4.10 Living in Comptche is Hard Work
Research About the Counterculture
The people who came back to the land differ from the settlers who came to make a living from the land. The hippies were interested in living with nature and preserving the environment, while the old-timers’ livelihoods were dependent on resource extraction and the management of natural resources. These are fundamental differences.
Old-timers defined themselves as “hard workers,” which is also how the newcomers perceived them. The hard worker persona has a historical precedence in Comptche, and this study affirms that anyone who has ever lived successfully in Comptche has worked very hard.
As discussed in earlier posts, there are different types of hippies. Those in rural scenes were commune dwellers and back-to-the-landers. And then there were squatters—the defiant ones. Squatters lived in the woods in abandoned mill shacks without permission, ignoring bullet-pierced No Trespassing signs.
As described by a newcomer participant from a back-to-the-land family:
“There was a real difference between the back-to-the-landers and the squatters. We came with skills and resources. Bob E. for instance. He was a butcher and even the old-timers went to him."
How one derived a livelihood was a topic that caused division. Some back-to-the-landers were daring enough to grow weed. Since it was illegal then and continued being outlawed during this research project timeframe, I intentionally avoided questions about marijuana, despite its iconic function in the counterculture.
Back-to-the-landers’ desire to leave the mainstream behind included jobs. They were rejecting the work-week laden with ties, nylons, bosses, commuting to the office and back to the suburbs—becoming referred to as “bedroom communities”. They resettled in the country with the intention of living off the land, working for themselves, and thereby reducing their reliance on the modern world.
The old-timers were puzzled by the hippie work ethic, wondering if there was one. Their recollections include:
“It was a different set of values, pride in work versus rejection of work.”
“We were always expected to take care of ourselves, it’s never someone else’s responsibility.”
“Before the hippies, there was no welfare or food stamps in Comptche.”
The large number of single head-of-household families is one of the reasons for the high percentage of newcomers receiving government assistance. A newcomer described her family’s livelihood:
“Our Mom and Dad had recently divorced. He disappeared and we went on welfare.”
Because many of the newcomers received government assistance, old-timers considered them as lazy and considered them “freeloaders”.
Mid-decade the work of the Comptche Advisory Committee (CAC) organized to create a general plan at the county’s request. This process provided a serendipitous opportunity for demonstrating the value of higher education which back-to-the-landers could now contribute to the community.
They took minutes, established a safe space for open dialogue, created strategy, surveyed community members about needs and values, wrote reports, and submitted an eloquently written general plan reflecting community voices and values.
It was helpful for the old-timers to see higher education applied to rural living because the prevailing notion around going to college after high school was negative. Old-timer respondents wrote:
“The redneck culture has a disdain toward higher education.”
“Academic reasoning it is not a prerequisite to working in the woods.”
The community had an ongoing dialogue during the CAC’s multi-year assessment process for Mendocino County. They explored how to balance issues such as the zoning, types of industry to allow, water resources, fire risk, and the tranquil quality of life valued in common.
After meeting regularly for three years they produced the first general plan for Comptche. In order to maintain the quality of life they all valued, the CAC restricted economic development by discouraging tourism and new business enterprises other than cottage industry.
The residents of Comptche discovered that their differences could be overcome by focusing on the values they held in common.
Next up: Learning Country Living Skills
Resources for this post:
Comptche Advisory Committee (CAC), 1978. Comptche Conservation Plan. Written by Michael Nolan. Mendocino County Planning Division, Ukiah, CA.
Spicer, Lisa Gruwell, 2012. Finding Common Ground: When the Hippie Counterculture Immigrated to a Rural Redwood Community. Western Washington University Press.