For those criticizing this and pointing to how she has a different life now, from her blog site (possumliving) it's pretty apparent that she still homesteads big time AND has had careers that she did for enjoyment. Here's a quote: "In the past 30+ years, I found that knowing how to live happily without much money gave me the confidence to try all sorts of ventures including becoming a NASA engineer, an award-winning environmental educator, a college professor, and a business owner."
I'm here via Prepper Princess. Dolly sounds incredibly intelligent and well spoken. I'm glad to see her hold her own against Merv's snarky attitude, as young as she was. It doesn't surprise me she went on to NASA.
I enjoyed reading Possum Living Years ago and always wanted to see this movie, it was as good as the book was. Dolly and her father suceeded because they owned their modest house and had little overhead and They picked a good area. They also had the courage of their convictions to try and live outside the consumer lifestyle and build a life that suited them. Also, when you are independent it makes working for a living easier to put up with the usual BS. Thanks for sharing this movie.
Hey Robb man I run into you in the strangest places, Im in Florida packing up to head back up too my Ozark haven. Hope all is well my friend. There's a you tube Channel called possum living you should check him out.
I had never heard of Possum Living until last week. I happened upon the book in a thrift shop and I bought it. Thanks for posting this documentary - it's so nice to see the actual people from the book.
You should watch the other 2 parts. Her mom says she's better educated than any kid who goes through HS, and her dad said he pulled her out because she was doing very poorly in that kind of education model and wouldn't dream of pulling his son out since the son actually thrives in standard education. If you read her blog and such, she talks about how having free time allowed her to study for the SAT which got her into college just fine w/o HS diploma.
Enjoyed the film. Thanks for sharing. Very thankful to live in a country where we have the freedom to decide what a normal life is and to live it. The daugher's thought about the next door's neighbor's choices were very thought provoking. VIEWER W A R N I N G - A turtle is shot in the head.
Was so curious and interested in gardening etc, but I can’t help but feel very sad for the unfortunate animals, and did not expect to see a turtle assassinated. 😔
it's 2010 and people are out of work and have no money, I was looking up live free or die hard and came across an article about dolly freed's book Possum Living. I'm featuring all three of your videos, her blog and url to book for people to purchase for friends, family and loved ones. I was excited to see that Dolly's blogging about recipes and wondering when she will do another book? posting on the idea girl says wordpress - linda randall
AFAIK Dolly cut back a lot on her possum living because she wanted to enjoy a more typical career, so I wouldn't wait on more books from her, but Charles Long and Thomas Elpel both have some good books and there are lots of other great authors out there.
I'm working on an idea in my head to explain how we're now getting it on both ends here in America. There's no good paying jobs anymore to live "straight" and "respectable" but anything that might lend itself to being self sufficent is deemed illegal. Being homeless is more/less illegal since living in your vehicle is illegal in most places. Shooting deer around my current neck of the woods is illegal without an expensive permit (and deer are as abundant as rats here!) etc. etc. revolution yet?
@PansWife I know, that's why I wrote that I THOUGHT they were. I also wrote, "but they're not and Dolly is very smart." Read comments completely before commenting back.
When i was 5 i heard Dad tell Mom he was having trouble making eands meet. So i emptyed my Piggy bank n went to the butcher n asked for a $1.37 worth of "ends meat" so he put it in hamburger this was 1958, n i went up to my Dad n said now u dont have to worru now u have all the ENDS MEAT u need. He hugged me n said at least one of my kids care about his poor old Dad. The next day everyone had a couple hamburgers except Mom who spit it out cause she hated me n gave her burgers to the fair haired one she resented me n never wanted anything to do with me.
@JonathanBloggs Quite right, Dolly is certainly genuine and that is refreshing in anyone but most especially women. I believe that materialism and consumerism is the reason why many people seem "plastic".
@MrRobertGulabo Actually, the big difference is that Al would make this mandatory for the "great unwashed", (read the masses, that's you and me). Dolly and family did it voluntarily. BTW, I know many traditional Catholics who do live close to this but the circumstances vary so it is not exactly the same. This is because they tend to have large families, I'd say on average 6 to 8 children. They live well and avoid the materialism that is so rampant today.
@suddenlyitsobvious Actually, the turtle is dead. In most lower animals the nervous system is different and motor activity continues for some time post mortum. If you have ever seen a chicken decapitated it moves about quite freely though it is technically dead and beyond pain.
for those comenting on the turtle have any of you ever cleaned one before? i catch and eat plenty of snappers every summer and even after ive managed to cut the head off( no small feat in its own right) it will continue to try and get away and claw me they dont quit just cause they are missing a head and a few limbs.
