Volume 4 • No. 16 • Full Moon • September 7, 2025
An excerpt from
Four Dates (A Short Case for Long Memory)
spurred by the occasion of the current Long Memory Project.
by Taylor Reed
Thursday, January 26th, 2017. I was in Washington State while Brad made his offer to a room full of people in Traverse City. He was the first of several that evening to share stories for the regular event, akin to a TED Talk, called Fulfillament. He spoke of his roots and recounted lessons and guiding principles that have stuck with him before inviting listeners to consider a powerful trade-off. Despite my absence, this talk, this potent distillation, has served a bit as a north star for my understanding of both Brad and Crosshatch, and why their work is uniquely needed. Listen to it if you want to hear more of Brad’s story and the trade-off mentioned above.
For this write-up, I want to draw attention to a brief bit about three-quarters through (starting at 14m 13s if you’re listening along). Between accounts of time spent in New Zealand and his recollection of meeting Amanda, Brad remarked on what he referred to as “the third great blessing of my life… the people.” He continued,
“When I met Bob and Sally, I realized that community was made up of all ages, and the Bioneers planning committee was twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, sixty. What a gift that is for anyone to realize how comprehensive your community can be.”
Tuesday, September 29th, 2022. I’ve heard that rural spaces can be trying places if you’re trying to find “your people.” I get it; I’ve felt that. When it comes to connecting with others in rural places, it helps to not hold too rigidly to any expectations of what a friend or friendship might look like. Ernie, a good friend of mine, is more than twice my age.
On this particular Tuesday back in September of 2022, I thought I was helping Ernie out as he helped an elder in the community who needed assistance maintaining the forest around his home. Ernie had already downed and bucked the trees that called for it when I arrived, so we worked mainly on splitting and moving firewood. Sometimes in silence, sometimes making conversation, we gutted it out. One of the gifts of spending time with Ernie is that he’s already walked most of the paths I find myself on or am interested in, both literal and figurative. He offers thoughts and experience, and sometimes just listens.
We finished our work and left half of the haul in place. That pile was for Ernie to pick up later and drop off for his daughter. The rest we mainly maneuvered into the back of his truck, and some into our car. As the vehicles crept along the winding paths out of the greenery, we trailed each other. Then came roads. He missed his turn. He missed his turn a few times. He pulled into our driveway behind me. I hadn’t realized that half of that load was coming to our house — no small contribution in our second year of heating primarily with wood. I thought my role that day was mainly to help — the learning, conversation, the activity, that was all extra. That load of wood, too? I was on the receiving end of more than I had put in, much more than anything expected...
The Warp — Ideas and Inspiration
|| 1 || It seems a carburetor kit is available for the 1970s Troy-Bilt/Tecumseh rear-tine cast-iron rototiller I just hauled home. Whew. I came across one (the rototiller, not the carb-kit) that was living in a meadow. When I asked the owner if it was for sale (almost everything except the barns at that moving sale was), they told me it hadn't been started for a few years, and they weren't sure it would run. But, if I could haul it, I could have it. It was locked up in gear, so think more deadlift than roll-along. Well, I found some help, and we did heave it into a trailer. We did haul it home. And I did, at that point, start feeling some unexpected junk-hauling remorse. Only then did I use the internet to look the thing up. It turns out that I had encountered a BIFL (buy-it-for-life) score for establishing garden beds.
The things are known to last forever, and beckon repair and care. Some of the models (the "Big Red" and "Horse" specifically) are compatible with some PTO-driven wood splitters, wood chippers, generators, and even front blades for moving snow and such. It's like the pre-BCS BCS tractor, and there are loads of videos on the internet of folks fixing them up.
|| 2 || I've watched a few, and they've been fun—more mentorship and experience at my fingertips than I could ever know what to do with. I remember something Kevin Finney (of the Great Lakes Lifeways Institute) said as he led a workshop called “Anishinaabe Jiimaanan; The roles and spiritual connections of traditional watercraft to our food systems and seasonal foodways" at an Indigenous food sovereignty gathering years ago. He remarked that he's often asked to make more videos and put them online. He's soured on the idea. Not all information is for all people all the time. There's something about context, discernment, and circumstance that's lost in the limitless screen-mediated medium, and that absence can leave muddying ripples.
|| 3 || Of course, the same concern has been levelled against books. I'm a book person, so I scoff. Maybe that's not totally off-base, though. I found an excerpt of robert wolff's (BOOK) Original Wisdom in a John Zerzan anthology (again, BOOK). In it, Robert shares his experience amongst tiny settlements deep within the Malaysian jungle in the 1970s. He lived amongst the Sng'oi people, who don't have a written language. Their spoken communication interested robert, so he tried to fill a sketchpad with notes on it. The Sng'oi were intrigued. They, in turn, wanted to understand his scribblings and asked him to teach them to write.
