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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why did the Nearings chose Vermont and not Eastern Pennsylvania?
(a) They wanted a Frank Lloyd Wright house.
(b) They hated the barns in Pennsylvania.
(c) Pennsylvania was too crowded.
(d) The land costs were more reasonable.

2. During the cancellation of the mail route in 1945 in Vermont, what were the citizens asked to do?
(a) Gather for a peaceful demonstration.
(b) Call the Postmaster General.
(c) Write to the President of the United States.
(d) Write the Postmaster General and then Senators and Representatives.

3. What does healthy soil teem with?
(a) Wood.
(b) Organic life.
(c) A terrible stench.
(d) Food.

4. Who attended the party when the mail route was restored in Vermont?
(a) The Governor of the State of Vermont.
(b) The Attorney General of the state.
(c) The Representative who represented their valley.
(d) The Postmaster General of the state.

5. What was inserted into the compost pile to help break down matter?
(a) Snakes.
(b) Bees.
(c) Earth worms and worm capsules.
(d) Ants.

6. How did the Nearings eat fresh from the garden?
(a) By freezing food.
(b) By picking produce early and letting it ripen off the vine.
(c) By canning early in the season.
(d) By eating with the seasons.

7. Why did the Nearings like stone buildings?
(a) They were not as pretty as wood, but more solid.
(b) They were like a fortress and kept visitors away.
(c) They were cheaper to maintain, would not burn and were cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.
(d) They were easy to build with.

8. In Vermont, what did the Nearings NOT use to keep food cold?
(a) Storage bins covered with leaves.
(b) An icebox, refrigerator, or freezing unit.
(c) Canned goods stored in an underground cellar.
(d) The cellar.

9. What newspapers got on board to help the citizens of the valley then the mail was canceled?
(a) The New York Times.
(b) The Chicago Tribune.
(c) The Brattleboro Reformer and the Bennington Banner.
(d) The Kansas City Star.

10. The Nearings claimed that they were planning not a business, but a __________.
(a) Functioning homestead.
(b) Vacation home.
(c) Working farm.
(d) Useful vegetable garden.

11. When the Nearings started their first garden in Vermont, what caused a quagmire and nearly ruined the garden?
(a) A spring on the high side of the garden.
(b) Deer that kept eating the apples.
(c) The threat of fire.
(d) A sinkhole the size of a large truck.

12. What was 7 miles from the farm in Vermont?
(a) The Jamaica Post Office.
(b) The ski resorts.
(c) The grocery store.
(d) The movie theater.

13. Whose building system did the Nearings follow when building their stone system?
(a) Stickley.
(b) Minnie Pearl.
(c) Greene and Greene.
(d) Ernest Flagg.

14. What was NEVER used in the compost pile?
(a) Wood.
(b) Sawdust.
(c) Paper.
(d) Worms.

15. In the breakdown of the Nearing's diet, how much of percentage was their intake of fruit?
(a) 20 percent.
(b) 10 percent.
(c) 50 percent.
(d) 30 percent.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why did the Nearings NOT join a communal experience?

2. What did the Nearings have to do to pick their sweet peas?

3. How did the Nearings ask workers how much they wanted for a job on the farm?

4. How did the Nearings light their home?

5. Upon arriving in Vermont, who sold the Nearings milk?

(see the answer keys)

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