@festyxfi There are plenty of jobs, but it is separated by the educated and the uneducated...if you are not "skilled" you are doomed to minimum wage or factory life, which is still good compared to real poverty. I liked the book, I doubt she would advocate vagrancy, then and especially now considering her current views. You can get a run down house too for cheap, and a hunting license is quite cheap and would pay for itself if you chose to eat a single deer. She now disagrees with much of this
$1500 wouldn't even cover a fraction of the property tax today, but look how much more independently you can live with those government programs. Wait.
There are lots of places in this world today where you can live like this without going broke from property tax, and property taxes typically don't go to welfare anyway. It sounds like you're just intimidated and looking for excuses to put them down.
If SHTF nobody is going to give you their turtle and kale soup, and you won't know how to make it for yourself (including hunting the turtle and growing the kale), because you never even tried it before SHTF. :)
Also he refused to include that mass animal farming is one of the top 3 contributors to carbon in the atmosphere just because his family background is as cattle ranchers. But at least he brought the conversation onto the national stage when a large segment of the population was claiming that global warming was just a myth.
her point was always that you CAN be self sufficient by ingenuity if you CHOOSE, and that nobody should feel locked into a 9-5 job if they hate it. Dolly always had a passion for math and learning and much like she didn't feel canning, gardening, rabbit care, etc "work" I doubt she ever considered being at nasa "work" - it was something she enjoyed doing.
Awful easy to get by if you own a home. Half the drudgery is taken care of. Plus you don't have to carry everything with you and keep moving. So this is just ghetto living.
You have NO idea what you're talking about. If you actually read the book, you'd know that Dolly and her dad took over that house from renters who had neglected it so bad it was falling apart. They plastered the entire outside, because the brick was crumbling, BY HAND. With plaster they mixed themselves, trowel by trowel. They redid the plumbing in the bathroom, redid the cabinets which no longer worked, cleaned out all the garbage and the rats, and paneled it. Dolly did this when she was only 14 years old, and she learned how to do most of it by simply reading books on home repair at the local library. The whole point is that they took cheap housing and made it livable with their own two hands and almost NO capital. THAT is the meaning of Possum Living.
@hummusbomb What makes Gore's way stupid? These people eat organic... they recycle... raise animals sustainably .... It sounds pretty much like this... except you keep your job.
Yes, but if all the people lived like this, they would wipe out the very basis of their sustenance in a very short time... If only the population were only 1/7 of what it is...
So don't have kids. Like, what a strange comment. The problem you're talking about isn't the result of possum living; it's the result of overpopulation. We are ALREADY wiping out the very basis of our sustenance with our mainstream modern-day lifestyle. The only difference is that most people are so disconnected from their impacts on the environment that they don't notice.
@RubberWilbur How different is that from what the Republicans advocate? More for themselves in tax breaks while you get less and less... first it's the kids... then educators... then now it's retired seniors...
I know this is from 9 years ago, but I am in strong agreement, what they did to that turtle was CRUEL, and disturbing, I would rather starve to death then do that to an animal.
When i was 5 i heard Dad tell Mom he was having trouble making eands meet. So i emptyed my Piggy bank n went to the butcher n asked for a $1.37 worth of "ends meat" so he put it in hamburger this was 1958, n i went up to my Dad n said now u dont have to worru now u have all the ENDS MEAT u need. He hugged me n said at least one of my kids care about his poor old Dad. The next day everyone had a couple hamburgers except Mom who spit it out cause she hated me n gave her burgers to the fair haired one she resented me n never wanted anything to do with me.
For those criticizing this and pointing to how she has a different life now, from her blog site (possumliving) it's pretty apparent that she still homesteads big time AND has had careers that she did for enjoyment. Here's a quote: "In the past 30+ years, I found that knowing how to live happily without much money gave me the confidence to try all sorts of ventures including becoming a NASA engineer, an award-winning environmental educator, a college professor, and a business owner."
She also has stated in interviews that she is going back to possum living when her husband retires.
I'm here via Prepper Princess. Dolly sounds incredibly intelligent and well spoken. I'm glad to see her hold her own against Merv's snarky attitude, as young as she was. It doesn't surprise me she went on to NASA.
Same! Ordered Dolly’s book
I enjoyed reading Possum Living Years ago and always wanted to see this movie, it was as good as the book was. Dolly and her father suceeded because they owned their modest house and had little overhead and They picked a good area. They also had the courage of their convictions to try and live outside the consumer lifestyle and build a life that suited them. Also, when you are independent it makes working for a living easier to put up with the usual BS. Thanks for sharing this movie.
Hey Robb man I run into you in the strangest places, Im in Florida packing up to head back up too my Ozark haven. Hope all is well my friend. There's a you tube Channel called possum living you should check him out.
I had never heard of Possum Living until last week. I happened upon the book in a thrift shop and I bought it. Thanks for posting this documentary - it's so nice to see the actual people from the book.
