Skills for Survival--How Families Can Prepare

Review

     Personal peace and self confidence grow with each new level of family preparedness we achieve. Through careful preparation we can free ourselves from concern over the impact of world situations or personal problems such as economic collapse, drought, famine, energy crisis, illness, reduced standard of living, unemployment, war, death, or natural disasters.

     In this choice land we have the greatest asset in the world in preparing for the future. We have the freedom to think, create and develop new ideas to solve the problems of an uncertain future.

     There is increasing evidence today of the need to prepare for a changed way of life. Most of the last two generations in this country have never known "want." It isn't easy to prepare until we are convinced of the need or benefits to us personally.

     Sure, to be prepared for possible emergencies we need foodstuffs basic to the preservation of life. We need wheat, powdered milk, honey or sugar, salt, maybe some peanut butter or raw peanuts, tomato juice, food supplements, seeds to plant, some beans, a little rice, corn and perhaps other grains, a little meat, dehydrated foods, candles, work clothes, and soap and water. We can go out tomorrow and buy all these things, if we have the money; and if we don't, maybe we could sell something, or borrow the money.

     However, at this point, I'm as concerned about emotional preparedness as I am about temporal preparedness. How we think about the future will have a great deal to do with how we act and feel physically. "As a man thinketh, so is he" is not a new concept.

     In order to cope with the future and not be depressed, we will need all the latest tools of mind control we can get. These training techniques have come forth at a time when the world needs them most, and are being taught across the nation to businesses, colleges, industries, athletic teams, and in prisons.

     I feel that if disasters and hard times come, the ones that survive will be the "elite command"-and there will be a separation of wheat and tares! Calm assurance comes from being ready to accept what comes. I have made a bold definite commitment that I, Esther Dickey, am going to be ready, if necessary, to give birth to a new way of life in dignity and peace. How? Besides the things I have stored, I have a bright mental picture of living as my grandparents did:
-Getting water from other sources than from my five domestic water faucets.
-Wearing darker clothes with white collars and accessories to keep clean easier.
-Walking, walking, walking-to church, school, music lessons, etc. (in walking shoes, not high heels or sandals).

-Raising a little meat-rabbits, chickens, a goat or calf.
-Planting food crops, harvesting them, and preserving the surplus.
-Gathering greens from the fields and ditch banks in the spring.
-Keeping warm in the winter and cool in the summer the way old timers did-in the shade of a big tree or around the stove.
-Burying our dead.
-Waging a war against rats and mice.
-Staying close to home.

     But we need to envision the possibility of serious events which can result if man allows civilization to abandon its reason and balance:
-Nuclear fallout, explosions, fires, burns, hair falling out, nausea, weakness for some.
-Famine in many parts of the world.
-More people banding together for safety-some gravitating to urban areas; others leaving for a place of refuge they have prepared.
-Widespread death and destruction-of people, animals, and plants.
-Violence such as our ancestors could never conceive.
-Degradation of the human race.

     With these possibilities growing more real each year, it is becoming increasingly obvious that we must truly be a prepared people.

     Someone said we have grasped the mysteries of the atom and rejected the Sermon on the Mount. Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war than about peace. We know more about killing than we do about freedom-personal freedom as well as political.

     I'm always thankful for the support of my husband, family and friends. With them I feel confident I can have comfort, peace, beauty, dignity and order before, during and after these experiences if they occur. Learning is not without anxiety, fears and efforts. We need to help each other learn. I want to put my arms around many people in thankfulness for their great contribution to the cause of family preparedness.

     Like a duck, I seem to be paddling furiously under water in order to be calm and undisturbed on the surface when my lifestyle may change-not by choice. I've tried to "tell it like it is." Hopefully my readers can get the vision of what is ahead in some areas. With additional research and preparation, none of us need fear the future. We can be a prepared people.

     While this book covers emergencies, gardening, and foods, it is by no means intended to be an exhaustive study in these areas-merely an effort to "whet the appetite" of the reader and stimulate the desire to "be prepared."

Table of Contents

Preface, V

Acknowledgments, VIII

Table of Contents, IX

PART I--A CHANGED WAY OF LIFE

1. Family Independence, 15
Family Business Directory, 15
Order and Convenience of Home Storage Areas, 17
Storage Areas in Unconventional Places, 19

2. Home-Produced Products, 21
Meat, Milk and Honey, 21
Personal Aids, 23
Ointments, Tinctures and Salves, 24
Shoes, 25

3. Let's Be Healthy, 26
Preventive Measures, 26
What Is Good Health?, 27
Where to Go for Help, 27

4. Emergency Preparedness, 29
Heating Our Homes: Heaters, Stoves, Fuel and the Sun, 29
Expedient Winter Clothing, 32
Keeping Warm at Night, 35
Other Helps for Extreme Weather, 38
Homes With and Without Air Conditioning, 38
Homemade Ventilating Pump, 39
Hot Weather Clothing, 41
Emergency Lights, Camp Stoves and Solar, 42
Grinding Grain, 47
Emergency Foot-Powered Drive Unit, 47
Emergency Drinking Water by Distillation, 48
Water Storage and Conservation, 51
Homes Away from Home, 56
Earthen-built Homes, 58
Atomic Warfare, 60
Seven Ways I Can Prepare on the Home Front,61
Emergency Underground Shelter, 64

