Bemidji and Saint Paul
Earlier this spring I created this section heading for my Substack called "City & Country", when I decided to live in Saint Paul part of the time in order to teach at the college there in the next academic year (which begins in about a month!). I thought my own observations about moving between two lifestyles might resonate with things that have been observed in both history and contemporary culture, about the divisions and differences between rural and urban America. These two lifestyles for me include a 20-acre "hobby farm" in northern Minnesota and a 400 square-foot studio apartment in Saint Paul. There are some similarities and continuities between these two lifestyles. I'm bringing a lot of my physical books, not to mention the nearly 500 ebooks I have access to electronically. I carry my computer with me and have similar workstations in both places, so I can carry on working. And I'll have cats for friends in both places, once I'm living in Saint Paul a bit more solidly, come August.
There are some substantial differences as well, that are already becoming apparent. Lots of chores up north, where I have acres to mow, gardens to maintain, and goats to try to manage. Failed at that this week. My daughter decided to pick a beet from the garden to use in a smoothy. She accidentally forgot to latch the gate and the goats got in and destroyed that garden. Ate the beet tops, romaine lettuce, and snap peas. There's basically nothing left. Luckily, they then moved on to comfrey and didn't wipe out my tomato plants in the greenhouse.
In Saint Paul, there are no chores. I brought plants, but watering them is trivial. I walk to the co-op to get my food, or drive downtown to the Italian market. There are a variety of other ethnic markets I'm looking forward to trying, as well as the farmer's market in downtown Saint Paul, which is supposed to be excellent. Bought way more food than I needed the first week I was there. Even if I wasn't fasting much of the time, I'll need to adjust to the idea that I'll be shopping and cooking for one rather than four. Some of the big cooking projects I do, like making red sauce and meatballs, I'll probably continue to do up north but then just bring single-serving frozen packs down to the city.
The other novel element for me of life in Saint Paul is the social dimension. I've been joining "Meetup" groups, mostly related to reading, writing, and discussion. Plus one devoted to hiking and one focused on eating at "Mediterranean" places in the metro area. So I'm trying to get out and see new people frequently while I'm in the city. Up north, I'm mostly focused on spending time with my kids and a couple of friends. The family, of course, has begun planning their activities without me. So for part of the time I'm up north, they're out doing their own stuff.
None of this, of course, comes up to the level of the cultural differences described by someone like Raymond Williams or worried about by "Country Life" activists a century ago. And maybe my experiences, driving back and forth between these two worlds weekly and doing the type of work I do, will not be relevant to an exploration of the differences between these worlds. But I suspect some will and I'll keep thinking about it. I'll let you know in this section as thoughts occur to me.
Fabulous. Another SS writer, Jeanne Grant, The Good Spot newsletter, lives in North St Paul and is a history professor at Metro State
Which college will you be teaching for in St Paul?