Sad but true.
The government HATES self-sufficient people.
He built a shed in the back yard and drove his own chisel-point well for his water supply. The Water company tried to condemn the house because of no water service, so he installed a valve to share municipal water for a few hundred gallons a month to keep them out of his business. He also had a garden shed he used as an outhouse. He had a thing about doing your business inside of where you reside.
He trashed picked and rebuilt / reupholstered every stick of furniture inside their home. He canned every vegetable and fruit he could find a jar for. He caught and cold pickled sucker fish, about 300 pounds a year. He never had more than one 40 watt lightbulb on at a time.