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A me rican Es s e nc e

American Essence JANUARY 2023

FO R E V E RYO N E W H O LOV E S T H I S CO U N T RY

The

Self-Reliance Issue

JANUARY 2023

A Life of Abundance Stacy Lyn Harris is raising her family of nine with an appetite for wild game, homegrown produce, and tackling life without fear

Master of Survival Meet Shane Hobel, who runs one of the top survival schools in the country

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A Winter Snow A rhupunt

By Phil S. Rogers The white snow falls in swirling walls that so enthralls as in my youth.

The wind is slight; flakes from great height a blissful sight— whole life to sleuth.

Each crystal flake a snowman make down by the lake— old thoughts that soothe.

Years long ago the soft white snow was without woe, no speck of ruth.

The frozen snow, the earth below, leaves me aglow— the simple truth.

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Contents Features 6 | Hero of the Frontier The exciting exploits of a deputy marshal who dealt out justice during the Wild West days in Oklahoma, as recalled by his great-grandson.

10 | A Matter of Survival At Mountain Scout Survival School, participants not only acquire survival skills but also learn about the mindset required in emergencies.

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18 | Let Them Grow Once dubbed “America’s worst mom” by her critics, Lenore Skenazy persisted with her philosophy of nurturing independence in children— and it’s now gaining traction.

History

26 | A Fluffy Endeavor The famed New York State Sheep & Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, N.Y., showcases the pride of farmers— and of knitters.

32 | Why I Love America Michael D. Stevens believes the beauty of our country lies in its people and their moral character.

46 | ‘Little House’ of Perseverance One of the trials the Ingalls family endured—their homestead destroyed by locusts—helped give rise to the famous children’s book series.

34 | Book Recommender “Team of Rivals” reveals how Lincoln’s genius allowed him to turn his political opponents into important allies.

36 | Peg-Legged Spy Even with a prosthetic leg, American Virginia Hall served as a special agent for the British during World War II. 40 | A Defense Elicits Compassion Historically regarded as one of America’s finest examples of oration, attorney Temple Houston’s defense of Minnie Stacey left an Oklahoma courtroom in tears.

22 | Seven Sons Farm A family farm in Indiana reaps the rewards of implementing farming practices that nurture the soil.

50 | Washington’s City Certainly, the city named after Washington honors our first president, but it also celebrates the business acumen that enabled its construction.

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54 | The Quintessential American Philosopher Marching to the beat of a different drum, Henry David Thoreau moved to the woods and embodied his philosophy of living deliberately.

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Lifestyle 60 | Heirloom Seeds Baker Creek Seed Company deals in rare and resilient varieties passed down through generations.

68 | Living Off the Land Stacy Lyn Harris feeds her family of nine with wild game, homegrown produce, and a fearless joy.

80 | Survival Mom Lisa Bedford is teaching families how to be prepared for any kind of emergency.

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84 | The Eagle’s Nest Blending old world charm with state-of-the-art technologies, Glen Eyrie castle was a symbol of sustainability and innovation.

90 | In Pursuit of Elegance Etiquette coach and author Myka Meier reveals how true grace and elegance stem from a kind heart.

96 | Parting Thoughts Holistic health coach Christine Dunst on her wellness philosophy.

Editor’s Note Dear Readers,

S

elf-reliance is built into the American DNA. In this issue, I invite you to explore how this mindset is manifested in different ways.

For Stacy Lyn Harris (page 68), the rhythms that sustain her family from season to season are marked by harvests and hunts.

She makes it a point to pass on invaluable skills to her seven homeschooled children, who no doubt grow in confidence in their abilities as they get older.

We also visit Shane Hobel (page 10), who runs one of the country’s top survival schools, and there we learn that dealing with potential disasters is not such a scary thought when you make a point to be prepared and learn the skills.

Skills do take time—they are also an investment in our freedom and peace of mind.

Thoreau gives us a historical example (page 54), as a man who retired to nature in order to see what he could learn while living a life of simplicity.

In our daily lives, it can help us to remember that, amidst the din of our modern world, the quiet beauty of nature, again and again, offers a haven for reflection.