You should watch the other 2 parts. Her mom says she's better educated than any kid who goes through HS, and her dad said he pulled her out because she was doing very poorly in that kind of education model and wouldn't dream of pulling his son out since the son actually thrives in standard education. If you read her blog and such, she talks about how having free time allowed her to study for the SAT which got her into college just fine w/o HS diploma.
Enjoyed the film. Thanks for sharing.
Very thankful to live in a country where we have the freedom to decide what a normal life is and to live it. The daugher's thought about the next door's neighbor's choices were very thought provoking.
VIEWER W A R N I N G - A turtle is shot in the head.
Prepper princess ❤
Was so curious and interested in gardening etc,
but I can’t help but feel very sad for the unfortunate animals,
and did not expect to see a turtle assassinated. 😔
Even though I am a prepper I learned a lot from Dolly.
Thanks for this! It's great!
She very cute and smart.
They got the right idea..
Thats how I want to live.
She ended up working for nasa
it's 2010 and people are out of work and have no money, I was looking up live free or die hard and came across an article about dolly freed's book Possum Living. I'm featuring all three of your videos, her blog and url to book for people to purchase for friends, family and loved ones. I was excited to see that Dolly's blogging about recipes and wondering when she will do another book?
posting on the idea girl says wordpress - linda randall
AFAIK Dolly cut back a lot on her possum living because she wanted to enjoy a more typical career, so I wouldn't wait on more books from her, but Charles Long and Thomas Elpel both have some good books and there are lots of other great authors out there.
Jayson, are you seeing this? Great book! Glad to have found this film. Didn't know about it until today.
@bigajosep
This is a real documentary from the 1970's detailing the life she and her father lived at that time.
@PansWife Oh, I did not know that. Thank you for the clarification.
We live pretty close to the same way and we have made it a hobby so it’s part of our enjoyment instead of spending money to save it. Lol
I'm working on an idea in my head to explain how we're now getting it on both ends here in America. There's no good paying jobs anymore to live "straight" and "respectable" but anything that might lend itself to being self sufficent is deemed illegal. Being homeless is more/less illegal since living in your vehicle is illegal in most places. Shooting deer around my current neck of the woods is illegal without an expensive permit (and deer are as abundant as rats here!) etc. etc. revolution yet?
If you can't kill them you shouldn't eat them.
I am a meat eater, but seeing the turtle still moving made me feel sad. I am thinking he missed the head when he shot?
I am actually having a hard time shaking it off, it was very sad to witness.
@PansWife I know, that's why I wrote that I THOUGHT they were. I also wrote, "but they're not and Dolly is very smart." Read comments completely before commenting back.
When i was 5 i heard Dad tell Mom he was having trouble making eands meet. So i emptyed my Piggy bank n went to the butcher n asked for a $1.37 worth of "ends meat" so he put it in hamburger this was 1958, n i went up to my Dad n said now u dont have to worru now u have all the ENDS MEAT u need. He hugged me n said at least one of my kids care about his poor old Dad. The next day everyone had a couple hamburgers except Mom who spit it out cause she hated me n gave her burgers to the fair haired one she resented me n never wanted anything to do with me.
When I read the name Freed I knew you were from Pa. That's where we all originated in this country
@JonathanBloggs
Quite right, Dolly is certainly genuine and that is refreshing in anyone but most especially women. I believe that materialism and consumerism is the reason why many people seem "plastic".
@MrRobertGulabo
Actually, the big difference is that Al would make this mandatory for the "great unwashed", (read the masses, that's you and me). Dolly and family did it voluntarily. BTW, I know many traditional Catholics who do live close to this but the circumstances vary so it is not exactly the same. This is because they tend to have large families, I'd say on average 6 to 8 children. They live well and avoid the materialism that is so rampant today.
hahaha i love how you're the only person to point that out but now that you mention it i have to agree hahahahah
Dolly went to work for NASA
@IKillLittlegirls
Little small recoil for .45, wouldn't you say?
@JSpradley123 Skilled and specialized are two very different things.
They're both right. Find a place between those two.
@suddenlyitsobvious
Actually, the turtle is dead. In most lower animals the nervous system is different and motor activity continues for some time post mortum. If you have ever seen a chicken decapitated it moves about quite freely though it is technically dead and beyond pain.
for those comenting on the turtle have any of you ever cleaned one before? i catch and eat plenty of snappers every summer and even after ive managed to cut the head off( no small feat in its own right) it will continue to try and get away and claw me they dont quit just cause they are missing a head and a few limbs.
@festyxfi
There are plenty of jobs, but it is separated by the educated and the uneducated...if you are not "skilled" you are doomed to minimum wage or factory life, which is still good compared to real poverty.
