—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 4, 1972
26
Mrs. Stauffer, Mother of
By Mrs. Charles G. McSparran
Farm Feature Writer
Mrs. Clarence (Vivian)
Stauffer, Ephrata RDI, wife of a
prominent successful farmer
near Weidmansville in Clay
Township, is the former village
girl who said she never wanted to
marry a farmer.
Mrs. Stauffer, the mother of
five children, not only has en
tered into the actual laborous
farm tasks, but has accepted
leadership in many farm
organizations.
She has also assisted her
children in attaining success in
their FFA, 4-H, diary and school
projects. She is the owner of a
certificate which she received
when her son was state FFA
treasurer which reads:
“Presented to Vivian E. Stauffer,
as a token of appreciation for the
encouragement, cooperation and
assistance given her son which
contributed to his outstanding
achievements in the FFA.”
Mrs. Stauffer is president of
Farm Women Society 3 which has
41 members. She • has been a
member for 18 years. She served
two years as vice president and
was program chairman in 1969
when the society celebrated its
fiftieth anniversary.
This society has just one
money-making project every
year, but it is a tremendous job.
They take care of a food stand the
four days of Ephrata Fair. Mrs.
Stauffer was chairman of this
food stand. Last year they
cleared $2,900 on the stand.
They recently gave $5O to the
Farm and Home Center equip
ment fund and give donations to
various local chairites.
Mrs. Stauffer is vice chairman
of Lancaster County Farmers
Association Women’s Com
mittee, She was on the talent
program committee for their
Ladies Day Out last year and is
on the county picnic committee
this year.
She helps Mt. Airy Fire
Company Auxiliary with
banquets and ox roasts which
they have spring and fall.
Mrs. Stauffer was on the
Women’s Committee of the
Ephrata Young Farmers a
couple years. They have one
meeting a year and get a speaker
to entertain the women. The
years she was on the committee
they had someone demonstrate
Mrs. Stauffer helps her husband prepare the booklet for
the District Black and White Show.
flower arranging and cake
decorating.
Mrs. Stauffer was reelected to
a three year term on the Lan
caster County Extension
Association board representing
the northeast district this month.
She has been a director three
years.
She helps Mrs. Robert Gregory
sometimes with the 4-H cooking
club.
Stauffers own their 50 acre
farm which is known as Sunny
Craft Farm. They also rent 20
acres of ground. They raise com,
hay, rye and Sudan grass.
They did raise tobacco, but
haven’t raised it for six years
Mrs. Stauffer helped with the
tobacco.
They keep 30 registered
Holstein cows and about 30
heifers. They have a very fine
herd and keep five bulls for
breeding purposes. Mrs. Stauffer
helps with the milking in the
mornings and sometimes in the
evenings. They buy the grain for
the dairy.
Stauffers raise broilers on
contract with Pennfield Corp. at
Rohrerstown and York. They put
27,000 chicks in their houses five
times a year. They have been
raising them since May 1966. -
They have gas brooders and
everything is automated after the
chicks are two weeks old.
The company sends eight or ten
people to catch the chickens when
they go to market. Sometimes
twice as many catchers come if
they want to do it in a shorter
time. Mrs. Stauffer makes
cookies to serve to them and
always serves a drink with them.
The chickens are dressed at
Fredericksburg, Pa. They dress
about 60,000 a day at that plant
Besides the farm operation,
Clarence drives an Ephrata Area
school bus for Ray Groff. He
hauls both high school and
elementary children mornings
and evenings.
Earl is the oldest of the Stauffer
children. He is now partner in the
farm business and lives next door
to his parents. He is married to
Barbara Bixler of Fairfax, Va.
Her father, Dr. Bixler, was
veterinarian in Ephrata until five
years ago when they moved to
Virginia.