As we start a new year, we can all draw inspiration from these men and women to find ways to be more self-reliant in spirit and in our lives.

Wishing you a Happy New Year,

Editor-In-Chief Channaly Philipp Editor@AmericanEssence.net

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JANUARY 2023 | VOLUME 3 | ISSUE 1

American Essence FO R E V E RYO N E W H O LOV E S T H I S CO U N T RY

PU BLISHE R

Dana Cheng

E DI TO R I A L

Editor-In-Chief Managing Editor History & Literature Editor Arts Editor Lifestyle & Food Editor Editors-At-Large Production Assistant

Channaly Philipp Annie Wu Sharon Kilarski Jennifer Schneider Crystal Shi Tynan Beatty Maria Han Jennifer Tseng

C R EAT I V E

Lead Designer Designers Photo Editor

Cristina Greaney Jasmina Zhang Sunny Lo Tatsiana Moon

CO NT R IBU TO RS

J.D. Haines, Krista Thomas, Hazel Atkins, Michael D. Stevens, Deena C. Bouknight, Rachel Pfeiffer, Jeff Minick, Andrew Benson Brown, Dustin Bass, Kevin Revolinski, Bob Kirchman

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Features | Self-Reliance

Getting Out of Dodge Unusual for a survival school, Mountain Scout Survival School, in Hopewell Junction, New York, two hours from Manhattan, teaches both wilderness survival and urban emergency preparedness—a hot topic, given 70 percent of people currently live in urban areas.

“The subject matter is overwhelming,” admits Hobel, who consults for private groups as well. In quaint gatherings in brownstone apartments, small groups come together around food and wine, focused on developing a solid plan to get out safely should a disaster happen.

The skill set required in the city is different from being out in the wilderness. The bottom line is, there is no sustainability in the city; it is wholly dependent on supplies coming in. In case of danger, Hobel advises city dwellers to get out with the first wave of exodus. Though you can stay for a little while, “eventually you’re going to have to go. My suggestion would be to go with the waves and don’t go alone; if you’re a solo operator, you’re just a target. Remember that the most scary individual in the world is a hungry person.”

The topics include communication options and protocols, plans detailing meeting points and how to get there, resources along the way, safety, and the big subject of go-bags—emergency backpacks to take when you leave home.

In the aftermath of 9/11, Hobel saw many companies sell generic, sub-par go-bags. He still urges consumers to be wary and do their research, since these kits aren’t adapted for your personal circumstances.

Go-bags can range from a 24-hour bag designed to get you by with the bare minimum, to the 36- to 72-hour bag (the most common), to what Hobel calls a “sustainability bag,” which can sustain you indefinitely—as long as you have the skills.

You also need to consider the time of year, and know your plan: where you’re going, who’s going with you, how fast or slow you need to go to accommodate the slowest member of your party, and whether you can replenish items along the way. Make sure to have a couple of exit routes in mind, and know how you’re getting to your destination.

Every member of your group of family or friends should have a go-bag, “packed and identical.”

Crucially, get out and practice with it.

And learn the skills: If you lose your go-bag, “your skills don’t go in the bag and they stay with you; for example, first aid and CPR—start with that. You can help yourself and then you can help others,” Hobel said.

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Hobel’s Native American heritage has greatly influenced him. What most people view as ‘‘survival skills’’ are simply ancestral skills in his eyes.

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A Beginner’s Guide: The

Go-Bag

When we asked Shane Hobel of Mountain Scout Survival School about how to put together a go-bag, a hot topic in wilderness survival, we didn’t expect to hear that he didn’t have one. “They’re a representation of what you know, and what you don’t know,” he explained.

One way to think about it is that the more skills you have under your belt, the less you actually need to carry with you, should disaster strike.

Hobel wanders into the woods with nothing but a knife.

For the rest of us, however, here are some items that might go into a go-bag. This is not a comprehensive list by any means, nor is it one-size-fits-all. Go-bags should be customized according to the goals, needs, and skills of the user.

