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Excerpt from Oral History Interview with Sam Parker, December 5, 2000. Interview K-0252. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) See Entire Interview >>

Impulse to leave suburbia for a rural lifestyle

In this excerpt, Parker tries to describe his impulse to leave the comforts of suburban life for rural living. He thinks that a 1960s antiestablishment mentality may have contributed to his and his wife's decision, but he does not arrive at that conclusion until brought there by the interviewer.

Citing this Excerpt

Oral History Interview with Sam Parker, December 5, 2000. Interview K-0252. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) in the Southern Oral History Program Collection, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Full Text of the Excerpt

ROB AMBERG:Prior to that, what was your sense of things? You talked about this idea of the frontier and the pioneer spirit. Those kinds of things. Did you-both of you coming from more urban areas or suburban situations-what did you think you were doing? What were you thinking back then? I guess I'm asking the same question that your parents might have been asking. SAM PARKER:That's an interesting question, and I'm not sure that I can answer that. I'm not sure that I can answer that. What we were doing was some sort of inner [pause]-we were doing it for some sort of satisfaction. I'm not sure what the urge was that we were trying to-the itch that we were trying to scratch. I know we did. Where it came from, I don't know. It had something to do with self-sufficiency. It had something to do with, "I can carry the whole burden." Now, where that came from I can't answer, but it was satisfied by what we did. And on occasion, I think that the mistake was made by leaving it. I'm not sure of that. But I do know that youth plays a major portion in it, because I'm not sure I could do that now. Now, I do know that there are other people who have and have done it successfully. But I'm not sure how far you take it. ROB AMBERG:Was there a sense, Sam, of rejection in terms of upbringing? SAM PARKER:That's entirely possible. In fact, maybe probable. I suspect there was some of that in it. There was some rebellion. Of course, I was a 60s person. Maybe even a 60s hippie, when it comes to that. So that feeling of rebellion, I'm sure-or the act of rebellion-. ROB AMBERG:So the "back to the land" idea was real prominent? SAM PARKER:Yeah, it was indeed. Now, the '60s rebellion certainly played a part in that.