to the middle of nowhere and worked hard at living a simpler more sustaining lifestyle with the Lord God Almighty as the head of the family.

Do you know what you're getting yourself into here??? We WILL hound you. Just saying.

Nice post. I'll watch for more.

I'm hoping others will catch the spirit and start writing some other stories and then Angie can start a new sub-thread and we'll all be over joyed and have plenty of stuff to read on rainy evenings.... Anyone?

I don't know if I could ever write a story someone would want to read, but I sure enjoy reading PAW fiction, and I'm a great copy editor, if anyone is interested. :) Thanks for the start of a great story, WVS - keep it going for us! Some of the back story has a familiar ring to it. ;)

Thank you for this nice story.

If you could, putting more paragraphs will help some of us with reading and appreciating your hard work. Don't worry about whether or not you've put them in the right spot, we really don't care. It just helps us track the sentences as we read.

Thanks again.


Cat

One suggestion -- make the paragraphs shorter. This was very hard to read because of paragraph length.

Agree with the suggestion on breaking up the paragraphs--the computer screen is very difficult to read large paragraphs, isn't it?

I enjoyed reading it and will look forward to the next installment.

As we have watched-Allen and Denise work hard on their new home place we think back that we were in their shoes 6 years ago. The long hours of building the house and the homestead, Cutting the road in through the woods to a more peaceful place and the new challenges that we faced every day. We hope for them, "as he has for us" that the Lord blesses them on their new homestead !

Mr. & Mrs Tarheel

I'd love to help, but my genre is S/F. Would Allen and Denise like to have a research wyvern help them out? She only eats once a week, but goats tend to be terrified of her.

I would love it if we had a forum for stories and I am a writer and would contribute.

Angie? Kung? Melissa? Chuck? what do you think? Care to start a seperate area for stories?

To the OP: More, please!!!!

Nice beginning of a story. I hope you don't mind, but I broke the story into paragraphs so it is easier reading (at least for these tired eyes). Also, there are several fiction stories/ books in the vault. Some of the SEP ones are a sticky.

The New Homestead

Chapter 1 – New Beginnings

It was just another cool spring morning in mid-March when Allen went out of the house headed for the tractor shed. Today’s work would require some long hours and he wasn't looking forward to it at all. January and February had been some of the wettest on record in the mountains of West Virginia, getting a 5 day break in the weather was a blessing from God, Allen wasn't about to turn down.

After checking all the fluid levels and toping the old Ford 3000 off with tax free off road diesel, he fired her up. She definitely wasn't as pretty as she had been back in early 1970 when she rolled off the assembly line but she was still every bit as useable. Allen glanced up at the cans of blue Ford paint on the shelf and wondered if he would ever get around to painting the old jewel like he promised himself he would when he found her along side the road for $3000.00 the fall before. The thick black smoke from the cold engine start had subsided and the engine was purring away at a low idle like a kitten by the fire. Might as well get started he though as he climbed in the drivers seat.

Driving out of the shed, headed toward the new barn Allen was thinking about the work ahead and how much he had wanted to get this done, even though it would no doubt prove to be back breaking, tiresome labor before it was through. Backing in behind the barn Allen skillfully lined up on the old double bottom plows sitting in the shadows. After attaching the three point hitch to the plows he pulled the lever and lifted them into the air behind the old Ford and slowly moved toward the area the new garden and crops were going to be put in.

This whole new homestead had been purchased with cash when he and his wife Denise had sold the old family place outside of Charleston. The decision had not come easy but the property was only a couple acres and the old family in the neighborhood had died off and riff-raff was moving in, hardly a day went by that a meth lab wasn’t busted within a few miles of the old home. Owing very little on the house and property, once sold it left a considerable amount in the bank to fix up the Bug Out Location and start a new life far away hidden in the mountains 40 minutes from the closest town of Ripley.

Allen had been plowing and turning soil on a slightly sloped hillside for a couple of hours and thinking quietly as the old diesel tractor worked for it’s living under him. Just a few months ago the BOL had been covered fully by trees, actually the trees were so close together over the whole property there wasn’t anywhere for the first few to fall when cut, they just leaned over into other trees causing some dangerous widow makers for the first day or two of clearing.

