Nancy Gregg’s Y2K Series
As presented in the
Siskiyou Daily News
ŠN. E. Gregg 1999
When thinking about Y2K, remember "This is about energy."
Heating and cooking are essential for personal well being and survival. Without these we become as animals in the wild. Foraging for food, plundering and the reduction of human kind to that of precivilization. It is therefore important that we place these needs at the tope of our list of concerns.
Alternative energies are solar and generators or adapting to a 19" Century lifestyle. Most of us will have to do the latter. If you choose solar be careful where you get your supplies. (Lehman’s Hardware seems to have the most affordable solar panels.)
Many people have felt that getting a generator would be the answer to their problem. Generators take oil products. Here you are using one energy source to transfer to another energy source.
Ultimately the adaptation of ourselves to the conditions we are confronted with will be more beneficial in the long run. Stop trying to maintain a lifestyle that uses electricity. Electricity may no longer be available to us.
To maintain an electrical society requires the use of other energy supplies that could ultimately run out. It will be far more practical to accustom ourselves to prevailing circumstances than trying to maintain ourselves at today’s standards.
Rural living has always afforded us a good basic lifestyle. Wood for many is still the primary or backup system in our homes. Cooking on a wood stove that is a heating stove solves both problems. The wood stove with the smells of stews and soups, beans and rice and a hot pot of water for oatmeal, Jell-O, tea and coffee give the family a sense of security and psychological comfort.
When cooking with a fireplace insert, cast iron cookware is the first requirement. This affords you the luxury of putting firebricks on either side in the front portion of the stove. Bringing hot coals forward between the bricks and placing a frying pan or pot on the bricks allows cooking of various kinds.
You can reduce your wood consumption by putting extra blankets on the beds and closing off the bedrooms from heat.
Too cold? Gramma Leonard said, on the farm in Pennsylvania she remembered water in her pitcher by her wash basin having a thin layer of ice on top. She would hurry and get dressed to go downstairs into the kitchen where the house was warm and the family gathered for all activities. The living room was closed off and only used for Sunday and special occasions.
If you have a family room kitchen combination then install decorative doors and close off your formal living room. Keep only the central part of your home warm.
Check your oil stove; does it need electricity to start it up? This stove will only work if we have rolling blackouts. The top usually does not get hot enough for cooking. In this case meals might require the use of charcoal barbecue. A small hibachi can work wonders for you in the kitchen. It also can run on small pieces of hardwood.
When we first arrived at the farm we had no water, (no pump), no working plumbing, nor any electricity. We cooked for about a month on a hibachi. We would put three cans on it such as corn, beans and water, on the corners for a hot drink and four hotdogs on the grill.
We were working so hard to get the place repaired, that we all fell in and out of bed each day. We swam in the river and refreshed our bodies. We bathed at a local motel once a week.
We to this day still like hot dogs and eat them with fond memories of our early days on the farm. (Hard times can make some wonderful memories if they are experienced with family stability and emotional security.)
Some oil heating stoves do not use electricity. There are a variety of sizes and models. Some have tops that lift up to expose a grill for frying. This means a variety of foods can be prepared.
After the initial purchase of the stove, you have to insure the storage of a sufficient fuel supply. In this instance reducing the area of your house for heating purposes is greatly beneficial. If you should resort to a small portable oil stove, be sure to maintain adequate ventilation. You do not want to asphyxiate the family. These will also afford you cooking facilities.
Also, use that canner that you used for the preservation of your food. Use it for the cooking of your food. It will do so in 1/3 the time. You can put in a couple of canned foods; beans and rice and come up with some wonderful one-pot meals. Some canners come with a variety of receipts that can be made in them, from soups to deserts.
If you are in a populated area their might be community services where you can get a meal cooked but you might have to bring some of the food. Remember, ultimately, that we are all responsible for ourselves.
I have a friend I met in a grocery store the other day that looked at me blankly and said, "What can I do? Where I live I wouldn’t be able to cook."
You can always find a way to cook. A metal trashcan in the middle of the parking lot, filled with sand almost to the top with a grill over the top becomes a community cooking area if you are in an apartment.
Get in your food. I cannot stress that enough.
Start with beans and rice and expand from there. Some stores are offering great buys on box meals. They usually feed two people. There are many varieties. Thirty years ago we had macaroni and cheese, then hamburger helper. Today you have a variety that can leave the mouth watering, especially if you consider the alternative. You say, my kids won’t eat that. They will if that is the only thing there is to eat. It may take a while, but ultimately their will to survive will overcome being so finicky.
We hope this will only be for a couple of months… but for whatever time period, be responsible and give yourself time to think of alternative ways of living as close to a normal daily life as possible.
I hope this is at least giving you something to think about. I also hope that after thinking you take action. Time is getting short. Money is always in short supply and it sometimes helps to write things down on paper.
As you get them checked off, move on to the next area of concern. It is my hope that these extreme preparations are not necessary. . As I heard a minister say, it would be great if none of this ever came about. We could have one large banquet in celebration of an event that didn’t happen. We could give it away to those in need.
God please guide the people and bless OUR America.
Nancy Gregg’s book, The Rebirth of OUR Republic by sending $16.00 which includes mailing and handling to The Grassroots Press, P. O. Box 516, Yreka, Ca. 96097
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