Life in Rural America Reimagined
I'm a farm boy. I was born on a sheep farm in the Alberta foothills. West of our farm, you could be surrounded by the peaks of the Rocky Mountains in about 30 minutes. The nearest town (with 4,000 people) was 8 minutes east, and the nearest city (with 45,000 people) was 45 minutes further east from the town. Even back in the 1970s, a family could not make a living on a small farm like ours, yet, in the past 50+ years, nobody has been successful in redefining what "rural living" means in Canada and the United States. I want to change that!
Jo Daviess County
My reimagining of rural living started right here at home, in Jo Daviess County. My central platform is a 3-legged stool: Preservation, Conservation, and Revitalization. Preservation, because Galena and Jo Daviess County are rich in history that predates Illinois becoming a state. The town of Galena attracts 1.4 million visitors a year primarily because it has done such a good job of preserving the original buildings, earning the nickname, "The Town that Time Forgot." Conservation, because the area has been under constant pressure from development for more than two centuries, which means very little has been left unaltered. Even still, the area is full of opportunities that would afford residents and visitors alike an amazing quality of life. At the southern tip of the Driftless Area, Jo Daviess County has some of the most beautiful scenery anywhere, and living outdoors 12 months of the year is something Lester invites people to enjoy with his slogan, "Experience Driftless Living." And revitalization, because our county is emerging as the third most-visited tourist area in the state, but this attention has not attracted economic prosperity for the county. The population over the past century has been either flat or in decline, and aside from jobs in the hospitality sector, there are few things that will bring young professionals and their families into the region. One in four residents of Galena, the county seat, is over the age of 70!
The "Galena Grotto" Rehabilitation Project
No, I am not building a public shrine. This grotto will be my own personal space, more "man cave" than shrine, but very much a space for mindfulness and refuge. The ancient stones that form the walls of my Galena Grotto happen to be holding up a historic 153-year-old Victorian cottage, built on a double lot that overlooks one of the most consequential rivers in American history. A river that has attracted freedom-loving people from pre-historic times. The stones from which our grotto are constructed bear silent witness to the tragic and unnecessary genocide of the First Nations (Native American) people who sanctified the river and its shorelines with their blood in 1832 as they joined their ancestors who had been buried in the nearby Thunderbird Mound (Casper Bluff). Witness to this massacre is the stagecoach house, two blocks down the street from our grotto. It which was erected in 1824. With the lots of Park Avenue laid out by 1838, the first stones of our grotto were brought in, possibly prior to 1842. Property owner, Dan Stone, might have started construction of the first home, which shows up in the earliest renderings of the town, before he lost the property in public auction to James Spare and S.H. Haines in 1844 for an unpaid lien of $443.25. Spare and Haines then assigned the property to "Ichabod W. Thompson, etc," who finished building the first home on the property atop the stones that now form the walls of our grotto. In 1853 the property transferred to a single heir, Christopher C. Thompson, for a stately sum of $1,800, possibly due to the fact that the railway would soon have to purchase almost half of the four-lot parcel to lay their tracks. Shortly thereafter, with the start of the Civil War in the South, the Town of Galena would soon produce nine generals to lead in the Union Army, including Ulysses S. Grant, who became president of the United States in 1869. The Ichabod W. Thompson home, unfortunately, was lost sometime during the Civil War years, and in 1870 the odd-shaped double lot overlooking the train tracks was sold for a mere $300, eventually ending up in the hands of developer, Otis S. Horton, who was likely contracted by Frederick E. Lenhart to build the current Victorian cottage in 1872. Lenhart may have only lived in the home for a short time, having sold it for $1000 in 1879 to Michael Boyle. The property transferred title several times before being purchased by Alexander Levins in 1882. The Levins' likely built the addition almost immediately upon taking ownership. Their time as stewards of the home extended until 1921, when it was sold to Sarah Hart.
Some Interesting History (playlists may not have any videos compiled yet)
Places Lived and Worked
These stories are told in the Bio: Lester's Chronological Biography playlist.
Backpacking Trip: Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina
This trip, and other memories are shared in the Snaps (Snapshots of Memories) playlist.
Conference Presentations and Global Connections
While I was a graduate student, I had many opportunities to travel to Europe. These stories are shared in the Dissert: Doctoral Dissertation in Public Administration playlist.
Why We Left Florida in 2022
This is a long and convoluted story, and it would not be wrong to say we are "political refugees" who fled for our safety. The story is best understood by watching the Lib: Echoes & Responses in Libertarian Philosophy playlist (as a starter).
About us
This website is in its infancy. Currently it is serving as a podcasting gateway. Watch for much more to be added over the coming year.
You can use the various links on this website as an organizing gateway to my YouTube playlists.
You are welcome to link to my Facebook page as well.