Don’t forget to add a change of clothing; rain gear; food and a cooking pot; a hygiene kit; medications and glasses/contacts; and vital paperwork about you and your assets, such as IDs, bank accounts, etc. Include separate waterproof bags for hygiene, fire-starting materials, and clothes, or simply line your bag with a large garbage bag. For electronics, consider a solar charger for your phone and a small, portable GPS device with a built-in digital compass such as the Garmin Foretrex 401, which will also give you the distance to your destination or waypoints.

Skills are key, and so is practice. Learn first aid, CPR, and bushcraft camping, and develop a good sense of navigation. Then, it’s “dirt time,” as Hobel calls it. “Go camping, enjoy yourself for the weekend,” but take a chance to practice with your go-bag and your skills.

A backpack can either be conventional (pictured here) or tactical, though the latter might attract more attention.

Another alternative is to wear a photographer-style vest with many mesh pockets for your items and wear a coat over it.

A flute, or something similar, for leisure time.

A hatchet.

A sleep system, such as this thin, waterproof bivy sack made of Tyvek

by SOL, paired with a silk liner that can be slipped inside. (Favor silk and wool, which are insulated fibers, over cotton, Hobel says.)

Bandanas have multiple uses, including first aid, water filtration, and hiking trail markers.

Water, a pop-up drinking cup, and water purification systems, such as Sawyer, LifeStraw, Katadyn, or Berkey (a high-quality purifier is worth the investment, Hobel says).

A lighter.

A good knife, such as this Fieldcraft knife by the Brothers of Bushcraft.

A first aid kit, packed on the outside of the bag, in the exact same spot in each of your group members’ bags so that you can find it without looking.

A hand chain saw.

Twine, to set traps and make strong lashings for shelter. With jute, you can strip off thin threads to make a little ball to start a fire.

A light, bulletproof shield, slid into the pack, can protect your bag and turn it into a shield.

A headlamp.

The New York Sheep and Wool Festival is a time of celebration, bringing together farmers, knitters, and of course, warm and woolly creatures.

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Festivals | Features

Llamas and Sheep and Goats, Oh My! Wool-clad knitters, crocheters, and felters converge on this annual festival in New York State that celebrates all things wool WRITTEN BY

Channaly Philipp

PHOTOGRAPHED BY

Adhiraj Chakrabarti

D

utchess County, New York, is a royal name for a county where Gilded Age elites made their retreats, but its pastoral roots are celebrated in many festivals year-round, including the 42nd New York State Sheep & Wool Festival, which took place on October 15–16 this year.

Here, lovers of wool, many wearing their handmade and sometimes even homespun garments, converge with the four-legged producers of wool—sheep, goats, alpacas, and llamas.

The woolen sweaters, hats, and shawls are a joy to behold, in dainty or bold patterns, all of them one-of-a-kind.

It’s not uncommon for knitters, relishing their new purchases of beautiful wool skeins, to break out their needles and find a peaceful spot on the fairgrounds to knit.

For those seeking out excitement, it doesn’t get any better than the “Leaping Llama” contest, where not only llamas but also alpacas and goats try to clear the highest bar possible, cajoled by their human handlers—sometimes with success, sometimes not, but always with style and humor. "

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ABOVE The festival celebrates all things wool and woolen, with demonstrations, competitions, and parades.

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History | World War II

The Limping Lady

American Virginia Hall successfully served as a secret agent for Britain during World War II WRITTEN BY

T

Rachel Pfeiffer

he cruel Pyrenees Mountains stared down at Virginia Hall in November 1942. As a spy for Britain’s Special Operations Executive (SOE), Hall had risked her life gathering information and establishing safe houses for downed Royal Air Force (RAF) pilots. Though this brave American woman had operated for over a year out of the French city of Lyon, much longer than most spies, now her cover was blown.

Losing her left leg in a hunting accident years earlier made the normally treacherous trek from France into Spain even more difficult for Hall. Her hip ached, what was left of her leg bled, and her prosthetic leg—which she called Cuthbert—was falling apart.

“Cuthbert is being tiresome, but I can cope,” she radioed London during her climb.

“If Cuthbert is tiresome, have him eliminated,” they advised.

