—Lancaster Farming. Saturday. May 18.1968 4 From Where We Stand ... Soil Stewardship Week The idea behind Soil Stewardship Week has ancient.routs. The concept of man's stewardship lur the land appears m many religions, man.v cultures. The custom of netting aside special days to give thanks for the precious gifts of soil and water, air and sunshine, began more than 1,500 j cars ago, in Vienne. France. In 452. Vienne experienced a year of bad weather and earthquakes, which resulted in .enous crop failures and widespread hun ger The Bishop of Vienne called for prayers and penance tor the 3 days preceeding As cension Day. Other communities took up the observance, and the custom of Rogation Days spread throughout Europe and even tually came to Colonial America. Rogation days became a time of giving thanks to God and of asking his help and mercy. The custom recognized that food was provided by neither the earth alone nor the industrious hand of man. It came also from the bounty of God, and so it was fitting to thank Him for His grace. In America, the observance of the fifth Sunday alter Easter. Rogation Sunday, as “Rural Life Sunday" was launched at a meeting of the International Association of Agricultural Missions m 1929. At that meet ing, a resolution was adopted urging the Home Mission Council, the Foreign Mission Conference, and the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America to further its observance. During the 1930'5, various church services, in their own way, recogniz ed the importance of soil stewardship. “Soil Stewardship’’ The first “soil stewardship” observance was held on Sunday, July 21. 1946. It was prompted by A. B Kennedy, editor of Farm and Ranch magazine. This observance was xeferred to as "Soils and Souls Sunday ” Since tne inception of Soil Stewardship Week, the National Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts (NACD) had been especially interested in the advance ment of this week as a national event and undertook its national sponsorship in 1955. An advisory committee of churchmen irom several denominations played a signi ficant role in the observance, especially in helping the NACD Soil Stewardship Com mittee produce informational materials and distribute them to local conservation dis tricts and to church groups. These materials included booklets, church programs, in serts, and posters. From 1958 to 1962, a film ,ias distributed. In Lancaster County many churches will observe tomorrow as a day set apart lor emphasizing the meaning of Christianity :n the life of the rural community. Special Sural Life Services are to be held m the Farm News This Week Milk Promotion Discussed By Group Of Interested Persons Page I Rain Holds County Farmer Team From Getting The First Tobacco Plants In The Ground This Week Page 1 Urner-Barry Listing Revised Page 1 Farm And Home Open House Set For June 9 Page 1 Pequea Valley Boys Top State Dairy Judging Page 1 LANCASTER FARMING Lancaster County’s Own Farm Weekly P. 0 Box 266 - Lititz, Pa 17543 Office 22 E Mam St, Lititz, Pa 17543 Phone Lancaster 394-3047 or Luitz 626-2191 Everett R Newswangei, Editor Robert G Campbell, Advertising Dneetor Subscuption puce S 2 per year in Lancaster County, $3 elsewhere Established Novembei 4, 1955 Published every Satuiday by Lancaster Farming, Lititz, Pa Second Class Postage paid at Lititz, Pa 17543 Member of Newspaper Farm Editois Assn. Rergstrasse Lutheran Church, ‘with mem bers of the Lancaster County 4-H County Council assisting. In most cases Lancaster County people are aware ol the rich heritage of fertile soil and religious precepts that have been hand ed down to us from the past. But we wonder sometimes if we are just as aware of our responsibility to preserve our heritage and pass it on to our children. As the Master Teacher says, "For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required." The phrasing is Old English, but the thought is quite appropriate for this the beginning of the 1968 Soil Stewardship Week starting tomorrow with Rural Life Sunday. At least that's the way it looks from where w e stand. Farm Labor Unions? Farm workers may be next on the list lor attention from the organizational efforts of major labor