Cast Iron Collection Contest, Inspired by Backwoods Home Magazine Article: Cast Iron Loaf Pans from Breakfast to Dessert
The following article from Backwoods Home Magazine has inspired a contest over this next week. We are looking for pictures of your cast iron cookware. Please post your pictures to the Self-Reliance Expo Facebook Fanpage. The winner will receive a FREE year subscription to Backwoods Home Magazine. The article is available online and in the print edition, and was written by Matt & Linda Morehouse.
“Cast iron loaf pans are not just for bread. Nearly as versatile as the cast iron 10-inch (#8) covered skillet, the venerable cast iron loaf pan will truly see you from breakfast to dessert — and all points in between.
“Want proof? Here are four recipes ideal for cast iron loaf pans. One is for breakfast, one for anytime bread, one for a dinner entrée, and one for dessert.
(Click on the images to visit the original article at Backwoods Home Magazine)
Homestead Gadgets & Technology: The Fencerunner

January/February 2012
This article was featured recently by our friends at BackWoodsHome.com. This is just one of the reasons I enjoy their magazine. It provides insight into Self-Reliant living, educational articles, along with humor & classifieds too!
Author: Dietmar Berg
Here’s a gadget I developed to run barb or barbless wire. You mount it on the back of a pickup truck using the ball hitch (see drawing) so the wire can spin off the roll. I call the device the Fencerunner and am currently trying to market it. It works like a charm and saved me hours of work, enabling my sons and I to do a quarter mile fence in 45 minutes.
The unit uses the ball hitch or tunnel hitch attachment found on some cars and most trucks. It can be adjusted to use one or two rolls of wire. It consists of two units, the fork unit and the bar unit. The fork is installed as shown in the figure. The ball itself is used to secure the fork unit to the hitch. The bar unit consists of a shaft assembly to hold the wire rolls. The shaft of the bar unit is inserted through the wire rolls. The disc is next and then the spacer. The bar unit has three spacers for different width wire rolls. The next step is to lift the bar unit and insert the two slots on the fork unit.

Two views of the Fencerunner, one showing a tunnel hitch installation and the other a ball hitch installation.
With my first prototype, I had to lift an 80-pound roll and drop it over a vertical shaft. I found this difficult, so with my second prototype I made the fork unit with more of a horizontal angle.
You need to park the vehicle as close to the fence posts as possible, securing the end of the wire from the roll to the first post to start the run. The vehicle is then driven slowly along the fence line as the wire spools off the roll. When the vehicle reaches the end of the run or when the wire roll has about three turns of wire left, insert the wire into one of the slots in the fork unit. This will kink the wire and keep the bar unit from turning. Then drive the vehicle forward just enough to stretch the wire. Another person can signal the driver when the wire is taut. At this point the wire is simply lifted up to each post and secured. I didn’t need a wire stretcher when I did my fence.
The crank handle on the unit allows you to reel in the old barbwire instead of just leaving it on the ground.
This article was originally published in Issue #68 March/April 2001. CLICK HERE to begin your subscription to Backwoods Home Magazine.
Dallas, Texas Self-Reliance Expo: WIN FREE Tickets!!!
With the Dallas’ Self-Reliance Expo right around the corner February 10-11, we want to give individuals and families the opportunities to win FREE tickets to the Self-Reliance Expo! (It’s actually gonna happen in Mesquite, just east of Dallas). What we are looking for:
- Entertaining videos which highlight/demonstrate your most innovative Self-Reliance Creations, Contraptions, or Inventions (this can include modifications to products that you use or a tool that you created to fit your needs)
- A brief & entertaining instructional video that teaches a Self-Reliance Skill or Short-Cut
- A 2-3 minute silent video on anything Self-Reliance themed:
- Comedy/Parody
- Educational
- Entertaining/Creative
- Product Review
- A humorous video that features a song you write & perform on:
- Self-Reliance
- the Benefits/Joys of being a Prepper
- Buggin’ Out
- Things Preppers Say
- Life on the Homestead
We have plenty of tickets to give away for the most creative, fun, and entertaining submissions, so have fun & be SAFE! Only selected submissions will win tickets to the event. Winners will be selected by judges from the Self-Reliance Expo, based on creativity & entertainment. We look forward to seeing your content!
It almost goes without saying, but please remember that the content should be appropriate for families to share & we will be featuring the winners on the Self-Reliance Facebook fanpage, an interview, and will likely be featured on other websites online. By submitting the content, you are allowing the Self-Reliance Expo to use that content in a promotional manner, with the opportunity to win a prize of tickets for admission to the Self-Reliance Expo referenced above. You must be the original producer of the content that you submit. Any prizes awarded for selected & featured content do not hold cash value, void where prohibited, winner must confirm contact, blah, blah, blah…
Several Ways to Submit Content:
- Upload your content to your YouTube account & Email the link to david[at]selfrelianceexpo[dot]com, or
- Upload your content to your Facebook account & share it on the Self-Reliance Expo Facebook Fanpage, or
- Send an Email to: david[at]selfrelianceexpo[dot]com with a link to your content outside of Youtube & Facebook
Winning submissions will be notified via email and announced here & on the Self-Reliance Facebook Fanpage. Content will be accepted until February 6, 2012, with the earliest announcement of Ticket winners beginning this Saturday, January 28, 2012. We are accepting submissions from anywhere and everywhere. Remember: be safe, have fun, and be creative!
I’m thinking that if we get enough submissions…we can open it up for a grand prize winner to be announced at the February’s Self-Reliance Expo…the Grand Prize will be awarded to the winner there. The Grand Prize is yet to be determined….but it’s gonna be GOOD!
-David SafeWater
Win a FREE 1-Year Subscription to Backwoods Home Magazine, TONIGHT January 20, 2012

