The Red Flannel Rag

From left to right: Uncle Gilbert, Uncle Jim, John Morris, Uncle Rob, and Clarence Payne. Leonard Stultz brought two female visitors to the logging camp for the day (circa 1935).

I was fortunate to be taught several ways to survive. My family, to some extent,

still holds on to survival by subsistence; and to this day, seems to be most content at

certain times of the year when they hunt, pick wild berries, and kill the hogs for meat.

I was taught to survive by hunting and gathering around the calendar year. I also

witnessed how moon shining caused competition and feuding between families and

ultimately destroyed the communal spirit necessary for survival by hunting and

gathering. Unfortunately, I was also a witness to the painful loss of autonomy and

individualism brought on by factory work and assembly line production. The

consequences reverberated throughout the community with major effects on family life

and childhood experiences. The people changed by necessity not by free will or a desire

to become one with the changing world around them.

Hunting and Gathering

During the days of gathering, all types of wild berries were picked during the

summer months. I heard stories of how several families would pack enough food and

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