unions. Legislation now in Congress authorizing the extension of juris diction of the National Labor Relations Board to include farms that employ 12 hands at any time during the year and spend a minimum of $lO,OOO in annual labor costs, opens the way for large-scale union ization of farm workers. The potentialities of an all-powerful farm labor union are nothing less than staggering Such a union, unless it exercis ed a high degree of statesmanship in labor matters, could bring disaster to large seg ments of agriculture. Crops that rot in the lields. while “negotiations” dragged on at me bargaining table, would be irretrievably lost. In agriculture, more often than not, there is no such thing as making up for lost productive time. The cycles of the season cannot be halted by stopping the clock at midnight. Agriculture in the United States has been the most productive on earth. The agri-business techniques of the modern farmer, coupled with mechanization, and scientific utilization of the land, have Drought an abundance of food and fiber. In many respects, the farm has taken on the appearance of an industrial opera tion, but appearances are deceptive. No matter how advanced he becomes, the farmer must be ever-mindful of the harsh lequirements of the elements and the sea sons upon which his livelihood depends. The b’g question is whether farm labor unions unll prove equally mindful of these require ments. The record has not been encourag- mg At least that’s the way it looks from where vve stand. Across The Fence Row Campers roughing it at an lowa state paik recently plugged in so many coffee makers, TV sets, lights and refrigerators that the park transformers cut out from the o\erload. What would the pioneers say? Hereford (Tex.) Brand “I remember when college students vvould go to the administration building to be kicked out of school. Now students go there to kick out the president!” Steve Balogh Cartoon To the man who can’t use it, opportunity is just another problem. Weather Forecast The five-day forecast for the period Saturday through next Wednesday, calls for temperatures to average i sar normal with daytime highs in the ut 60’s to mid 70's and over-night lows hi i ' upper 40" s to low 50's. Little day to day n>ange expected. Normal high-low is 76-52. Rain may total treater i one-half inch as showers at the begind.v and again at the end ot the period. THE CROOKED SUCK Lesion for May 19,1968 Btcfcfrwrul Scripture* Ecclfftoifts 5,12. D*v«h«n*l a j-_ vain life I have seen every* to in S •••” We might quarrel with with his conclusions about life, vnur but we could hardly dismiss him JSSfatSL® *&' •» armchair philosopher. Furthermore, though the w?« >.° v.™ £ Preacher has an overly pessimls boy, Granddads veiy sick. A out i ook on yfc by Christian standards, God has use for such mist, the woman pessimistic man and his views, cu the boy short He earnuse suchVmantodial. lenge those who are too optimistic K?” about life, who refuse to see the £° rd » , Jl™ world in realistic terms. He can ?>,.* use such a man to call people fSMfiSS to awaken to situations that thtota he's ffi seriously need correction, reform, Si.™,. !,««■>» and renewal. Bev. Althouse J[ few w l eks . . . ha » '* ia a»**Go4 SSS SSSttE&SSZSt be ®,9 b such a "crooked stick.” With this man, God strikes out at 5®5_ dead and we buried bim * ast those who make their religion a we * meaningless jumble of words, pie-in-the-sky antidote ptous phrases, and emptydouble- BesSet&SrSS SG' SomSlS's if l » ilh «• “«■>'* » f ““ ir on the darker side of life, to take w G * od alsQ uses this « crooked «prinf,tf^f e^hn^ n nPon)p e whn stick ” to hammer away at those seriously. Those people who w^o aggmne responsibilities to God without fulfilling them, who J hp prntfni want the benefits of religion with all right,” ought to be around t . & k g e stri kes when sometimes everything ”V i doesn’t "work oat all rieht ” awa y nt corruption m govern &srrs&?ssi£ optimism of those who refuse to S dier „ e X ds wfS’this a »“ Whe" Ihe Ptefcber says ot aaf 4= 2T “ippCSfal SV "Vi* Preacher of Ecclesiastes. His * s vamty, who can dispute to Ve uff times of &e context of the whole Bible. Some- ca “® d j U ®!” s ? uch a '