January/February 2012 Issue
Announcing: Have you wanted to add Backwoods Home Magazine (BHM) to your Red Shed of Self-Reliance Tools? Have you read one of the great educational articles available in their publication? Well, now is your chance to win a FREE 1-year subscription to the PRINT edition of BHM!
BHM has partnered with Red Shed Media Group and the Self-Reliance Expo to air their internet radio show on the Preparedness Radio Network. BHM Radio will air every other Friday at 8 PM Central Standard Time. The BHM Radio show strengthens the magazine’s commitment providing others with practical ideas for self-reliant living.
Tune-in to BHM Radio tonight (Click Here to go to BHM Radio) at 8 PM CST. Here is tonight’s show description:
Tonight 1/20/2012, on BHM Radio , the official Backwoods Home Magazine radio show, your hosts Colorado Ron and Bubba Davinci will be introducing themselves and discussing what the future brings for both BHM Radio and Self Reliance Exposed.
Tonight we have two guests who are long time writers for BHM, Jackie Clay, who specializes in homesteading, and Massad Ayoob, a guns and weaponary specialist.
Follow these steps for your chance to win a FREE 1-year subscription. (In order to win, you MUST create a Username with Blogtalkradio) Follow these instructions to create your username with Blogtalkradio:
- Click the Show Link to go to Blogtalkradio, or CLICK HERE.
- In the upper right corner of the screen click CREATE MY TALK SHOW

- Select Choice #1 & Enter a Username, your Email, and a password. Confirm your password before moving on.

- Deselect “Email me occasional updates” if desired.

- To finish registering, click the link “Click here”

- You will then need to check your email for a confirmation link.

- Once you have your confirmation, simply follow the link to the LIVE radio show and join the chat!
Colorado Ron & Scott will ask a question about Backwoods Home Magazine during the show. The first listener who is logged in to chat NOT AS A GUEST but with a registered screen and who answers the question correctly in the chatroom will win the 1-year subscription to Backwoods Home Magazine! If that happens to be you, Ron & Scott will need to follow up with you to claim your prize.
Be sure to Like Us on Facebook!:
Enjoy the show & Good luck!