Though at times it seemed impossible to keep going, Hall knew the suffering on the mountain in front of her was nothing compared to what she would face from the Gestapo if she had remained. Finally, Hall and the men traveling with her reached the top of the pass. Her salvation was within reach, but just as with the ongoing war, the path ahead was still long and daunting.

The Making of a Secret Agent Even though few women served as spies in World War II, Hall was a perfect fit. She had attended college in France, spoke five languages, and had worked for American

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embassies throughout Europe before the war. She served as an ambulance driver in France after the Germans attacked. As she was leaving the country, Hall met George Bellows, who recruited her for Britain’s SOE. SOE was created with the hope that its agents would not only be able to pass along useful information, but also encourage the resistance in France and eventually commit acts of sabotage. In Winston Churchill’s words, the job of SOE was to “set Europe ablaze.”

Hall soon joined SOE, with her cover being that she was a reporter for the New York Post.

Not long after arriving in France in September 1941, Hall determined that the city of Lyon was perfect for her mission and quickly set up her circuit, code-named Heckler. She passed on vital information and established safe houses for the RAF pilots. One of her more daring exploits was engineering the mass escape of 12 of SOE’s most valuable agents, not long after her arrival.

Saving Nazi-Held Prisoners Twelve SOE agents, feeling lonely, had responded to an invitation from one of SOE’s wireless officers to meet up on October 24.

This gathering was a massive breach of security, and it had disastrous results. All the agents were arrested and imprisoned. For six months, the agents suffered in Périgueux, an impenetrable prison in southwest France. Gaby Bloch, the wife of one of the agents, approached Hall and asked her to help get the men out. Hall knew it wouldn’t be easy, but she agreed.

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Virginia Hall operated a 111 MKII Radio in 1944 to send intelligence reports in Morse code to the Office of Strategic Services. To generate electricity, the radio was attached to a car battery that was charged by pedaling an upturned bicycle frame. “The Daisies Will Bloom at Night” by Jeffrey W. Bass, 2006. Oil painting.

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One of the finest examples of American oration, the “Soiled Dove Plea,” delivered by attorney Temple Houston, left few dry eyes in the Oklahoma courtroom.

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Wild West | History

The Silver-Tongued Lawyer of the Wild West Attorney Temple Houston’s defense of prostitute Minnie Stacey drew forth a jury’s compassion WRITTEN BY

O

klahoma and Indian Territories were among the last frontiers of the wild and woolly American West. Hordes of legal fugitives and an assortment of unsavory characters flocked to the region when it was thrown open for settlement during a series of land runs. Col. D.F. MacMartin describes it best in his book “Thirty Years in Hell: Or, the Confessions of a Drug Fiend”: “History has never recorded an opening of government land whereon there was assembled such a rash and motley colony of gamblers, cut-throats, refugees, demimondaines, bootleggers and high hat and low pressure crooks.”

With this population came an unprecedented wave of crime, which afforded criminal lawyers like Temple Houston ample opportunities for a steady clientele.

Houston was the youngest son of Sam Houston—the famous general, senator, and first president of the Republic of Texas. The young man distinguished himself as a cadet at what is now Texas A&M University, graduating at 17 as a second lieutenant. He moved on to Baylor University, where he completed a bachelor’s in philosophy in 1880, at the age of 19. He was admitted to the Texas bar soon after, two years before the required age of 21. Then, he embarked on a legal career in Brazoria County, Texas, served as district attorney, and was elected to the Texas State Senate in 1884, serving four years. He

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J.D. Haines

moved from his native Texas to Woodward, Oklahoma Territory, in 1893, shortly following the Cherokee Strip Land Run. Finding His Place in the Oklahoma Sun Temple grew restless and possibly felt that as long as he remained in Texas, he would labor in the shadow of his famous father.

In Oklahoma Territory, he could carve out his own reputation, based on his own accomplishments.

In the courtroom, he soon did. There, Houston cut an imposing figure. Western writer Glenn Shirley describes his appearance: His auburn hair now swept his shoulders … his dress was a mixture of legal dignity and western informality, a white Stetson, a black frock coat [that] tended to accentuate his slender height, and shop-made boots with square toes and riding heels that made his feet look sizes smaller. He wore a black cravat and a miniature gold saber tiepin that had belonged to his father.

