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About Us
Hello! We are Armand & Teddi Bechard. Together with our 7 children, we are Bechard Family Farm. Here on the farm, we raise 5 different pasture raised meats, make home-made jams, whole wheat breads, and handcrafted lye soaps. We live on a 115 acre farm tucked back behind Conway, Missouri. On our farm, there are 17 acres of forest, with the rest open to pasture. There are places on the farm where you cannot see another structure in any direction. It is so peaceful. I suppose you could consider us homesteaders. When we moved here, there was no electricity, no telephone, and no pressurized water. Our only source of water was from the windmill, gravity fed into the house. For 4 years, we lived "off the grid" and created our own electricity. We heated our home and our water on the wood stove. We have quite a story to tell about how we rigged up our "country shower" with a bucket, a piece of garden hose, and a spray nozzle. We were happy! We now have a hot water heater but will probably always heat our home with wood. Our home is a pole barn that was converted into a house. It is not pretty, but we have so much to be thankful for. This home has taught us the great gift of contentment. We are protected from the weather, we are warm in the winter, and inside this house, there are happy people that love each other. Who could ask for more? We have a seasonal creek which runs perpendicular to the driveway. Most of the year, the creek flows quietly under our driveway. During the intense heat of the summer, the creek is dry. Some winters, it will rain so much that the creek will overflow the drive, causing us to be landlocked for a couple of days. The creek is far enough below the house that we are not endangered when it overflows. We just sit back and enjoy it. Our favorite thing about our farm is the windmill. For four years, this windmill was our only source of water. If God didn't ordain for the wind to blow, the windmill didn't turn. We became keenly aware of little things like the gift of a gentle breeze. There were many times when even a little breeze would turn the windmill enough to provide water to our home. The wind blows the least during the intense heat of the summer. During July & August, the guys would have to use great physical energy to hand pump water out of the well. Afterwards, they would have to come in and shower off their hot & sweaty bodies with some of the precious water they had just worked so hard to gain. Sometimes, they would compete in the "Pepsi 500". If a guy could put in 500 pumps, he would be rewarded with an ice cold Pepsi. We found ways to make even the most difficult of chores a little bit fun. When we put in our commercial kitchen, we were required to put an electric pump in the well. The windmill still stands but is no longer functional. We now have the great convenience of water at the turn of a knob, but it is not the same. We miss the windmill ! Armand is building a new house that will accommodate all of us. The new house will have lots of bedrooms, a huge library, a commercial kitchen, a soap room, a sewing room, a huge kitchen-dining room (with room for LOTS of kids and grandkids!), a small apartment area for each set of grandparents, and a laundry mat with 4 washers! (just kidding....only 3!). We plan on moving the windmill over with us. It won't be our only source of water, but it will be functional again. Of course, we will still heat our home with wood. Not long ago, Armand spent several days in the big city where we were raised. He came home telling us how thankful he was that we now live and work as we do. We all agree!
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