Far Out!
The Untold Story of the ‘60s-Inspired “Back-to-the-Land” Migration that Changed Nova Scotia
by Christopher Murphy

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The 1960s was a period of radical social change. Many young people rejected the politics and values of the day and decided to “drop out” and migrate to the country. The desire for an independent rural life on the land took many of them to the province of Nova Scotia. To the “back-to-the-landers,” its “far-out” location, unspoiled countryside, cheap land and helpful neighbours provided the opportunity to build a self-sufficient life. Inexperienced and unprepared, many eventually left, but some were able to adjust and build satisfying lives while contributing to their communities. Like most immigrants they brought with them new ideas and practices such as alternative energy, organic gardening, health foods, environmentalism, creative arts and crafts and new enterprises. In return their neighbors shared their traditional culture, history and knowledge. Author and sociologist Chris Murphy uses personal experience, oral history and the photography and art of his brother Peter Murphy and partner Anna Syperek to write this missing chapter of Nova Scotian history. This unusual migration story is a timely one for today’s new generation of rural migrants and homesteaders and serves as a nostalgic reflection for those who lived through the transformative “Sixties”.

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“If you don’t know what to do with your life, you can’t go wrong buying your own piece of land and building your own little house. No one can kick you off. That was my plan in 1973 and here I am nearly 50 years later.” —Bob Snider, Folk Musician and Philosopher , Bear River NS “Could you imagine today that thousands of educated young urbanites would drop everything and migrate to the remote hills and valleys of rural Nova Scotia to create a better life? Far Out! is a timely, candid, and often hilarious story of the idealism, failures, unexpected alliances, and the lasting influence these back-to-the-landers have had on their adopted province.” —Costas Halavrezos, former CBC Radio host, and author of Seasoned: Recipes & Essays from The Spiceman. (2013)

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Christopher Murphy ( PhD) moved to Antigonish, Nova Scotia in 1959 where he remains connected to an extensive network of family and friends. He has a BA from St. Francis Xavier University (1967), an MA from Dalhousie University (1972) and a PhD ( Sociology) from the University of Toronto (1985). He taught school in Jamaica with CUSO, was a Development Officer in Springhill Penitentiary, a Policy Researcher in Ottawa with the Federal Government and a Professor of Sociology at Dalhousie University and the University of King’s College from 1982 until 2018. He’s an indiscriminate music lover and reader, traveler, a late life curler and bad-tempered golfer who enjoys the occasional single malt and cigar. He lives in Halifax with his wife JoAnn MacKinnon and they have three adult children, Brendan, Nicola, Conor and a faithful old dog called Buster.

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Contributors

Author

Christopher Murphy

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