12 hours ago
South Nashville woman turns homestead upbringing into business
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The Skeesick family has found a way to live the farm life right in South Nashville.
'I'm from the Appalachian mountains of Virginia, biking, hiking, raising animals. My granny and pappy had vegetables garden, so when I had my boys, I knew that I wanted them to have that same knowledge,' Marinda Skeesick said. 'It only takes two generations to lose a life skill, and I didn't want that to be me.'
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Skeesick moved to Nashville to work as a child life specialist at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. But unexpectedly, her Appalachian way of life became a business.
'Everybody wanted to know what I was doing, like, 'Oh, you're canning your food. How do you do that?' I'm like, 'Well, everybody where I'm from, cans food,'' Skeesick said. 'So then I started doing my hands-on homestead classes. It's elbow-to-elbow learning, just like I learned from my granny, my papa, (and) my mama.'
Skeesick said God called her to start her farmstead nature play program after the death of her mother as a way to bring her community together. Children and their families come to Glory Be Mini Farm in the Nippers Corner area to learn about growing food, raising animals and getting their hands dirty.
'Just getting their first experience with nature play, walking in the creek, playing in a mud kitchen and knowing what that is, building and doing woodworking at the woodwork station, or just having a first experience with animals,' Skeesick explained.
For Skeesick, her husband Aaron and their two sons, homesteading on their farm has allowed them to live life on their own terms, away from the pressure of a fast-paced world.
'For us, waking up, coming out on the porch, seeing what's growing, looking at the changes every day on the farm, watching the animals grow, or how they're they act up sometimes,' Skeesick said. 'I think slowing down and really not letting culture push you, but being like we were in the Appalachian Mountains or our older generations. Be fine sitting on the porch, rocking. Those are some of my special memories, sitting out here with my boys each morning and not rushing every day.'
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Skeesick also hosts chick hatching programs at area schools so children can see the process first-hand.
You can to learn more about the Glory Me Mini Farm.
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