Our Maine Street's Aroostook Issue 26 : Fall 2015 | Page 23

Accidental
Homesteaders
and the Almost Amish
words and photos by
Catherine Shaw Bowker

When someone says homesteader,
what comes to mind? Little House
on the Prairie and covered wagons?
Hippies and tree huggers? The Amish?
Mother Earth News defines 21st
century homesteading as being “…all
about self-sufficiency — wherever you
live. It’s about using less energy, eating
wholesome local food, involving your
family in the life of the community and
making wiser choices that will improve
the quality of life for your family, your
community and the environment
around you” (motherearthnews.
com July 2007). The 21st Century
homesteader doesn’t necessarily live
in the woods hidden away from the
world. Electricity, running water, even
having the Internet are part of their
lives. Throughout the United States
people are leading sustainable lifestyles
in rural, suburban, and even urban
areas.
Two homesteading families in
Fort Fairfield, the Schupbachs and
the Conklins, represent differing
approaches to self-sufficiency, but
cite similar reasons for their choice
–teaching their children how to
interact with the earth and respect the
gifts of nature, giving their families
wholesome lives, and concerns about
the negative effects of processed foods
and chemicals. As nurses, both Kate

Schupbach and Pam Conklin have
witnessed these effects first hand.
Ed and Kate Schupbach and their
children, Andrew, Meghan, Colleen,
twins Joshua and Max, and twins Abbie
and Brigid, live on the North Caribou
Road. Both Ed and Kate grew up on
farms in Ohio and after Ed retired from
the military, they wanted to return
to the farming lifestyle. Ed loved his
childhood and wants his children to
have a similar experience. Ed and Kate
want them to have room to run around
and experience nature. Joshua told me
he had never seen a wild animal before
moving to Fort Fairfield.
Fort Fairfield, Maine was the farthest
place from their minds when Ed and
Kate began looking for a place to settle
after Ed retired from the military. He
applied for a DFAS position, hoping
for an Ohio site. However, Ed was
assigned to the Limestone DFAS
Center and the family purchased a
home in Fort Fairfield and began their
adventure.
When the Schupbachs tell people
about themselves, most respond, “Oh,
so you are homesteaders.” Kate says she
was confused. “We are farming, not
homesteading.” Now she refers to her
family as “accidental homesteaders.”
Although Ed and Kate know how to
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