Why Homeschooling Happened, 1945–1990

Abstract

In 1949 Norbert and Marion Schickel went off the grid. Norbert dropped out of MIT, Marion quit teaching kindergarten, and the couple bought a farm near Ithaca, New York. Strongly influenced by the Catholic Worker movement, the Schickels wanted to get back to the land through subsistence farming. The first few years were very difficult. Norbert spent his days reading anything he could get his hands on from Cornell University’s agricultural extension program and talking with neighbors who knew something about farming. The children started coming fast—thirteen in all. Very quickly they were drafted to help with farm chores. At first the family tried to grow everything they needed: large fields of fruit trees, a huge vegetable garden, and livestock provided year- round food for the growing family. But despite their best efforts it soon became clear that supplementary income would be necessary. After a few years of paltry crops, the Schickels shifted their energies to dairy farming, and the children quickly became adept at milking and selling. In 1953 the family purchased the adjoining farm, giving them 225 acres for their growing herd of cattle. At its peak the family farm had sixty-five head.