Eventually Allen and his wife met a local neighbor named Pete who owned and operated a dozer, he came in and cleared a couple of acres all the way to the dirt and opening the homestead up considerably. He actually ended up taking the scrub pines to a mill for pulp and paid $3 a ton on top of the dozer work which worked out in Allen and Denise’s favor.

The septic tank was installed by Pete’s brother for a lot less than the going rate and he even installed a 2000 gallon concrete cistern while doing the work at no additional charge. Things certainly were looking up and the old BOL was becoming a fine homestead at a very quick pace. Plowing the ground with the tractor was the easy part, getting down from the tractor and cutting the small roots and stumps from the ground was going to be the backbreaking part. After the dozer pushed all the large trees and stumps into a pile along the edge of the new garden / crop site there were still a lot of small stumps and brush left in the ground and all of that had to be removed by hand from the large lumps of clay the tractor turned over. Today would prove to be just one of many days needed to get this job accomplished and turn the previously wooded lands into productive fields so that family would have plenty in the uncertain economic times ahead.

As the sun was headed quickly to the West, Allen backed the tractor into the shed for the night and slowly walked his tired, dirty and worn body to the mobile home they were living in until the house could be built. Walking in the door he could smell the aroma of freshly ground and baked wheat bread filling the air but all he could think of was a quick shower and a good night’s sleep. But his two over energetic daughters had different plans, they were bursting at the seams and full of pride after having made dinner for the family this evening.

Allen and Denise had been foster parents for years and had either accidentally or by the grace of God been blessed with 8 and 10 year old sisters needing a home which eventually led to their full adoption. These girls were a breath of life after all of Allen and Denise’s natural born children had grown up and left the nest several years prior. After 27 years of Marriage these girls were a gift from God in so many ways it would be impossible to name them all.

Dinner was a simple affair; some of Allen’s locally famous homemade canned vegetable beef soup and fresh bread, the conversation over dinner covered everything from homeschooling achievements, the bad news covering every paper and T.V. station in America to the progress made on the fields. After dinner they read some from Proverbs, discussed the blessings God had given them all and then without much fanfare headed to bed for some much needed sleep. Events and changes were brewing on the world scene that would lead to some tougher days ahead, only time would show the devastation that power hungry politicians and world leaders could unleash on a mostly unsuspecting population. This family however slept well tonight , because they had prepared for most of the unknown, moved to the middle of nowhere and worked hard at living a simpler more sustaining lifestyle with the Lord God Almighty as the head of the family.

Much easier to read with it broken up into shorter paragraphs. More story, please?????? :D

As I've already said, this is a great intro to what I'm sure will become a good story. Just one (tiny) critique (besides shorter paragraphs). Please name the girls and do a bit more character development for all of the characters.

I have one about half done.....I have read so many wonderful stories here, and been introduced to other authors whose abilities outshine mine, but I would share with you like minded folks....if you want?

I would like it and have already said I would share my stories too, but I'm kind of waiting for permission from the mods, or at least encouragment to do so from other posters.
What do other posters think? Would you like reading of SHTF fiction on this board?
Should it have its own section?
Should we start a poll about it?

Start a poll if you like, but I do think there should be a fiction section here. Always have, it is an element on many homesteading/survival type websites and forums.

My dad is working on his 3rd book right now,he isn't getting it done fast enough for me! Anyway, I've actually told him to become a member on here and post his story for feedback-but he is evidence of where I get my stubborness from(and my writing ability as well, but I don't write SHTF stuff).

This is one of the books he had published...

http://www.whiskeycreekpress.com/sto...roducts_id=558

WLW, the sample chapter was really good - I think your dad's books are now on my wish list. :)

I like the idea of finished stories being posted, as I've read so many stories that started off well, and then the writer just quit! :sob: I'm still hoping Divot will finish his sequel to The Fall Of Europe....

I'll be adding a longer chapter probably tomorrow... Sorry for the delay, but I have been doing wedding practice for a friends wedding. And the sun finally shined for two days and we got back on some farm projects. I'll certainly try to be consistent with posting, but ya'll know how farm work goes with weather and how far behind all of us eat coasters are with the massive amounts of rain this spring. I will put more paragraph breaks in and the second chapter develop the characters better. This is a first attempt so if anyone want to edit or critique, I'll take it.