He soon developed a reputation as one of the region’s most brilliant, popular, and eccentric lawyers. He defended some of the worst criminals in the territory, including murderers, stock thieves, and gunfighters. But it was Houston’s extemporaneous defense of Minnie Stacey that enshrined him forever as one of the great orators in American jurisprudence.

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Lifestyle | Gardening

Saving Our Seeds

In curating North America’s largest catalog of heirloom seeds, Jere Gettle and his Baker Creek Seed Company are preserving living capsules of history and resilience WRITTEN BY

T

he Persian melon, a honey-sweet, orange-fleshed variety dating back to its namesake empire and the progenitor of all American cantaloupes, was a standard in American gardens for two centuries, but is now virtually unseen and in need of rescue. Montana lavender clay corn, with its striking deep-purple kernels, was blended by a Montanan corn breeder who used a Mandan tribe variety that once passed through the hands of Lewis and Clark and Thomas Jefferson. The buena mulata pepper, a chameleon variety that fruits violet and pink, then ripens through orange and brown to a final red, was extremely rare but rescued from obscurity in the 1940s by Horace Pippen, a black veteran and folk artist who traded his seed collection for therapeutic bee stings.

All of them heirlooms; all of them now safely kept and made available to gardeners around the country to

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Kevin Revolinski

grow for a few dollars. This is the world of Jere Gettle.

Heirlooms: The word itself has an emotive effect, something meaningful, something passed down, something belonging to the family. And indeed many of these are generational family treasures, fruits and vegetables that have been around and passed down for years. For Gettle, they appeal to his “passion of always finding something new and unique, and telling the story about a family, a region, or country where [they] came from,” he said. In 1998, when he was 17 years old, he founded Baker Creek Seed Company as a tiny one-man purveyor dedicated to finding and sustaining these myriad varieties.

Today, with his wife, Emilee, and a staff of more than 100, Gettle manages the largest catalog of heirloom seeds in North America.

The seed company, named for a creek not 1,000 feet off the back

door of its public store, occupies 17 acres five miles north of Mansfield, Missouri, a town of about 1,200. Yet this year, Baker Creek is mailing out 1.5 million full-color seed catalogs filled with more than 1,000 heirloom plants.

Humble Roots Gettle grew up in the Boise Valley, but on the Oregon side of the border—an area of great soil, he pointed out. “Everyone pretty much farmed or gardened at least on some scale,” he said. His paternal grandmother, born in Mexico, lived on the same property, growing the crops she remembered from her childhood; his other grandmother lived 15 miles down the road and raised many varieties of squash. His parents grew and preserved much of their own food. They’d visit cousins “and everyone was basically talking about what they were growing, what was ripe.”

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Ella Gettle with Wilson’s Sweet watermelons, a variety with very crisp, sweet flesh that was once grown commerically but has since become nearly extinct.

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Lifestyle | Self-Reliance

A Homegrown Life

Stacy Lyn Harris, TV host, author, wild-game chef, and homeschooling mother of 7, has cultivated a life off of the land— and dedicated it to teaching others how they can, too WRITTEN BY

A

bout an hour outside Montgomery, Alabama, there are seven acres of green fields, carefully grafted fruit trees, a garden, and natural woodland. Here, deer, elk, squirrels, rabbits, quail, ducks, wild turkeys, and doves live and forage, eating the acorns dropped by the oaks, grazing freely in the fields, and enjoying the fruit from the trees. This woodland, these fields and trees, are especially for them. The people who own this land deliberately cultivate it so that the wild animals can live healthy lives here, as they firmly believe that “we all can share.”

Stacy Lyn Harris and her family steward this land. They live about 45 minutes away, on an acre of land 10 minutes outside Montgomery, and they visit their wildlife sanctuary every weekend. All the meat they eat comes from their own hunting and fishing on their property, and all their vegetables come from their gardens grown near their house. They also raise chickens, and for a while they kept bees.

For Harris, her husband, Scott, and their seven children, “our sustainable lifestyle is about stewardship,” she said. Guided by her faith, her goal is to live in harmony with nature and without fear, she said, because she knows “we could survive.”