Earl graduated from Ephrata
High School where he took the
Agriculture course. He went to
lowa when he was in ninth grade
and took part in the FFA dairy
Five, Is Active in Farm Organizations
Mrs. Clarence Stauffer is making cookies to serve the chicken catchers.
products judging. He was State
FFA treasurer one year. In high
school he wrestled, took part in
cross-country, pole-vaulting and
other tracks events. He played
drums in the junior high school
band.
He was selected as State
Holstein Boy by the Pa. Holstein-
Friesian Association for the
period November 1970 to
November 1971. It was quite an
honor to be selected. He com
peted with two other boys and
three girls who were chosen by
the youth committee of the Pa.
Holstein-Friesian Association.
He went to Penn State University
for a weekend and was chosen as
Holstein Boy there in the finals.
One of the high lights of the
weekend was being able to attend
a football game.
Part of his winning was due to
his mother’s keeping news
clippings and pictures of honors
he had received and inducing him
to enter the contest.
Earl was in the Holstein 4-H
Club, as were all the Stauffer
children. He received several
trophies on his Holstein cows and
heifers, also two trophies on pigs.
He took a course in artificial
breeding of cows with the Curtis
Candy Co. after graduating from
high school. He has a liquid
mercury filled steel tank where
he keeps the vials of semen he
collects from their own bulls. He
breeds their own cows and oc
casionally some for other far
mers.
He does most of the milking but
his parents help him.
Earl is a member of the
Ephrata Young Farmers
Association. He took first place in
the hay contest with a yield of 8.38
tons to the acre at their annual
banquet at the Mt. Airy Fire Hall
February 5.
Stauffers’ daughter, Nanette,
graduated from Ephrata High
school where whe was a member
of the hockey team.
She is a sophomore at Catawba
College at Salisbury, N. C. This is
a U.C.C. Church College with an
enrollment of 1106 students.
She is majoring in physical
education. She took part in the
deep south hockey tournament
and she and another girl from
Catawba made the team
representing the deep south in the
southeastern tournament.
Nan took part the last two
years in the Lancaster Co. Dairy
Princess contest. She was run
ner-up in 1970 when Marilyn
Krantz was named as the Lan
caster County Dairy Princess.
Nan took care of the calves
when she was home. She worked
as a helper at the playground in
Ephrata Area and taught
swimming two years at Ephrata
pool.
Rhoda is a junior in high
school, taking the academic
course. She takes part in track,
hockey and basketball. Their
basketball team lost only one
game this season and went on to
win over Governor Mifflin 45-40 in
Tuesday’s game in the first round
of the District Three Girls
Basketball Championship. She
works as a hostess at Zinns Diner
Saturdays and Sundays during
the school term, but will work
there more this summer.
Yvonne is in eighth grade at
Ephrata Junior High School and
is in the band. Mornings and
evenings she tends to the calves
till they are six months old. She
received the Holstein
Showmanship award at Ephrata
Fair. She is on the Ephrata
Recreation Center swim team.
She and Rhoda taught swimming
at Ephrata pool through the
Recreation Center.
Alice Kay is in sixth grade at
Clay Elementary School. Alice
Kay and Rhoda take care of the
chickens.
Rhoda, Yvonne and Alice Kay
are still in the 4-H Holstein Club
and were in the 4-H Cooking Club.
Mr. Stauffer is a foster son of
Mrs. Katie Snyder and the late J.
N. Snyder. Before buying the
farm six years ago, he farmed on
the halves with Mr. Snyder. He
has received many ribbons and
trophies for his fine dairy herd.
Mr. Stauffer just reitred from
Ephrata Area School Board at
the end of 1971, having served six
years.
The Ephrata Young Farmers,
of which he was a charter
member, presented him an ap
preciation award for service on
the school board. He served as
vice president one year and
president four years. He was also
on the county board two years
and vice president of it one year.
He went off the county board
when it became the Intermediate
Board between Lebanon and
Lancaster Counties.
Clarence holds an Honorary
(Continued on Page 28)