I liked the book, I doubt she would advocate vagrancy, then and especially now considering her current views. You can get a run down house too for cheap, and a hunting license is quite cheap and would pay for itself if you chose to eat a single deer. She now disagrees with much of this
@hummusbomb There doesn't seem to be anything on this video that someone like Al Gore would object to.
Are my eyes deceiving me or did I see a guy shoot a turtle in the shell with a gun?
Mini Lathe Guru i was thinking the samething
American Sydeshow supports your endeavors, TinHouseBooks
How do they pay for the house though?
In the book she describes buying a foreclosure for cheap at a sheriff's sale and making it livable.
$1500 wouldn't even cover a fraction of the property tax today, but look how much more independently you can live with those government programs. Wait.
There are lots of places in this world today where you can live like this without going broke from property tax, and property taxes typically don't go to welfare anyway. It sounds like you're just intimidated and looking for excuses to put them down.
soft shell turtle and kale soup? only way i'm eating it is if the shit hits the fan and were suddenly back in the 1880s (emp)
If SHTF nobody is going to give you their turtle and kale soup, and you won't know how to make it for yourself (including hunting the turtle and growing the kale), because you never even tried it before SHTF. :)
Also he refused to include that mass animal farming is one of the top 3 contributors to carbon in the atmosphere just because his family background is as cattle ranchers. But at least he brought the conversation onto the national stage when a large segment of the population was claiming that global warming was just a myth.
“Global warming” IS A MYTH.
Just like “White Privilege” and
“Systematic Racism”.
Got it now!
@suddenlyitsobvious Yeah, it's still alive. He clearly missed. maybe he's nervous in front of the camera.
@donnerbrandpear If this was such a great life why did she finally get a regular job?
No one is saying you have to live like this, Gary Reed. Don't be threatened.
her point was always that you CAN be self sufficient by ingenuity if you CHOOSE, and that nobody should feel locked into a 9-5 job if they hate it. Dolly always had a passion for math and learning and much like she didn't feel canning, gardening, rabbit care, etc "work" I doubt she ever considered being at nasa "work" - it was something she enjoyed doing.
@@donnerbrandpears Who says I don't like it? I asked a question.
i would not wanna live with that dude.
Awful easy to get by if you own a home. Half the drudgery is taken care of. Plus you don't have to carry everything with you and keep moving. So this is just ghetto living.
You have NO idea what you're talking about. If you actually read the book, you'd know that Dolly and her dad took over that house from renters who had neglected it so bad it was falling apart. They plastered the entire outside, because the brick was crumbling, BY HAND. With plaster they mixed themselves, trowel by trowel. They redid the plumbing in the bathroom, redid the cabinets which no longer worked, cleaned out all the garbage and the rats, and paneled it. Dolly did this when she was only 14 years old, and she learned how to do most of it by simply reading books on home repair at the local library. The whole point is that they took cheap housing and made it livable with their own two hands and almost NO capital. THAT is the meaning of Possum Living.
@hummusbomb What makes Gore's way stupid? These people eat organic... they recycle... raise animals sustainably .... It sounds pretty much like this... except you keep your job.
Gores way wasn't stupid he's a billionaire now.
Yes, but if all the people lived like this, they would wipe out the very basis of their sustenance in a very short time... If only the population were only 1/7 of what it is...
So don't have kids. Like, what a strange comment. The problem you're talking about isn't the result of possum living; it's the result of overpopulation. We are ALREADY wiping out the very basis of our sustenance with our mainstream modern-day lifestyle. The only difference is that most people are so disconnected from their impacts on the environment that they don't notice.
@RubberWilbur How different is that from what the Republicans advocate? More for themselves in tax breaks while you get less and less... first it's the kids... then educators... then now it's retired seniors...
So in 90 days you'll have your chance to vote for communism where everyone is equal and no one can get ahead.BLM!
@AlexNewton1981 Tastes yummy!
I have an intense dislike for her mother, not so much passive aggressive as just aggressively annoying
i'd die of malnurishment because i wouldn't be able to kill an animal for food. I love animals too much to kill them, even for food
I know this is from 9 years ago, but I am in strong agreement,
what they did to that turtle was CRUEL, and disturbing, I would
rather starve to death then do that to an animal.
Americans
If all Americans lived as sustainable as Dolly and her dad did, half our problems would be solved.
When i was 5 i heard Dad tell Mom he was having trouble making eands meet. So i emptyed my Piggy bank n went to the butcher n asked for a $1.37 worth of "ends meat" so he put it in hamburger this was 1958, n i went up to my Dad n said now u dont have to worru now u have all the ENDS MEAT u need. He hugged me n said at least one of my kids care about his poor old Dad. The next day everyone had a couple hamburgers except Mom who spit it out cause she hated me n gave her burgers to the fair haired one she resented me n never wanted anything to do with me.