—Lancaster Farming, Saturday. May 20, 1972 22 Mrs. Robert Lefever Her Family “National Mrs. Charles McSparran Farm Feature Writer Last Sunday was Mother’s Day and last week was National Hospital Week. Mrs. Robert (Anna) Lefever, Manheim RD2, qualifies in both categories. She is a mother of four daughters and two sons. All four daughters graduated from Lancaster Mennonite School. Three are registered nurses. One is a medical secretary and her husband is in training to become a nurse. Mr. and Mrs. Lefever’s oldest daughter, Ella, trained at Lan caster General Hospital. After graduation she spent three years in voluntary service at Twilhngate, Newfoundland. She worked there two more years, then married Galen Peters of Kansas. They lived two years in lowa They now live in Green ville, Illinois where Galen teaches at a Methodist college. They have two daughters and a son Florence trained at the Reading Hospital. She worked at the Oreville Mennonite Home three years after graduating and has nursed the past three years at the Osteopathic Hospital in Lancaster She lives at home. She mows the lawn and does the trimming She says “I love to drive the tractor.” She works the ground for her dad. She used to plow, help harvest and just about any farm job Vera also gradauted at the Reading Hospital school of nursing She worked there a year or two, then married Raymond Kurtz of near Reading They live on a 200 acre dairy farm at Shoemakersville in Berks County They keep about 50 cows They have mostly Holsteins but have some Guernseys. They have two sons Mary went to Medical Secretary School m Hagerstown, Md and is a medical secretary at Philhaven Hospital in Lebanon County She is married to Leroy Beitzel who is in nurses training at the Harrisburg Hospital Martin is the third oldest of the children He married Norma Jean Book of East Petersburg. They live in New Jersey where he is employed with Green and Company, who make metal things to order. His job takes him far and near by plane. They have a son and a daughter. A baby shower cake and a sympathy cake background that Mrs. Lefever baked and with an anniversary cake in the decorated. Really Celebrates Hospital Week” James, 15, is the youngest of the family. He attends Lancaster Mennonite School and Willow Street Vocational Technical School where he is taking an electrical appliance course. He enjoys fixing all kinds of ap pliances. Mrs. Lefever, besides being a busy homemaker and mother, has been baking and decorating cakes to sell for thirty years. It started just as a hobby with baking and decorating cakes for her family. Then, as a favor for a fnend, she baked an anniversary cake, then a wedding cake. And so it went, by word of mouth, till now she bakes on the average of 15 or more large cakes a week. She doesn’t advertise. She sells just from her home. Sometimes she turns away as many as she bakes. She says “I enjoy doing it and it’s hard for me to say no.” She has cakes booked now till August. Mrs Lefever bakes whatever kind of cake her customers desire, however, her specialty is angel food She also makes chocolate, banana, chiffon, spice, devils food and yellow cakes. Her cakes do not come from a box but are made from scratch. She had a tmsmith make pans of various sizes for her She never had any training in cake decorating but has cultivated a natural talent. She makes gorgeous cakes of every description She has quite a trade for sympathy cakes. Many people give a decorated cake to a family at the time of bereavement, in lieu of flowers, to express their sympathy Mrs. Lefever writes a beautiful poem on the page of an open book and places a spray of colored flowers on the other page. She makes the prettiest baby shower cakes in die shape of a bassinet and puts a doll in them. She puts bride and groom, bells and real flowers on top of the wedding and anniversary cakes according to the order. Many people buy a small tier cake then have her make circle decorated cakes to match, marked for serving a certain number of people, which are easier to cut and serve. She knows exactly how many pieces each size cake will serve. She delivers some of her cakes and puts them in place. Mrs Lefever buys 15 to 30 dozen eggs a week for baking. She sells egg yolks by the quart to someone who makes noodles. Sometimes she sells four of five quarts of yolks a week. Here are recipes for some of Mrs. Lefever’s cakes, also a recipe for icing she uses. Angel Food Cake (9 inch tube pan) cups egg whites V « teaspoon salt teaspoon cream of tartar Beat till stiff but not dry with an electric beater. Gradually add 1% cups granulated sugar, folding in rather than beating. Fold in: % teaspoon vanilla % teaspoon almond extract 1% cups sifted cake flour Put in tube pan and bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour. For a 13% inch tube pan, use 3 cups of egg whites and for a 16 inch tube pan use 4 cups egg whites and other ingredients in proportions to the basic recipe above. XXX Spice Cake Measure in sifter and sift into bowl: 2 1 / 2 cups cake flour 1 cup granulated sugar 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda % teaspoon salt y 4 teaspoon cinnamon % teaspoon cloves Add: % cup shortening IV4 cups sweet or sour milk Mix and add; 2-3 cups light or medium brown sugar 2 eggs. Beat. Makes two 9 inch layers. Bake at 350 degrees for a half hour or till done. XXX Chocolate Cake 2 cups cake flour 2-3 cups cocoa 1 2-3 cups white sugar % teaspoon salt IVa teaspoons baking soda IVa teaspoon baking powder Sift all above ingredients into bowl. Add; 1 1-3 cups water 2-3 cups vegetable shortening Beat till well mixed. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla 3 eggs Beat till thoroughly mixed. Put in two 9 inch cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees. XXX Icing v 4 lb. or 1 heaping tablespoon Crisco Mrs. Robert Lefever, Manheim RD2, decorating an an niversary cake. 1 lb. 10X sugar teaspoon flavoring Coloring if desired Enough milk to moisten to proper consistency Mix with electric mixer. XXX Here is a recipe for a one-dish meal that you don’t have to use immediatly. It can be reheated and served quickly. It can be frozen for later use. Chili Con Came Cut up a large onion and brown in butter. Add 1 pound ham burger. Stir and code till not red. Add 1 quart tomato juice. Add 1 rounded teaspoon salt. Cook slowly about % hour. Add 1 pound can of kidney beans. Break up about % pound spaghetti and cook slowly till soft with lid off. Add water if necessary. Add % teaspoon chili powder last. Allow about 1 hour or longer to make. Stir occasionally. XXX Mrs. Lefever makes chocolate covered mints and decorates them with tiny flowers and leaves. At Christmas time she puts three holly leaves or poin settias on them. She gives these to relatives and friends. She bakes a lot of Christmas cookies. She used to make hun dreds of dozens to sell but now sells only about 100 dozen because she has too many other things to do. She makes 10 or 12 kinds. Florence helps some with cookie baking. Robert was born and raised east of Lancaster. Mrs. Lefever, the former Anna Brubaker, was born and raised in Manor Township. She went to school in Manor Township and Neffsville. They lived on a farm on the Fruitville Pike before they moved to their present farm. They had cows, chicken and pigs. The first two years they were married they had part of a market stand and sold eggs, vegetables, cakes and cookies. They have lived on their 100 acre farm on Hossler Road, near the Mount Joy Road, for 22 years. They used to have cows, pigs and chickens and also raised tomatoes and carrots for cash crops. Mrs. Lefever helped out on the farm a lot then. They do not myer 'S metered gas <3l jilElpsSl SERVICE, INC. /jjjgg® \ PIG BROODERS CHICK BROODERS GAS SPACE HEATERS & FURNACES CHECK OUR PRICE ON AUTOMATIC BULK DELIVERY OF L.P. GAS P. 0. BOX 71 MANHEIM, PA. 17545 Telephone (717) 665-3588 have livestock now and get some custom work done. They raise com, barley and wheat. Their beautiful old stone house was built in 1803. Mrs. Lefever has several flower beds of beautiful perennials and annuals which she tends to. Lefevers are members of Kauffman’s Mennonite Church, between East Petersburg and Manheim. Robert and Florence used to teach Sunday School classes and Mrs. Lefever helped in the primary department. She was also in the home department and saw that the sick were remembered with flowers. Florence used to be librarian also. Mrs. Lefever helps at the Clothing Bank on the third block of S. Duke Street, Lancaster, the first Wednesday of each month. Although Mrs. Lefever does not belong to organizations other than the church she donates cakes to the Manheim Fire Company for their bakes, dinners and carnivals. She also donates cakes to the Farm Women. She used to exhibit cakes at the Manheim Community Farm Show. She still exhibits flowers and ferns. Mrs. Lefever says she enjoys cooking very much. She doesn’t have as much cooking to do since her family is smaller. She does her own housework, usually the first part of the week when she isn’t baking cakes. With June weddings just around the corner Mrs. Lefever will be busier than ever. BAG SEWING MACHINES by FISCHBEIN Portable and Automatic S& THE HANLINE CO. 4423 Belgrade St. Philadelphia, Pa. 19137 215-JE3-3737
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