Now, Harris is an expert in her field, speaking about her approach to living off the land at homesteading conferences and on podcasts and interviews, as well as hosting “The Sporting Chef” show on the Sportsman

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Hazel Atkins

Channel, which she has appeared on for the last 10 years. She’s written best-selling books on sustainable living and cookbooks on how to make venison delicious; her latest is a book about homeschooling, set to be published this year. In all, she estimates she has reached more than half a million people through her books and blog, and more through the show.

At the beginning of her journey, however, “it was kind of an accidental sustainable lifestyle,” Harris recalled. Her husband’s passion for hunting was the unlikely gateway.

An Unexpected Path Harris grew up in Montgomery with her mom and step-dad, and they “went to the store for everything,” she said. She had something of an antagonistic relationship with hunting when she was younger: “My dad lived in the country and he hunted and fished, but I didn’t spend a ton of time with him. He was never there when I went to visit, and I had this aversion to hunting.”

During college, however, she met Scott. “I married this guy who is the biggest hunter you ever met in your life,” Harris said.

“When we were dating, he would go out every single day of the hunting season, and he would do that now if he could.” In their early marriage, they struggled because “I felt in competition with the hunting,” she said.

Eventually, “I felt a tug in my heart going, ‘You know what, you can choose to be happy

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Stacy Lyn Harris prepares to carry a rack of ribs from a wild pig into her smokehouse, at her family home outside of Montgomery, Ala.

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Mexican-Style Venison and Eggs Breakfast Skillet RECIPES BY

Stacy Lyn Harris

T H I S B R E A K FA S T S K I L L E T is truly one of the best ground deer meat recipes out there. It has just enough spice to bring out the earthy flavor of the venison, and it goes beautifully over sourdough toast.

Ground meat is one of the most versatile ways to enjoy deer or venison. You can cook

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Recipes | Lifestyle

Serves 4 • 4 teaspoons olive oil • 1 onion, finely chopped • 16 ounces lean ground grass-fed beef or venison • 4 tablespoons chipotle sauce • 1 quart tomatoes, chopped • 3/4 cup milk • 1 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped, plus extra for serving • Kosher salt to taste • Freshly ground pepper • 4 eggs • 1 jalapeño, thinly sliced • Sourdough bread, cut thick

anything from spaghetti, Bolognese, meatloaf, and sausage to shakshuka, which is very similar to this venison and eggs breakfast.

I love this breakfast skillet recipe for an easy, hearty, and flavorful brunch. It’s perfect for those lazy Saturday mornings at home with the family.

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In a deep skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring often, until soft, about 4 minutes. Increase the heat to high, add the ground meat, and cook until done, about 5 to 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, place cut pieces of sourdough bread into the oven at 200°F. Add the chipotle sauce, tomatoes, milk, cilantro, salt, and pepper to your skillet. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until slightly thickened.

Make four indentations into the skillet mixture by using the back of a spoon. Crack each egg into the indentations. Cover and cook for 5 to 7 minutes or until the eggs and meat are fully cooked. Place the sliced chile and remaining cilantro over the mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Once toasted, remove the bread from the oven. Plate the bread and spread the mixture from the skillet over the bread.

Serve immediately.

Recipe from StacyLynHarris.com

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A Castle of Respite Nestled in the red rocks of Colorado Springs, Glen Eyrie served as a home and retreat for William Jackson Palmer and his traveling guests WRITTEN BY

Bob Kirchman

In 1871, Palmer built a home in Colorado Springs that gradually evolved into Glen Eyrie Castle. “Glen Eyrie” is Scottish for “Valley of the Eagle’s Nest.”

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Houses of Beauty | Lifestyle

G

len Eyrie Castle is a magnificent English Tudor Revival house with a view of Colorado’s Garden of the Gods. Designed by Frederick J. Sterner and Thomas MacLaren, it is actually the second house built on the site. Both were constructed for William Jackson Palmer, the founder of Colorado Springs.

