Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

homestead - Re: [Homestead] Ethnicity (was Tortillas)

homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Homestead mailing list

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Bill Jones <billj AT harborside.com>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] Ethnicity (was Tortillas)
  • Date: Mon, 09 Apr 2007 00:27:50 -0700

Lynda wrote:

----- Original Message ----- From: "Bill Jones" <billj AT harborside.com>


I hate to say it, but I find the people here to be bone ignorant, even
about the things you might expect somebody to know about. The only
people I've met who know what fava beans are either work at the feed
store, or are from California, Germany, etc.


***Hmmmm, ignorant? Lots of reasons...they might not be a historical cultural food for folks in your area.

I think maybe that's so, because it was not settled by people directly from Europe, where favas are number one, but by people from the East Coast, where corn and sorghum are more likely to be seen. That's nice to know, but I only score success in terms of pounds of starch to the acre. If I succeed at winning a race because of a secret weapon, a trick that no one else knows about, I still win. Favas allow us to produce a crop with the same protein content as soybeans and yields as high as any seed crop, all during the off-season.

The very fact that we call favas by an Italian name, and not one of the many English names for them, definitely proves something. You could say it's a cultural element that has been lost and regained, like "oregano" (the good ol' "origany" -- well known in England).

But this ignorance goes far beyond favas, which are just one tiny aspect. It's pathetic to hear people declare that you just can't garden here, all because granddad couldn't grow lima beans. It's way too cool for limas and okra, and tomatoes get blight if they're not covered at night. They whine when the corn doesn't finish in time. For whatever reason, locals see the gardening glass as half empty, and I see it half full. Actually, no, it's completely full. The other half of the year is full of garlic, favas, parsley, parsnips, cabbages, fantastic green onions, beautiful thyme so mild you can eat it like a vegetable, ................ Of course, I was lucky to be schooled by some great local gardeners, none of whom happen to be from here originally (other people who also see a full glass).

I should also point out that before Steve Solomon wrote several books on the subject, few published works offered any real insight into gardening west of the Cascades. You would read in a typical garden book about how to "put the garden to bed for winter" or all about the 3 Sisters (which also doesn't succeed here). About the best book on PNW gardening was by English gardener John Seymour, who worked in the same "English rock garden" climate zone (if you ignore the double-digging admonitions, which were in vogue at the time).

Another reason for the locals' cynicism is that you don't see commercial fields of any row crops here. It's not because they don't grow (with the sole problem of tomato blight and real heat-lovers), but because in reality the crop will always be later than that produced in either California or in the Willamette Valley, and so probably won't bring a large profit, so commercial agriculture is limited to hay, grazing, and cranberries.


But if you go to an average neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY or El Cajon,
CA, the typical person there is also ignorant, indolent, biased, and
bigotted, in addition to uncultured, unrefined, and unenlightened. It
makes them easier to sell products to. The difference is that the
person who has the power to leave, to live wherever they want, is more
likely to be more educated (on paper at least) and more affluent. NY
and CA have a higher percentage of these people, because that's where
the money is. Unfortunately the correlation being actually being great
vs. having a great bank balance is a fairly loose one, and this leads to
having all kinds of pompous neighbors who happen to have money telling
you what they think they know, among the worst of whom is my "native"
neighbor from Medford.


***Maybe the folks in Oregon are like the folks where James lives and don't want a know-it-all from CA telling them whats good for them. That is how you come off, doncha know.


Nobody cares. I'm not waiting for your approval. Hit the delete key. My only purpose here is to exchange recipes for successful agicultural projects, in the broadest sense, not to make anyone _like_ me. I don't have much use for opinions, and don't really relish sharing mine. The best way for you to avoid others' opinions is to refrain from giving your own. As it was, I was only offering an alternative explanation beyond the simplistic preconception that Californians or New Yorkers are bad. I'd also remind James that many, many Californians in big cities moved there from some other state. I've definitely found that the desire to move to California is correlated with a certain attitude, but the kids got stuck at the Hotel because of the faulty decision their parents made. And yes, it seems as if you can never leave, because that's where the jobs are.

Incidentally, I've merely listened politely and laughed cordially at my neighbor's N-word jokes, without ever revealing my real opinion.. I've never found my neighbor to be more than a racist -- no, beyond that, someone who delights in making fun of the unfortunate. He's one of those people lucky enough to parley an average job into a McMansion lifestyle, because he bought his original mansion low, happened upon a job with a high income/skill ratio, and sold so high that he was able to acquire many fantastic toys before moving to his luxurious retirement at the coast.

Bill
S. Oregon coast




Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page