PART II--BETTER HOME GARDENS

5. Where to Plant Food Crops When You Think There's No Place to Plant, 73
Seeds Grow in Out-of-the-Way Places, 73
Containers Can be Most Anything That Holds Soil, 73
Various Beds and Environments, 74
Food Crops on Campuses, in Parks, on Rented Land, 75

6. Working With the Soil, 76
Soil Conditioning and Planting in One Day, 76
Know the Soil, 78
Replenish the Earth, 79

7. Important Plants, 81
Many Types of Plants Needed, 81
Three Plants to Supplement Our Grains, 83
Sprouting Seeds and Growing Greens, 86

8. Extending Your Harvest Season, 92
Seedlings Grown Indoors, 92
Creating More Heat for Early and Late, 93
Early and Late Carrots; Other Hardy Pants, 93
Successive Planting, 95
Warding Off Frost, 96
Storage Tips, 96

9. Growing Vegetables in a Drought, 98
Preparing the Soil for Drought Conditions, 98
Plant and Seed Selection, 99
Conserving Moisture, 100
Do's and Don'ts of Watering, 101
Don't Worry-Plant and Prepare, 102

10. Unusual Plants and Planting Ideas, 103
Food Crops Seldom Grown at Home, 103
Gardening Ideas, Old and New, 105
Saving Seeds, 106

11. How to be a Plant Doctor, 109
Preventive Care Begins with the Soil, 109
Emergency Measures for Insect Control, 109
Dusts and Sprays Made from Plants, 110
Household Supplies to Control Insects, 111
Biological Control, 111
Know Your Pests, 112

PART III--MORE ABOUT THE BEST FOODS

12. Choosing and Preparing the Best Foods, 117
Grains, Garden Vegetables, and Fruit, 117
About Proteins, 117
Value of Good Food Selection, 121
Reduced Losses of Nutrients in Food Storage, Handling and Preparation, 123
Food to Prepare at Home-A Blessing, 125

13. Recipes, 127
Soups, 127
Salads, 134
Beverages, 139
Grains, Legumes, Vegetable Dishes, 142
Breads, Crackers, Crusts, 151
Breakfast Ideas, 154
Cookies, Candies, Desserts, 157
Homemade Food Items, 160
Spreads, Toppings and Fillings, 168
Seasonings Make a Difference, 169
Sauces, Dips, Dressings, Gravy, 170

14. Frugal Ways With Food, 174
Eating More Edible Parts of Plants, 174
Using Abundant Crops, 176
Free Food for the Gathering, 178
Poisonous Plants, 181
Food Substitutes in the Kitchen, 181
More Ways to Save, 184
Drying Food-Waste Not, Want Not!, 185
Learning to Use a Dehydrator, 188
Alternate Places to Dry Foods Indoors and Out, 190

15. Cooking and Preserving Food, 192
Cooking Grains, Beans and Other Foods, 192
Cooking Soybeans and Other Protein Foods, 193
Food Preparation Suggestions when Appliances are not Working, 194
Keeping Fresh Protein Foods and Vegetables Without Refrigeration, 195
Canning Tips, 196

16. Don't Let it Spoil, 197
Fumigants, 197              
Keeping Grains and Other Foods Cool and Dry, 198
Contamination and Spoilage, 200
Old and New Ways of Keeping and Ripening Food, 201
Keeping Foods Cool, 201
Keeping Qualities of Foods, 202

17. Special Section, 203
Some Prepare Some Don't, 203
Meals Away From Home, 203
Company Meals, 204
Changing Our Food Habits, 205
Teen-age Conformity to Family, 206
Healthy Babies, 209
Birth of a Baby, 211

18. Observations of People, Plants and Living Things, 213

Bibliography, 216
Index, 221
About the Author, 224

TABLES
Protein Yield of Common Foods, 120
Complementary Proteins, 120
Nutritive Value of Food, 124
Loss of Nutrients, 126
Refining Wheat Losses of Nutrients, 126

DRAWINGS AND ILLUSTRATIONS
Storage Pantry, 17
Storage Containers, 18
Capping Honey, 23
Home Shoe Repair, 25
Wood Burning Stove, 29
Selling Faggots in India, 31
Wrapping Feet, 33
Homemade Ventilating Pump, 39, 40, 41
Tin Can Lantern, 43
Wick Lamp, 44
Solar Oven, 45
Foot Powered Drive Unit, 47
Water Distillation, 49
Water Storage Unit, 52
Rain Barrel, 53
Wash Day, 54
Underground Home Away From Home, 57
Underground Shelter, 64, 65, 66, 68, 69
Fall Harvests, 72
Three Tiered Raised Bed, 74
Bountiful Harvest, 82
Cereal Grasses Grown Indoors, 87
All Grain Good for Food of Man, 116
Legumes, 118
Rainbow Salad, 135
Vegetable Salad Boats, 136
Homemade Products, 165
Green Beans Used in Different Ways, 177
Edible Flowers, 178
Dried Herb Teas, 180
Dri-Best Food Dehydrator, 186
Fresh and Dried Vegetables, 187
Insulated Cooking Nest, 192
Salting and Brining, 195

Title:

Skills for Survival--How Families Can Prepare

Author:

Esther Dickey

Retail Price:

$17.98

Available:

Now

ISBN:

0-88290-093-5

Order Number (SKU):

1219

Pages:

224

Size:

6" x 9"

Binding:

Paperback