When Palmer first saw the valley which would become Glen Eyrie, he was instantly enchanted. He wrote a letter to his fiancée Mary (whose nickname was “Queen”), penning the words, “Someday there will be a great resort here—the mineral springs will be useful—and people will come as soon as the railroad arrives.”

The founding of Colorado Springs was driven by Palmer’s aspiration to build a beautiful town that attracted people who wanted to come for the healthfulness of the climate and the respite of the incredible scenic beauty.

Its construction was influenced by Palmer’s desire to create a settlement built on sustainability and conservation. Like his English mentors, he built for the future.

A Legacy of Service Palmer’s story is a fascinating one, and it begins with his birth in Kent County, Delaware, in 1836. He grew up in a Quaker family, and when he was 5 years old, the family moved to Germantown, near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When Palmer was 15, he worked as a clerk in the engineering department of the Hempfield Railroad. At 17, he worked under chief engineer Charles Ellet Jr. as a rodman and quickly moved up to becoming a transit man for Hempfield in 1854.

Palmer’s uncle, Frank H. Jackson, urged him to visit England to study their railroads and coal-fired steam engines. At the time,

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Superwoman!

A traumatic brain injury upended Amanda Burrill’s life for years.

On her healing journey, she’s become an advocate for fellow vets

ADDRESS CITY

APT. # STATE

JUNE 2022

EMAIL SHINING THROUGH THE DARKNESS

A survivor of the Pol Pot regime tells her story of finding solace and hope in America

A TALE TOLD LOVINGLY IN TILE

Fonthill Castle in Doylestown, Pa., is a masterpiece by early 20th century ceramicist Henry Mercer

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VOLUME 2 | ISSUE 6

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Answer Key On the Cover Photo: Graylyn Harris

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Pictured: Stacy Lyn Harris par-

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ticipates in a dove hunt in the

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Sons

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1. True. While the Wild West was a dangerous place, women could claim their own homestead and own property.

Many accounts exist of women engaging in successful business ventures in professions as diverse as acting, rodeo, and silver prospecting.

2. False. Most Old Order Amish communities shun all modern technology. They rely on a particular interpretation of 2 Corinthians 6:14, written in the King James Bible as, “Be ye not unequally yoked with unbelievers.” Cars, electric power lines, and cell phones would thus “yoke” an Amish follower to the less holy outside world by, among other things, requiring them to pay bills to tech companies.

3. False. Grizzly bears were a constant threat, and many accounts exist of mountain men being attacked and maimed or killed by North America’s largest predator.

4. True. Many of the “conductors” in the Underground Railroad were former slaves who posed as current slaves to infiltrate plantations and help runaways slip away. American Essence wants to

hearhalf from you: 5. Hobgoblin. The second of the sentence, which usually gets left out of thehas positively Is there a family member who often-reproduced quote, “ ... adoredEssence invites impacted your life?isAmerican by little and philosophers and the lessons youstatesmen to share about your family roots; divines.” passed down from generation to generation; and theItpeople who still inspire you to this day.

6. Pioneer. was 19th-century writers

like James Fenimore Cooper and Francis youtotochange send your submission to ParkmanWe Jr.welcome who began negaEditor@AmericanEssenceMag.com tive perceptions about westward settlers through their charming narratives.

7. Yeoman. The word first appeared in Middle English and may have been a contraction of “young man.”

8. D. Cars. While these are still not allowed, the New Order Amish do add rubber tires and sliding doors to their horse-drawn buggies.

9. C. Nearly 40 percent of the U.S. citizens living today are descended from at least one of the 12 million people who came through Ellis Island between 1892 and 1954.

10. B. Charity. While this virtue later became a guiding principle in Franklin’s life, it was not on his original list of 13. Silence, which was on his list, was always difficult for the great conversationalist.

ISSU E 1 | JA N UARY 2 0 2 3

95

Parting Thoughts | Lifestyle

“The word ‘transformation’ always resonated deeply when thinking of how I want to serve this world,” says holistic health coach Christine Dunst.

