38
—Lancaster Farmlnt, Saturday. Nov. 2.1974
Jennie Gro
vi b y
Mrs.
c Charles
a McSparran
Farm Feature
Mrs. Levi (Jennie) Groff, Colerain Township, president
of Farm Women Society 16 for 1974 and 1975, is an old hand
at her job and will be among the county convention goers
today at the Lancaster Bible College. She was at the first
meeting of this society which was organized October 28,
1939 by the then state Farm Women president Mrs.
Adaline P. Edwards, There were 25 charter members.
Mrs. Groff, a 35 year member of Farm Women Society
16, has served about half of the time as either president
or vice president. They meet the second Wednesday of the
month at 1:30 p.m. in the homes of the members or
sometimes go on a trip. They visited Hickory Farms in
Park City, Lancaster, this year and some of the members
went with the Green Tree Thimble Club to see the winery
in Pequea Township. The society goes to Conestoga View
once a year to play Bingo with the patients. Mrs. Groff and
a couple others usually go to the Lancaster County Farm
Women Camp at Camp Swatara, Lebanon County, in the
summer.
Nine or ten Society 16 members are attending Lancaster
County Farm Women convention today and a couple
usually go to the State convention at Harrisburg in
January. They support the county project which has been
the Jaycees Camp for Retarded Children this year.’They
meet in members homes and sew cancer pads and
hospital bed pads. They also give to a number of charities
such as Heart Haven. They have bake sales in Quarryville
and food stands at farm sales to make money. Mrs. Groff
is also active in other community organizations. She and
Levi have been members of the Octoraro Farmers Club
for twelve years or more. This organization is 117 years
old. There are about ten families in the club at the present
time. They meet binonthly on the third Saturday, mostly
in the homes of the members for a dinner meeting. They
inspect the farms while there and have an educational and
entertaining program. They had a com roast at Groffs’ in
September.
Mrs. Groff has been a member of the Green Tree
Thimble Club for about 15 years. They have 16 or 18
members and meet once a month in the homes. Nine or
ten quilt at a time through the winter months at the Oc
toraro Presbyterian Chapel. They quilt quilts for people.
They give donations to different charities. They went on a
trip to an azalea farm and to the Pequea Valley Vineyard
& Winery on Rawlinsville Road in Pequea Township this
year.
Groffs belong to the Octoraro Presbyterian Church
where Levi is an elder, sings in the choir and has been a
trustee. Mrs. Groff has been a member of this church
about 35 years or more, secretary of the Fidehs Bible
Mrs. Groff's chief hobby is making quilts. She
displays a few of the ones she has on hand. Lovely is
the word for all of them.
Farm Women Society Leader
Class for 32 years and was a Deacon woman for a two-year
term. She is a member of Circle 3 of the Women’s
Association and on the Local Church committee for the
Women’s Association. Circle 3 meets from 9:30 a.m. till
noon then has a covered dish luncheon the first Wed
nesday of each month. Being on the local church com
mittee keeps Jennie busy serving wedding receptions,
fellowship suppers and three weeks ago they entertained
three churches.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Groff have lived on the farm all their
lives. They have lived on their farm two miles south of
Nine Points on Georgetown Road or route 896 since 1936.
They farm 297 acres of com, wheat, barley, alfalfa and
clover on their three farms. Groff’s son Melvin and
grandson Dennis do most of the farming now and live in a
house on the farm. They have 50 Holstein'cows and 40 bead
of young stock, some of which are registered. They raise
all of their own calves. They ship their milk to Lehi Dairy
Co-op.
They also have 6 sheep which they have sheared in the
spring. They keep 6 Yorkshire sows and raise all of their
litters. These hogs are sold as they are ready for market.
They butcher three for their own use. They also keep so
SexUnks (heavy) laying hens which they buy and raise
from day old chicks.
Mrs. Levi (Jennie) Groff, president of Farm Women
Society 16,' has cellulose pads, scissors and a piece of
an old sheet ready to make cancer pads.
Mrs. Groff says “When we moved here I always cut and
husked com, put away tobacco and drove the tractor to
bale hay and straw. I’d rather work out as in. The children
always cut and husked com too. I help feed pigs and
chickens when the men are busy.”
Mrs. Groff helps in the garden and mows the lawn. She
freezes and cans a lot of vegetables and cans fruit. Last
week she made a lot of apple and pear butter. She always
cooks and sieves the fuit ahead of time and freezes it. She
makes it in a copper kettle, puts it in jars and freezes it.
Jennie was the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Galen
Eckman and grew up on a farm near New Providence.
She always worked out in the fields with horses. Levi was
the son of Joseph Groff and grew up on a farm near Mt.
Eden Lutheran Church, south of Strasburg.
Groffs have five children. Melvin has always farmed
the home place. He married Levera Trout and they have
one son, Dennis, who also helps on the farm. Donald
married Mary Hershey. They have four girls and a boy.
He drives a gas truck for Whitelock & Woerth, near Green
Tree. Gladys married Earl Gibson and they have two -
sons. They live at Atglen. Earl works for Diversified
Printing Corporation near Atglen. Martha married
William Frutchey Jr. and they live in Quarryville. They
have a son and a daughter. Bill is a carpenter. Mildred
married George Reinhart. They have two sons and two
daughters. They own and operate a dairy farm in Bart
Township. *
As for Jennie’s hobbies-she has a lot of geraniums and a
lot of house plants. She used to have 60 African violets but
Mrs. Groff is knotting this quilt which is made of
odds and ends of pieces of material and the design is
similar to the Log Cabin pattern.
gave them up. She used to tat, crochet and embroider but
her main pastime is quilting. She says “I gave five for '
wedding gifts, sold five, gave my five children each one
and my grandchildren each one-that’s 14.” That adds up,,
to 29 and she has a large chest full of quilts of every
description. She patched and quilted them. Some are old
familiar patterns but some she designed herself. They are
beautifully made. She knots a few but most of them are
quilted. She likes to cook also and shares these recipes
with us:
PUMPKIN PIE
1 nine inch unbaked pie crust
2 cups sieved pumpkin
2 tablespoons flour
2 eggs
2 cups whole milk .
sugar to taste
Beat eggs and mix all ingredients together. Pour into
crust and sprinkle a little cinnamon on top or put coconut
in the pie. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes and lower
temperature to 350 until baked.
XXX
SOURCREAM
PEPPERNUT COOKIES
3 cups white sugar
1 cup lard
3 eggs
2 cups sour cream
2 teaspoons soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
Cream sugar and lard, add eggs. Mix together the sour
cream, soda and cream of tartar. Add flour enough to roll
or drop, 5 to 6 cups to drop. Put on greased cookie sheet.
Bake at 375 degrees.
2 bu. pears sliced
2 bu. apples sliced ,
15 gal. cider
about 15 lb. sugar
about 2 tablespoons cinnamon (optional)
Bring bider to a boil. Add fruit, about a gallon at a time.
After you get fruit all in, boil about 4 horn's, depending on
the apples, until it is thick enough. Stir all the time.
RICH CHOCOLATE CAKE
2 cups white sugar
1 cup lard
2 eggs
1 cup shour milk
Vt cup cocoa
2 Vi cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
Vz teaspoon salt
Vz cup boiling water
1 teaspoon vanilla
Cream sugar, lard and add eggs and sour milk. Sift
together cocoa, flour, soda and salt and add. Add boiling
water and vanilla. Bake at 350 degrees.
APPLE BUTTER