The Rural Home Fair on Monday should provide answers to the many questions people have when moving to the country.
When Nancy Thellman and her husband, Scott, bought a farmhouse and 114 acres of land north of Lawrence they didn't know a brush hog from a Hampshire hog.
But they relished the view and wanted a rural setting in which to raise their three children.
So they gave up the fairways of a Lawrence golf course for the greens of a cow pasture and passed up a new sports car for a tractor.
The Thellmans and other city slickers like them are the reasons for Monday's Rural Home Fair from 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. in Buildings 21 and 2 at the Douglas County 4-H Fairgrounds.
Organized by the Douglas County Conservation District, the event will bring representatives of 17 government and public service agencies together to answer questions about country living with special sessions covering a variety of rural issues.
"What we're providing is one-stop shopping," said Vernis Flottman, manager of the Douglas County Conservation District.
From rural water districts to the Kansas Forest Service, the event should have someone on hand to answer most any question.
Nancy Thellman, an associate pastor at First Presbyterian Church, said there are plenty of questions to ask.
Not having grown up on farms, the Thellmans were starting from square one, learning about wells and fish ponds, noxious weeds and dust palliatives.
"You don't realize that you are supposed to be in control of your noxious weeds, even learning what a noxious weed is," Thellman said. "Everything goes from kind of small problems to large scale."
Thellman said she has benefited from helpful neighbors.
"I think there is a sense of community here that is surprisingly quick to embrace new people," she said.
Last year's fair was designed for people considering moving to the country.
"This year it's focused on, 'OK, you've moved to the country. How's it going?'" Flottman said.
The event has drawn about 100 people each of the last two years, Flottman said.
Thellman has seen more people move from the city to the country since she did.
"We have a number of good friends who are doing the very thing we've done," she said.
Such a move shouldn't be made without some thought, Thellman said.
"I think there is a danger of folks coming out and not knowing how to handle the land and spoiling things for others," she said.
-- Kendrick Blackwood's phone message number is 832-7221. His e-mail address is kblackwood@ljworld.com.
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