Making the Leap Former corporate high-flyer Christine Dunst, co-founder and CEO of Embody Wellness Company, on her approach to lasting wellness AS TOLD TO

Crystal Shi Samira Bouaou

PHOTOGRAPHED BY

96

In my early 20s, I had an unhealthy relationship with food and used it as a way to feel in control. In my mid-20s and 30s, I was working 70-hour work weeks and climbing the corporate ladder. I was diagnosed with several stress-related illnesses. When I hit 33, I tried to get pregnant and had two miscarriages that shook me to the core. I knew I needed to fundamentally change my lifestyle, manage my stress and diet, and look deep inside. During the last 20 years, I watched my sister go through a heartbreaking battle with an eating disorder that she did not win. It’s one reason why I made

the dramatic career change from working at a large pharmaceutical company to helping others Embody Wellness.

I wake up at 6:30 daily. I do a hand-on-heart, 12-minute, deepbelly breathing gratitude meditation before I even get out of bed. Then I say my mantra and think about how I want to show up to the world today.

Mindset is key. I follow that with hot water and lemon to alkalize my body and stoke my metabolism, and then matcha and ashwagandha for antioxidants and de-stressing goodness.

I cultivate and trust my intuition, so my body tells me what I need to feel good. I eat real, whole food and limit processed junk, sugar, and gluten. I often incorporate gut-healing foods like fermented vegetables, celery juice, and bone broth, and load up on antioxidants, anti-inflammatory foods like ginger and turmeric, and healthy fats like extra-virgin olive oil and wild salmon. I try to practice mindful eating, slowing down and actually chewing food—it matters!

Small habits, done with consistency, can have a profound impact.

Pick one or two micro-habits you can commit to. Maybe it's drinking half your body weight in ounces of water a day. Great! Commit for 14 or 30 days. Then layer on additional habits. De-stress your nervous system daily, even if you start at one to two minutes. Move daily, even if it's a 10-minute walk.

My biggest life lesson has been letting go. Especially after illnesses, a car accident resulting in a traumatic brain injury and neck injury, and losing my father and sister within months of each other, I have a deep faith in something bigger than myself guiding us all.

Read the full interview at AmericanEssence.com

“Falun Gong is, in my judgement, the single greatest spiritual movement in Asia today. There’s nothing that begins to compare with it in courage and importance.”

—Mark Palmer FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR

“What made Falun Gong stand out from other qigong exercises and meditation practices was a moral system—compassion, truthfulness, and forbearance— unmistakably Buddhist in origin.”

—Arthur Waldron L AUDER PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

A LIFE-CHANGING BESTSELLER

Capturing the Hearts of Millions This book expounds upon the profound principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance. It focuses on a long-forgotten term called “cultivation,” and the importance of moral character on one’s path to spiritual perfection. The book explains the role of karma as the root cause of illness and tribulations, along with many other mysteries of life and the universe.

Zhuan Falun, the main text of the spiritual practice Falun Dafa, was a national bestseller in China in the 1990s, and has since been translated into over 40 languages. Find out why it has captured the hearts and minds of tens of millions of people in over 100 countries worldwide!

Scan the QR code with your phone camera to open our website, or visit:

FaYuanBooks.com

CHINA BEFORE COMMUNISM

“It’s like being in heaven!”

—Paul Behrends, consultant

EXPERIENCE the brilliance and majesty of China’s civilization before communism.

Exquisite beauty from the heavens, profound wisdom from dynasties past, timeless legends and ethnic traditions all spring to life through classical Chinese dance, enchanting live orchestral music, authentic costumes, and patented interactive backdrops. It is an immersive experience that will uplift your spirit and transport you to another world.

Join us for a night filled with courage and wisdom, light and hope...

“A fascinating insight into what China’s culture used to be and what I hope one day will be restored to China.”

—Edward McMillan-Scott, former Vice-President of the European Parliament

“A story of incredible hope and incredible spirit!”

—Rita Cosby, Emmy Award-winning journalist

“I encourage everyone to see and

all of us to learn from.”

—Donna Karan, creator of DKNY

DEC 24, 2022–MAY 7, 2023

•

UNITED STATES

Visit website to find show dates near you: ShenYun.com Announcing: New video platform from ShenYun—ShenYunZuoPin.com 98

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