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Mail CallLooking For
WHOLE FOOD RECIPES
I’m in need of some recipes and
cookbooks featuring natural and/or
whole foods and herbs.
Anna Bulcher
17224 404th St.
Bertha, MN 56437-HOMESTEADING HELP
I’m looking for individuals who can help
me become a better homesteader. I have
property that’s big enough for a barn,
raising chickens, and growing fruits and
veggies. As a former city gal, I need all
the help I can get.
Alice M. Harnisch
5126 S.E. 69th St.
Berryton, KS 66409-PEN PALS
I’m looking for pen pals who enjoy
reading, writing letters, walking, and
yoga. I’m 63 years old and the recipient
of a left lung transplant almost three
years ago. I’d be interested in hearing if
anyone else has ever had a transplant.
I’m also a huge animal lover and have
three Great Danes, among other critters,
on my rural property.
Marla Wadsworth
P.O. Box 30
Woolrich, PA 17779-BONNET PATTERN
I’m asking GRIT readers for a sewing
pattern for a 1950s-style bonnet, like my
mom wore when I was a youngster. I'm
81 years old and would like to make a
bonnet like my mom used to wear.
Ezora Swain
109 Brooklyn Dr.
Natchez, MS 39120-WHITEFLY KILLER
I’m looking for something to kill
whiteflies. I've tried many insecticides
with little results. Any help would be
appreciated.
Larry Curtis
300 Bill Barker Road
Murphy, NC 28906-Soil Means Survival
Reading Rebecca Martin’s editorial
“Dirty Beginnings” (May/June 2019)
persuaded me to write.
My ancestors had to get dirty. They
were Scotch-Irish farmers from Virginia
and Nova Scotia, and their very survival
depended on the soil beneath their feet.
They cut every tree and pulled every
stump, just to use every inch possible on
their small acreage here in West Virginia.
The hogs wallowed in it, and the dairy
cattle grazed upon the grass that grew
from it. The corn, beans, tomatoes,
and potatoes needed the enriched
soil, fertilized by the droppings of the
livestock. The peach, apple, and plum
trees dug their roots deep into the dirt to
stand against strong winds. My ancestors
survived the harsh winter because of this
West Virginia dirt.
I still feel the need to dig in the dirt.
Although my family has the money to
purchase food regardless of the season,
I still have an affection for this soil on
the farm. My garden today is enriched by
compost. The blueberries and hazelnuts
thrive in the soil, covered by wood chips.
The same clay soil my ancestors sweated
on and prayed over is still found under
my fingernails. The digging and plantingof heritage seeds feeds not just my
family, but it also feeds my soul. With
God’s grace, may it ever be so.
CHARLIE NICHOLS
CHARLESTON, WEST VIRGINIAAmerica’s Greatest
Family Newspaper
Some 60 years ago, Nathan Leon
Tarpley, then a 10-year-old boy, read
an advertisement recruiting young
newsboys to sell America's greatest
family newspaper — GRIT. Leon dreamed
of the penny candy and ice cream that
the 7 cents profit would buy him from
Marvin and Rae Stewart’s local store in
Thida, Arkansas.
He waited with excitement for
Mrs. Selma Gipson to deliver the first
shipment of newspapers to him, and then
he immediately rode his bicycle door
to door asking neighbors to purchase a
subscription. Surprisingly, many family
and friends did. He’d pedal 3 miles to
Union Hill to deliver to Harvey Shaw,
and E.L. Chambliss, among others, who
looked forward to Friday’s delivery.Nathan Leon Tarpley proudly holds up
a recent issue of GRIT, as he fondly
recalls his job as a GRIT newspaper
delivery boy.