The Grateful agreed, something needed to be done about the state of their health. So they prepared a Herbalists shop to join the forester and hunter. Since they had enough clothes on hand to cloth the entire population over again, the Tailor's shop was temporarily closed so that someone would be free to work on construction.
Mychalmer came of age, and Shellen and Venesse had a baby boy. Little Waveric held the distinction of being the first person actually born in Gratitude.
In the summer the Herbalist was up and running, with young, ignorant Mychalmer taking the job. Since it was clear the cause of the problem was an all-protein diet the Graeful proceeded to build a gatherer's hut. By late summer it was also working, with Turnelious tutoring Mychalmer in finding wild foods.
Now the Grateful could dine on mushrooms, roots, berries and wild onions to go along with their fish and venison. This much more varied diet quickly had an effect on health, as people now had three of the four food groups available. Without seeds there was no possibility of grains in the near future. A barn was built to store the herbs and food, so as to waste less time walking between the woods and the town.
Once the barn was finished, the schoolhouse project could begin. A space was chosen near the market, but due to lack of workers not much progress was made before the next spring. Carrold and Hatti Stomsen had the first girl born in Gratitude, naming her Elbertie.
Going into its fifth year, the village of Gratitude has more going for it than ever. In less than half a year of having an herbalist and gatherer, average health has already gone up 1/2 a point. The winter was very mild, without a single serious snowfall, which means the firewood reserve was barely touched. This has allowed the town to leave the woodcutter idle and have four fishers and two gatherers, resulting in more variety and a larger food stockpile. The first native generation of Grateful have been born, and the village has truly set down roots.
The Wynagert family hasn't grown, but they have prospered. Between them they make up half of the food producing workers in the village, with Turnelious gathering while Cecelie and Drucile fishing.
The Hasburg family also hasn't grown, but Mychalmer has joined the workforce. With the smithy and tailor closed, they've taken on new jobs. Macker has been busy all year, single handedly building the barn and starting work on the school. After dabbling in herbalism and gathering, Mychalmer is now working on the fishing dock with his big sister Nette.
The neighboring Stomsens and Colemans have their new bundles of joy. They also have a newfound importance, with the woods supplying a larger share of the food supply along with vital herbs and timber. All four adults work near each other but in separate jobs.
As they gather to celebrate the fifth anniversary of their town, the questions facing the Grateful are different than last year. Rather than choosing construction projects, the issue facing them is how to use their limited manpower.
Food Production is obviously important. Food supplies are better than ever, but not so strong that the Grateful can afford to be complacent.
Education will be a big issue in the next year. With the school under construction, a teacher will be needed to try and educate the growing herd of children. But those children will be slower to join the workforce as a consequence.
Crafting is a general term for the firewood, tool, and clothes production. To supply the workers for the gatherers and herbalists, these have been shut down, but we can't operate off our stockpiles forever
Health care will need to keep one worker busy to continue to build on the results we've seen from the herbalist
Construction is still important for the community to grow. A new house would allow for our younger teen workers to start a new family and breed more children. Wells will need to be built in order to protect the forest workplaces and the Stomsen and Coleman houses (the others are close enough to the river to rely on it) and building dirt roads will speed things up in general.
((Kindly rank these in order of priority! I reserve the right to overrule in the event of a crisis, but will honor the village's priorities))
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