On Homesteaders and the Power of Community
I’ve been in Montana for my annual summer pilgrimage to the ‘old country’ and, as has become the norm in July, it’s hot enough to fry an egg on a sidewalk here. Which has generally confined me to the pleasant, air-conditioned temps of my childhood home, except on days when I feel particularly daring, or claustrophobic. Like yesterday, when I popped into my sidecar substitute, a sturdy sedan with a few dings on it which I’ve leased from Rent-A-Wreck, best rental deal in town, and headed north.
After two hours of driving on two-lane highways past rugged red escarpments and amber waves of grain, I found myself in former homestead country. My paternal grandparents separately but equally came to Montana from the mid-west U.S. as homesteaders in the early 1900s, lured like thousands of others by the promise of free land and independence from stifling social conventions (and, it turns out, blissfully or willfully ignorant that this ‘free’ land had been taken from native tribes that had lived on it for centuries). They were young, unencumbered, and craving adventure and better life prospects. They ‘proved up’ (made profitable) their government-granted plots within 3 years, then joined their respective steads, and lives, in marriage. Meanwhile, Mother Nature had been growing tired of exploitation. She halted her fertility and unleashed a decade of drought that sent the less hardy homesteaders back from whence they came and forced the others to adapt their lives and livelihoods to new conditions. My grandparents stayed, adapted, and raised 5 children in the unforgiving terrain of Northern Montana, becoming core members of a community that eventually grew and flourished.
As I think about how their lives unfolded from early setbacks, it strikes me that there are parallels with the world of women in leadership, the world I mostly occupy these days. Most of my coaching clients are women who, like homesteaders, were not content with the path their lives would most naturally take if they’d stayed within the confines of social conventions. They envisioned other horizons for themselves, and had the courage to go towards those horizons, even as this meant great uncertainty, and has often entailed significant hardship. For many, the risks have paid off. They have ‘proved up,’ making a success of their leadership aspirations. This has invariably entailed adapting to conditions that aren’t what they’d originally envisioned for themselves.
Nearly 20% of homesteaders were women, many of them single, widowed, or divorced. No matter their marital status, women homesteaders tended to seek out one another for community, for purely social reasons – it could be lonely on the barren landscapes! – and also to advance community, economic and political pursuits, which had a better chance of success in collaboration with others. Indeed, the passage of the 19th amendment to the US constitution in 1920, which granted women the right to vote, has been linked to a significant push by women homesteaders who, since they were paying taxes on their land, insisted on “no taxation without representation!”
As I enter year 5 of Sidecar Counsel, I will take as inspiration women homesteaders, who saw new possibilities for themselves that went against the confines of conventional culture; honed attitudes rooted in curiosity, courage and self-confidence; and developed skills that allowed them to survive and even thrive through unexpected and often harsh conditions. They cultivated community with one another that allowed for sharing survival tips and tricks, supporting one another, enjoying one another’s company, creating and sustaining community development initiatives, and advancing women’s rights and opportunities.
A key focus of this season of Sidecar Counsel is community. The community coalescing around Sidecar Counsel is what drives me. I am eager to ascertain what issues are most palpable for Sidecar community members – current and future – and to explore those with individuals and collectively. I’d like to double down on opportunities to gather, in virtual spaces and actual ones. I sense this will be welcome as we venture forth into ever more unpredictable territory in the days ahead. To borrow a phrase from Meg Wheatley, I wish to convene ‘islands of sanity,’ welcome respites where we can re-center ourselves as the world swirls around us.
To that end, I am extending an invitation to you, my courageous Sidecar community. Please complete this brief survey, which will help me better understand how to most effectively serve you in the coming season. If surveys aren’t your bag, I’m also happy to receive a direct email from you (bridget@sidecarcounsel.com), a WhatsApp voice text (+31 61 454 8361), a phone or Zoom call, or an in-real-life walk and talk if we happen to be in the same general vicinity.
Like our sisters the homesteaders who outlasted the challenges of their chosen life, let’s face what comes together, and find some joy along the way.
On your side, no matter the weather,
Bridget
