Joyful, California facts for kids
Joyful was a small community, or "settlement," that no longer exists today. It was also a vegetarian colony located in Kern County, California. You would have found it about 2 miles (3.2 km) southwest of Bakersfield. Today, this area is where Pennsylvania Lane meets Ashe Road, just north of Panama Lane.
The Story of Joyful
Joyful was started by a fruit farmer named Isaac B. Rumford and his wife, Sara. In 1881, they decided to follow a special diet called a raw food vegetarian diet. This meant they ate only uncooked plant foods. They called their diet the "Edenic Diet." It allowed no animal foods, except for honey.
The Rumfords believed that cooking food made it less healthy. They also thought it wasted time and effort. They felt that cooking made people "slaves" to the kitchen and could even shorten their lives.
Starting the Colony
In early 1884, Isaac and Sara Rumford founded Joyful. It was meant to be a Utopian colony, which is a community where people try to create a perfect society. They called their group the Association of Brotherly Cooperation.
Joyful was built near the Panama Slough. This was a wetland area next to the Kern River. The slough has been dry since before 1967.
Life in Joyful
Life in Joyful was very simple and natural. The people living there followed a raw vegetarian diet. They ate foods like almonds, fruit juice, grated apples, raisins, and a special mix of ground oats and wheat called "grainia." They strongly believed that cooking food took away its important nutrients.
Isaac and Sara Rumford also started a newspaper for their community. They called it Joyful News.
Why Joyful Ended
The Joyful post office was open only for a short time, from 1883 to 1884. The colony itself was abandoned in 1884. Most of the members left, but Isaac Rumford and his family stayed in the area. He continued to work as a fruit farmer.
Even in 1902, when he was 68 years old, Rumford still followed his raw vegetarian diet. He wrote that he ate starch foods like dry flour, along with fruits and nuts.
