Quotes from the PBS Series “Frontier House”

This past weekend my husband and I escaped from the heat by watching one of our favorite mini-series, Frontier House. I took the time write down several of my favorite quotes from the show so I could post them here.

If you’ve never watched it, I highly encourage you to do so. It’s fascinating on several different levels. And, in my opinion, the only one of the “house” reproduction-type shows worth watching.

Frontier House Quotes

These are quotes from during the training time and while they were on the actual project.

The thing that’s amazing is how… really a twenty-first century woman isn’t preoccupied with her covering up her body, but she is very preoccupied with putting on the makeup and putting on a mask to hide behind…
Gordon Clune

Four foot by about twelve or fifteen foot. It wouldn’t even fit the books in our house.
Mark Glenn, speaking of their Prairie Schooner wagon

Neighboring is a lost art in our society. We’re such a mobile culture, it’s rare to really get to know your neighbors or invest any great deal of energy into the art of neighboring.
Nate Brooks

I feel like I’m growing up a lot here because like before like if I was in Temecula or California or wherever I used to live like I wouldn’t do anything. I would just sit on my butt and watch TV and I was just a lazy person. But like now that I’m actually doing work I feel like a better person. Like you know I’m actually doing something to help other people.
Tracy Clune

Quotes From After Returning Home

The following quotes are reflections made by the people about two months after they returned to normal life.

In modern life there’s almost too much to choose from so I’m not really sure what to do… We could do anything. We could get a Masters in anything and recreate ourselves and become anything, make any amount of money, have any amount of kids. It’s overwhelming. You know, I’m not sure exactly which one to pick.
Kristen Brooks

You’re a man or a woman working hard in the twenty-first century and your kids don’t know what it is that you do. It’s seamless. They’re isolated from it. And that’s sad… I realized that more so than ever since I’ve been back. But in five months in 1883 I got more satisfaction, more accomplishment, more appreciation than I did my entire career beforehand.
Gordon Clune

I think the year 2001 is kind of boring. Every day I always say I’m bored and my parents get mad at me for it. But there’s nothing to do. There’s just nothing to do here. You get kind of tired of going to the mall every day. And you get kind of tired of doing nothing all day.
Tracy Clune

The twenty-first century you’re bored because there’s so many things. It’s like you have so much stuff that you’re just bored of all of it. In 1883 you have such little stuff that it was like special to you when your mom would buy you stuff and things just for you.
Logan Patton

It’s an unnatural life that the twenty-first century offers us. I think there’s just too much. There’s too much stimulus. The pace and the noise and the…florescent lighting… It’s a bit overwhelming… Your principles, your ideals, your morals… they’re all for sale. I think there’s a lot of problems that we’re just not admitting.
Mark Glenn

Pioneer and Frontier Inspiration for Your Family

Learn more about Frontier House and other pioneers.