(TV - Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 18, 1972 20 SK^*a*K*MC* The Sahm Family has . . . Year-Round Job to Provide Trees for Christmas By Mrs. Charles McSparran Farm Feature Writer Mrs Jay H (Mary) Sahm, Manheim RD4, is kept busy these days answering telephone calls, measuring, tagging and even cutting a few Christmas trees for their customers Many people select their tree in October or November. Mrs Sahm takes people up in the hills, measures the trees and tags them with the person’s name and the price of the tree In this way they can get them nearer Christmas, yet have a better selection They charge by the foot. She and Mrs Sahm do all the work themselves so their price is quite reasonable She says they could sell lots more trees if they had them She says “It’s nothing to sell 15 trees in an afternoon. I cut them and load them Weekends we br-lh do.” Twenty years ago Sahms bought this nine acre farm which Ladies, 0 \ ' is located on Elizabethtown Road, about one and a half miles west of route 72 Elizabethtown Road is about three miles north of Manheim and goes west to Elizabethtown square. The farm had several evergreen trees planted on it when they bought it. Sahms have been planting and selling trees about 16 or 17 years. They have about three acres planted in evergreen trees. You might say it’s a hobby with Mr. Sahm. He orders seedlings and transplants each year to replace the ones which have been cut. Then in April or May he digs the holes and Mrs. Sahm plants them. He does all the pruning and sprays the trees for diseases. They lose quite a few trees every year. They have all kinds including white pine, Austrian pine, Scotch pine, Douglas fir, blue spruce, black spruce and Norway spruce. They sell more Scotch pines than any other kind. In spite of the Have You Heard ? People who like rolled turkey roasts will appreciate the new imitation skin that now holds the roast together. Made of com ponents of real skin, the imitation skin doesn’t develop the rancid taste that sometimes happens with poultry if it has a fat deposit under it. Your Thanksgiving Turkey doesn’t have to be traditional. Try some of the new turkey products on the market. About Turkey Planned-Overs Turkey that provided a delicious feast on Thanksgiving Day can become dull, unap petizing fare when it reaches the leftover stage. Instead of tiring your family of turkey, freeze the leftover meat for delicious dishes later on. You can prepare tasty casseroles by combining cubed turkey with vegetables, sauce, seasonings, cooked spaghetti, macaroni, noodles or converted rice. Regular rice and potatoes can become mushy after freezing so you may not want to include them in making your planned over turkey dishes. Prepare the casserole, cool quickly and place in meal-sized freezing containers or a casserole x •' * o ' * x ' x X \ V X ''Wt'- x'^'V^ Notes / Doris Thomas N .NV* N -V x \ * ' - '.vV' \ s S'.'- care given the trees Mrs. Sahm says “There’s no perfect tree.” Besides taking care of the trees Jay is a junior accountant at Warner Lambert Company, Lititz. He has worked there five years. Prior to that he worked as a junior accountant for an in surance company for 18 years. Mrs. Sahm has been a teachers’ aide for grades one to six at Mastersonville Elementary School for 12 years. She says “I love it. I love kids. No two days are alike. I do clerical work, typing, mimeographing, keep attendance records, sell lunch tickets, am on the playground, patch knees, take temperatures etc.” There are 178 children that she works with. Sahms rent their f armable land to a neighbor. For 15 years they kept anywhere from seven to 12 sheep. They sold lambs and butchered some for their own use. Three years ago they sold them to a neighbor. They also dish. Cover tightly with moisture vapor resistant wrap and freeze immediately. If your family prefers turkey sandwiches and creamed turkey dishes, you can freeze the lef tovers in slices and small pieces. If possible, cover the slices and pieces with broth or gravey to prevent contact with air. This also lengthens storage life. Package in air-tight, meal-sized packages or containers and freeze quickly. Frozen tu’ icey doesn’t improve with age, and it doesn’t retain good eating quality for as long a period as do other meats. If you’re going to freeze turkey, remember this freezing guide one month for slices or pieces; six months for slices or pieces covered with broth or gravy; and six months for turkey casserole dishes. Enjoy your Thanksgiving turkey planned-overs by freezing the meat in a form your family will enjoy - it will be a time saving dish for you to prepare, too. Know Your Turkey’s Name Check the name when you select your Thanksgiving turkey. It’s your clue to tenderness because the name depends on the age of the bir. Young Tom, Young Turkey or Young Hen indicates a tender-meated bird. However, Tom Turkey or Hen Turkey are signs of an older bird. Moist heat methods of cooking will make these turkeys more tender. All-American Bird Turkey, the only native poultry bird on die American scene, flew up the continent of America from Mexico before the Aztec Indians domesticated the turkey from its wild state. used to have eight hives of bees but quit when they got disease in them. Both Mr. and Mrs. Sahm grew up on farms. Mary is one of seven daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Shreiner who live on their farm at Oregon, Manheim Township. Mary’s sister, Ida Risser and husband, Allen, now own and operate one of the farms Mr. Shreiner owned and farmed. Jay, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Sahm, grew up on his parents farm outside Manheim. His father is retired now but he and Mrs. Sahm still live on the farm. A neighbor farms the land. Sahms have three children. Harold received a Masters degree at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J. He married Georgette Hart of Lancaster and they have one daughter. They Mrs. Jay H. Sahm, Manheim RD4, goes up in the hills with her measuring stick and saw to tag and to cut Christmas trees. Handle Holiday Bird Safely Homemakers are again reminded to handle the Holiday turkey safely. These tips come to us through the courtesy of the Chester County Extension Ser vice. Store turkey safely before cooking - Fresh. Clean and wash cavity. Cover, Refrigerate one day only. - Frozen. Keep frozen until time to thaw. Do not thaw com mercially frozen stuffed turkeys. Follow package directions. Thaw frozen turkey safely Keep in original wrapping for any method. - Refrigerator is best. Place turkey in refrigerator, one to two days for small, two to three days for larger birds. - Cold water method. Place turkey in pan of cold water. Change water often. Five to nine pounds thaw in three to four hours; larger birds take four to seven hours. Cook turkey as soon as thawed. live at Scotch Plains, N.J. where he is a teacher in Rahway State Penitentiary. They have a unique system of education there whereby inmates who have not graduated from high school can get a high school diploma. They also have a college professor who comes in to teach them college courses in the evenings. Kathlene took a two year x-ray technician course at the Lan caster General Hospital and has been doing this work at the J.C. Blair Hospital, Huntingdon, for three years. Michael is a senior at Manheim Central High School. He spends half a day there and half a day at the Mount Joy Vo-tech School where he is taking a Distributive Education course. It includes store management, training in (Continued On Page 21) Paper bag method. Put turkey in large paper bag on a tray. Four to 10 pounds takes six to 10 hours to thaw; 10 to 16 pounds takes 10 to 14 hours and 16 to 24 pounds takes 14 to 18 hours to thaw. The paper bag insulates and keeps the turkey cold enough on the outer surface. Stuff the turkey just before roasting. To save time on the busy Holiday, prepare ingredients for the stuffing the day before. Never stuff a bird the day before. Roast at 325 degrees F. If using a thermometer, interior temperature should reach 180 to 185 degrees F. Oven can be lowered to 300 degrees F. if turkey is cooking too fast or browning too much. —Remove all stuffing from the turkey when serving. —Refrigerate leftovers as soon as meal is over. Store gravy, stuffing and meat seaparately. Cool as soon as possible.