Our Vision

The vision for Keepers of the Old Ways came when I was volunteering on the board at the Panhandle Pioneer Settlement. While I was there I was able to learn and see in action how our ancestors lived. Being a homesteader myself and having the passion to live more like my ancestors and be more self-sufficient gave me the idea of an event that teaches this. I wanted an event that would incorporate history and the way we live now. An event that could help teach people how our ancestors lived and use some of the conveniences we have today as part of our lives. Now 6 years later we continue on this journey, and we have truly enjoyed witnessing so many coming to learn to live like their ancestors, learn new skills, and have a more self-sufficient lifestyle, while building a community of fellowship and encouragement the way God designed the world to be, but we feel there is so much more to Keepers of the Old Ways then just teaching old skills.

We believe the old ways are worth keeping—not because we want to live in the past, but because there is wisdom there that can help us raise strong families for the future.

We want to encourage mothers and families to slow down, open their Bibles, work with their hands, grow food, cook from scratch, teach their children, care for their homes and land, and pass practical skills from one generation to the next.

But more than preserving skills, our greatest desire is to preserve faith.

We want our children to know how to plant a garden, bake bread, preserve a harvest, care for animals, mend what is broken, and work hard—but above all, we want them to know Jesus.

Through gatherings, classes, children's programs, community, and everyday encouragement, Keepers of the Old Ways exists to help families learn these skills together and intentionally pass them on.

We aren't trying to recreate yesterday.

We're taking what was good, true, useful, and beautiful from the generations before us and carrying it forward.

"We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord..."
— Psalm 78:4