What IS ‘gleaning’, anyway?!
Cover of a Va Beach Master Gardener newsletter, art by Ajah Courts, c.1997.
An ancient concept in modern times
Somewhere in the Bible (Deuteronomy 24:19-21, Leviticus 19) and other ancient histories, there are references to the act of gleaning. For definition sake, gleaning is basically taking leftovers in a field or garden after its initial harvest. Someone gleaning may get the pumpkins that ripened late. Or, they might take an errant cornstalk still standing with a few ears left.
Modern-day gleaning seems rare. In any case, the name of the newsletter I inherited to edit was called ‘Gleanings,’. The only thing I think that actually related to gleaning were the small morsels. (You know, things I could share at the end of long days raising three children under the age of five).
Some time last century…
At the time, I was trying to learn gardening, beekeeping, raising chickens and rabbits, operating without a dishwasher, breastfeeding, baby-wearing, co-sleeping, cloth-diapering, and practicing ongoing remodels and retro-fitting on a post-World War Two-era house. All while also being an environmental activist.
I jumped in with both feet. I learned how to grow all manner of fruits, vegetables, herbs, shrubs and water plants. Every month or two, I would attempt to coalesce some of the goings-on into a 4-6 page newsletter for the 200 or so Virginia Beach Master Gardeners on my trusty old Brother word processor. After the Brother gave up the ghost, I used an ancient 80s computer handed down from my actual brother.
Sometimes the best way to learn is to teach!
The readers – ladies and the few gents among them- mostly had large Oceanfront homes, established gardens, and indeed, their own gardeners to go with them. Despite this,the newsletter was more in-line with low-impact gardening, growing food, heritage seeds and building community in our large city. My hope was that, through my meandering essays, spotty calendars, trivial blurbs, and items, I could entertain the more experienced and encouraging MGs. (Master Gardeners) while learning from them.
Getting seasoned through the seasons
These newsletters usually amused the extension agent when I showed up minutes before the deadline. Dear Randy Jackson never suggested I remove my daughters’ art. Therefore, it continued to grace every available space within its pages. Each issue documented her work to a captive audience while she was roughly the age of four to six.
I am pretty sure no one else saved their issues except for me. When I look through them now, I instantly recall writing with birds in the snow beyond my window, kids tugging at me. The task of maintaining a word processor and then learning ‘Word’ for the first time (with its fancy clip art and specialized newsletter program) returns to me at once.
Clippy-cringe
Speaking of clip art, I now cringe at the few samples I used. Its inclusion now makes the finished product seem more dated than the timeless children’s art I originally used exclusively. I think I saw Ajah’s artistic potential even then (like any other mother) and one of my favorite pictures that she ever drew remains the line drawing of a scarecrow above. The plaid patches, tattered straw hat, and crow sitting atop its whole form, singing sweetly (unscared) still makes me smile.
It makes me wish I’d asked her to illustrate more of the newsletter, or or kept at it longer. Now that she is an aspiring illustrator. With cover art from New Moon in her resume several years ago, an associate’s in art and in her second year at VCU’s acclaimed art school, its obvious that this has been one of her life’s endeavors. I am glad that in the near future, more people might enjoy her whimsical designs. To me, her art exudes such joy.
After several years of helping produce the newsletter called ‘Gleanings’ I still fantasize about starting back up with the same name for a different audience. I very much enjoy the well-though out zines called ‘Joyful Dissent’ and ‘Small Change’ that community-minded friends produce in Charlottesville. I wonder if having a self-induced deadline to readers would get me writing more ambitiously again. More importantly, would it make me a more effective gleaner this go-round?
Time for a Gleaning Revival?
I know all around me are apples, perfectly good non-wormy ones, falling to the found every (ha) Fall. They’re eaten by no one, and that saddens me. Surely, several dumpsters with plenty of good food and clothes could instead find their way to homes. Money could be saved while lessening the burned upon the landfills.
After all, even the Bible directs the planet’s inhabitants to be wise stewards and not take for granted the bounty of the earth. (“The earth belongs to the Lord, and everything in it, the world and all its people.” Psalm 24:1 )
Yet, aside from the four-gallon cubes I rescue(d) of vegetable oil to power my ancient “greasecar” Mercedes, I’ve done little gleaning as of late.
I alert friends and fellow Barter network members of surplus from our garden (i.e. birdhouse gourds for mosquito-eating Purple Martins) or Doug’s Maytag in town (surplus cardboard for sheet mulching). We share seeds, plants and wood piles with those who will make good use of the items.
Our extra clothes get passed off first from me, down from daughter-to-daughter, and then to friends with younger kids, our porch for Freecyclers, or into town to the Free Store. Reciprocally, we also find stuff when we drop off other things.
These things make me feel good, but in honoring the memory of my first regular writing gig for which I had a sizable audience, I wish I could do more with my writing. Affecting social change takes different forms for different folks. When people do what they love, their passion comes through, and the change becomes visible.
Perspective
I was not an editor for a record-breaking amount of time. It has been many years since I put down the pen/word processor newsletter program. I moved onto other chapters of writing, activism, and child-raising. But the word ‘gleanings’ still conjures up my hopes and dreams. Ones I fulfilled, and some that I might just need to revisit!