Three quick thoughts:
1. The local library and librarian. Our small rural library had the complete Foxfire, two sets of encyclopedias, a collection of almanacs going back neatly 100 years, and maybe most importantly, back issues of the county paper recording marriages, births, deaths, and property sales.
2. The county extension office and agent. Our agent had a wealth of information on agriculture, forestry, husbandry, and food prep and preservation. The agents tended to be fairly experienced because of longevity, and the usually had a small stock of seeds and specialty equipment to help sample soil, etc.
3. The local highway department and its work force. Growing up the AHTD had most of the earthmoving equipment in the county (front end loaders, backhoes, graders, sometimes a dozer, HETS, etc), bulk fuel and a maintenance bay with a chain lift, and road maintenance and repair supplies. All of their vehicles were diesel, so easier to run and most had CB type radios. Plenty of uses for them post tdm, from cutting roads to fixing roads to digging mass graves or earthworks. There was also a rail maintenance yard in town, with material for track upkeep and a gas powered track truck.
Just a couple thoughts.
|