Lehman’s Country Life

This is the third of a three-part series on how to live an environmentally responsible lifestyle. Entitled “How to live green,” it will help you make eco-friendly choices that are easy on your budget, as well as Mother Nature.

One of the most attractive benefits of living green is that it will save you money. That’s right - save cash as you save the earth. What could be better than that? Here are tips on how to live a greener life, without ruining all your fun.
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When my partner Tony and I gave ourselves a challenge to live as consciously and as sustainably as possible, I figured we would ace it in twelve months. Now, nearly four months into our experiment, I am beginning to have some doubts. It’s just that there is so much to consider once you do start to consider things. Take laundry for instance.

Laundry is an essential task. You can be careful not to overdo the cleanliness obsession. I have access to a good ecological laundry detergent that is effective at 40 degrees. You can make sure you always do full loads. But then there is the drying process.
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It was thirty-five years ago; I had an eighteen-month-old daughter and was newly pregnant with my second child. Husband Norm and I had just moved from Rapid City, South Dakota to Australia and were settling in. Norm was a teacher; I was a homemaker and didn’t know many people at all.At a teacher’s evening get-together, one of the wives asked me if I liked being in Tumut, the town we had moved to. I replied that I loved it but was bored, as I didn’t know many people. She, Margaret, asked me what I liked doing and I told her that I liked crafts like sewing and embroidery.

Margaret, who later became my closest friend, told me there was a guild that met every week that perhaps I would be interested in checking out. She offered to babysit my daughter, Joy, while I went to a meeting to see what was going on.
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Earlier this week I headed out into Ohio’s worst snow storm of the winter to spend some time in the “wilderness” of southern Ohio. Here I am at the start of my adventure, with my trusty Dodge 4-wheeler and 4-month-old Golden Retriever. (She has not yet proven she can be trusty, but being a Golden she will unquestionably prove herself before long.) Read on to learn about the Dietz.

My destination was a tiny log cabin down a treacherous road. (Only Ohio road builders would put a 100 degree turn in the road at the bottom of 10% slope!) It is nestled in a ravine on the edge of the Appalachian Mountains. Without electricity or running water it was a perfect place to retreat from the distractions of the modern world. (Special thanks to my friend, Jerry, for letting me use it!)

Besides my dog and my Dodge, I took little else but water, a few books that I value and my Dietz lantern. I have a love affair with Dietz lanterns, a product invented in New York in the 1800’s. We’ve carried it since the day we opened in 1955. Its main claim to fame is that it will burn in “any” weather (something we’ve actually tested, but have never been able to disprove). I love it because it is easy to use, totally silent and rock steady reliable.

For 24 hours, I did little else but sleep, think, pray, read and walk.

My walks included a treacherous ice-covered path through through the ravine at left. A breathtakingly beautiful scene unfolded around every corner, making it well worth the walk.

So, what did I learn on this little retreat?

First, when hiking through beautiful ice-covered ravines, you will enjoy it more if you don’t think about how it would feel to slip and fall on the rocks or roll down the hillside into the icy water.

Second, remember to put first things first. For me, it’s faith, family, then work. The problem is that I enjoy my work so much that sometimes I get the order reversed. This time alone was perfect for helping me get things right again.

What are your secrets for keeping your life on the right track?

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With everyone getting snow, I feel guilty. It’s warm and sunny here in Colorado - 68 yesterday. Our time will come, though, of that I’m sure. We do get some real blizzards now and then, too, but it’s been a few years since we’ve had a serious one. That was when my kids were little… well, bear with me while I reminisce for a few moments?

We lived in an old farmhouse that we heated with wood. We also had a wood cookstove and were pretty much prepared to handle power outages and weather related problems.

I remember that it was one of those Colorado afternoons that promised snow, but since the weather had been pleasant, we weren’t expecting anything much. It started snowing late that afternoon. The kids filled both wood boxes, and we fed the animals and made them cozy for the night. By the time we finished outside, it was beginning to snow sideways as the wind became stronger. We had to protect our eyes and faces to walk against it.
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Snow or no snow, this Christmas in NYC will be decidedly green. Tonight marks the 75th annual lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree - often called the world’s most famous tree, and the same one cut down a few weeks ago in Connecticut using one of Lehman’s two-man crosscut saws (see my post on this event). The event is televised on NBC, starting at 8pm (check your local listings) and will feature a star-studded musical lineup and several celebrity appearances.

This year’s tree cutting was virtually carbon-neutral (thanks to the old-fashioned saw), and the space it inhabited will be “re-greened.” The majestic, 84-foot tree will be festooned with over 30,000 energy-efficient LED lights, powered by “a ground breaking permanent array of photovoltaic panels” installed on the roof of 45 Rockefeller Center. (After the holidays, the panels will continue to help power the center.)

And, this is very cool: after the tree’s taken down (about Jan. 8, 2008), it will be milled and returned to Rockefeller Center as green lumber. There, volunteers will build door frames that will be used by Habitat For Humanity in building projects in NYC, the Gulf Coast, Brazil and India.

Read more about this year’s “greener than ever” tree here, and enjoy the lighting ceremony tonight!

The Akron-Beacon Journal Recently ran an article about Lehman’s involvement in this event

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There was only a half a load of laundry and I decided to wash it by hand rather than use the washer.

The bathtub was my container of choice, and I decided to use a plunger to work the clothes in the hot water. Now, I’ve washed clothes by hand before - quite a few times, as a matter of fact. I used to own a washboard, a tub and a hand wringer, but when I moved to town, modern conveniences and all that mythology was calling me, so I got rid of both the washboard and wringer.

Anyway… the bathtub worked great, except that I have one of those push in plugs and when I caught it with the plunger, it came loose and the water started draining. The plunger worked fine, too, except that if I wasn’t careful it would stick to the bottom of the tub and I’d have to pry or pull it loose with a mighty splash. (Lehmans has a real laundry plunger called a “Rapid Washer,” and it won’t stick to the bathtub!)
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 In the fall of the year, here in Minnesota, there are many historical rendezvous and history fairs that are planned for school children to visit. Historians, re-enactors and demonstrators of past crafts gather to demonstrate their skills or simply talk about the past.

The events usually run from Thursday through Sunday, with the last two days being open to the public.

The demonstrators set up the day before, or sometimes even a few days before. Many of them go from event to event and rarely go home for the entire two months of September and October! They live in tents and keep in the costume of their period while in the campsite. You will not see any modern equipment during the event if it is a “good” one.
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Greg’s post about his oil lamp and the responses to it had me feeling nostalgic. When I was young (very young!) Grandma used sit in her rocker alongside a table in the living room, reading by the light of a coal oil lamp. I can see her reading there now, the lamp throwing rounded shadows that swayed and danced as she rocked.

Although she called it coal oil, the fluid that burned so brightly might have been kerosene. There is little distinction between the two fuels, but coal oil is distilled from a combination of cannel coal, mineral wax and bituminous shale, while kerosene is distilled from oil. Kerosene burns brighter, longer and cleaner than coal oil and it smells (a little) better, too.
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