Here’s a story just in time for “Throwback Thursday.” Jack English, who was 93-years-old during the making of this video, gave us a glimpse into the past. Through him, we can recognize the true American spirit that’s all too easy to forget these days.
“Its five miles from the nearest road and that is the main reason I bought this. You gotta have some place you can get away from all this turmoil. It’s not that I don’t like people, I do. I just don’t like swarms of them.”
English, a modern version of the good ole American homesteader, lives in a small cabin that he built himself using materials from the very land he now resides upon. How cool is that? His land lies within the Ventana Wilderness of the Los Padres National Forest, which is a federally designated wilderness area in the Santa Lucia Mountains along the Central Coast of California.
“I came here, to the best of my knowledge, when I was 11-years-old. I came here hunting deer with a neighbor and, well, you might say I fell in love with it then. I think the main thing is that it doesn’t change. It seems to be the same as when I first come here. And, that’s unusual today, anywhere you go.”
He can go for weeks without seeing another person, which he says can feel pretty lonesome at times. But he says, “I make out alright.”
While out hunting in the area, he heard that this homestead was being put up for auction by a childless heiress. He put in a bid for the land and won. He then spent two years building the cabin, though he didn’t reside within it right away. He and his wife had a family and all the responsibilities that come with it.
His wife would later pass away from ovarian cancer and during what would be her last stay in the hospital she told him, “You go down there and live there now, if you want.” So that’s what he did. These days he lives off the land and keeps himself busy making bows for violins.
“I’m different, I know, and this is an individual thing. It’s the kind of life I like and that’s why I’m here, and that’s where I hope I’m going to be until the end.”
With a smile he says, “Maybe with luck, I can make it.”