To keep the story short, the Sng'oi possessed a remarkable ability to learn and memorize. They picked up on all that robert could share, no repetition at all, and pressed him continually for more. Their hunger and ability to learn and recall seemingly instantly both surprised and exhausted him. Then, gears shifted, and the people wanted to know what the writing could do. What was the point of it all? In their context, it couldn't do much, and they found robert's reliance on written language to be humorous. They decided they didn't need writing.
"Learning letters had been fun but now they knew it was not really useful.
They were right—in their world, it was not."
The Weft — News and Events
We’re heartened by a wide-range of expressions of resilient communities and gatherings. Here’s a smattering of regional events and happenings that reflect that diversity, collected for your consideration. Choose your own adventure!
|| 1 || Crosshatch's Land Based Projects Summit, Part II: An Invitation to Farmers, Land Stewards, Creatives and Artists. At Grow Benzie, Monday, Sept 8th, 9am-2pm. Join us for the second Land-Based Summit, a day to explore the conversations, ideas, and relationships sparked at our first gathering and throughout the monthly Land-Based Project Zoom series.
You're welcome to join, whether you have attended previous events or are joining for the first time. This is a space for shared learning and imagining new ways to connect creativity, agriculture, and place. Find more information and save your spot here.
|| 2 || SEEDS 2025 Compost Crawl—The week of Sept. 15th, NW-MI. A variety of free tours and opportunities to learn, experience, and grow while connecting with local compost experts. Browse local offerings throughout the week here or check out other concurrent compost events elsewhere in the state here.
|| 3 || The Ruby Ellen Farm’s Fall Social & Fundraiser will be held on Sunday, October 5, from 12pm - 4pm. Gather the whole family for an afternoon rich in heritage and community. Enjoy a roast-pig lunch and spirited pie auction, alongside live demonstrations—cider pressing, wood-turning, rope-making, spinning, and more—plus plenty of fun kids’ activities. More information can be found here.
|| 4 || The Tip of the Mitt New Hunters Guild—It's about that time! If you are interested in self-reliance skills, sourcing your own meat, and/or gaining a better connection to nature, consider checking out this flyer for information on gatherings, events, and how to get involved with the guild.
|| 5 || Real Organic Project: Antitrust & Food—Saturday, Sept. 27th. Churchtown Dairy, Hudson, NY/Livestream available. "Short, intimate talks from voices of the organic movement." A daylong gathering featuring talks, breakout sessions, food, and more. Check out the speakers, including folks like Eliot Coleman, JM Fortier, Linley Dixon, and other event details here.
|| 6 || Virtual Gathering—Rural Assembly Everywhere. "Sign up today to join rural advocates and allies from across the country online on Sept. 17 for conversations and stories centered on the theme of A Bigger Pie: Cultivating Abundance in a Time of Scarcity." Find more information and register here.
|| 7 || Food-Grade Grains Webinar—Tuesday, Sept. 9th, 11-noon. All things food-grade grains, including agronomy and marketing, presented by the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute. Free, but please register. More details here.
|| 8 || The Northeast Michigan Regional Food Summit. Tuesday, Oct. 21st, 9:30am-4:30pm, in Hale, MI. A gathering aimed towards working together to strengthen and envision NE-MI's food system. Free and in-person, with keynote speakers, breakout sessions, networking, and hands-on learning. More information and registration here.
|| 9 || Hip-Happening Hands-On Plastering Experiences—Saturday, Sept. 20th at noon (rain date: Sept. 21st). Bear Lake. Come help plaster the outside walls of a round, straw-clay house. IE. come hang out with hippies on a happenin' farm and learn natural building techniques. Please RSVP and/or reach out for more information with Vonni at 734-548-0274.
|| 10 || Michigan Good Food Fund SEED Award Applications Open Tomorrow (Sept. 8th)—The Michigan Good Food Fund (MGFF) is excited to announce the launch of its Fall 2025 Seed Awards for Michigan Retail Grocery Stores, Markets, Incubator Kitchens and Food Co-Manufacturers, offering grants from $5,000 to $20,000 to help food and farm businesses grow and strengthen their impact. Learn more about eligibility and begin your application here. Application window closes September 22nd.
|| 11 || Happenings at The Alluvion Between Now and the Next Whole Field include: Big Fun, The Jeff Haas Trio featuring Laurie Sears + Lisa Flahive, the Opening Reception of Every Day Acts of Art, Elisabeth Pixley-Fink & Slow Spell, Danilo Pérez, Ben Street & Adam Cruz Trio, Funky Uncle, an Every Day Acts of Art artist panel, Wheatpaste Wednesday, and Kait Rose & The Thorns.
Find more information at www.thealluvion.org.
sponsored by:
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