Brad Abney and Erika Summer have started on a new venture with their three boys (and one on the way) to discover a simpler, more connected way of living as the owners of the former Sportsmen’s Club.
Brad, who has been a carpenter and general contractor for more than 20 years, and Erika, who has been in western medicine and education for more than 20 years, have returned to Brad’s hometown of Crawfordsville to return to nature and to a true sense of community.
While traveling the country for work, Brad discovered that the community icon in the 2500 block of Country Club Road where he spent countless summer days of his childhood swimming and fishing was for sale.
“I have so many memories here,” he said. “This place is so special to so many — I hated seeing it abandoned. I immediately set my focus on moving back to town and settling here with my family.”
The family intends to use the property as its homestead, but also as a place to build natural, sustainable structures, grow nutrient-dense, mineral-rich, non-GMO, antibiotic/vaccine-free foods, forage and prepare natural medicine, host wilderness fasting and detox retreats, teach primitive and survival camping skills, and to share and learn a variety of traditional skills, Erika said.
Joel Salatin, America’s Lunatic Farmer, speaks about the recent “homestead tsunami,” reporting that a flood of individuals like Brad and Erika are taking steps to learn how to decrease dependence on “the system” and increase knowledge of traditional skills so that if “the wheels fall off,” they can still thrive in a community where people know how to care for themselves and others. They have chosen this community to do that very thing and look forward to connecting with others of every age who also want to learn or who have something to share.
They are especially looking forward to opening up their property to host the youth of this community, to offer a fun and productive way to spend healthy time with their friends and their families.
In hopes of meeting their new neighbors, Brad and Erika are hosting the Justin Rhodes AbundancePlus homesteading film festival on the property Saturday. The event is free, but all interested attendees must register by Friday at www.tgspma.com.
There will be a pot-luck lunch starting at noon, a tour of the property (weather permitting) at 1 p.m., and the films will begin at 2 p.m.
Brad and Erika are looking forward to capturing and preserving the rich history and knowledge of their new neighbors in the Crawfordsville area. They would like to connect with all who are willing to share any pictures, videos or stories they have of the old Sportsmen’s Club. Though they plan to be a place where many more memories within the community will be created, they’d like to remodel and decorate the former event center with memorabilia from the heights of the Sportsmen’s Club era. They invite anyone with memories or a story of the property to record a video with them — even better if you have a traditional skill to teach them while you tell it. (i.e., leatherwork, canning, from-scratch cooking, permaculture design, animal husbandry, gardening, foraging, fermenting foods, hunting, etc).
The property won’t be open to the general public, but the couple will welcome private membership agreements.
To connect with them or send submissions, email at thegoodstewardsPMA@protonmail.com and for details of the upcoming homesteading film festival, visit their website at www.tgspma.com.
