Reader's Corner
Contributions to Lancaster Farming's
“Header’s Corner" are welcome. The
article that follows was written by Wendi
List, a senior environmental studies
student at Manheim Central.
Many years ago there was a wind that
swept across the state of Pennsylvania and
deposited a seed deep in the earth of
Lancaster County, As the seed matured,
its roots permeated the soil and made it
fertile and fruitful. A man and his family
then settled on this land and farmed it, he
called himself a farmer. This fertile soil,
the seed of agriculture, became a vital
resource to the farmer and the nearby
community that had since settled there,
for through its fertility it provided the
countrymen with food, clothing, shelter
and security. Historically, the community
depended on the farmer, and the farmer
was dependent on the community.
Manheim developed as such a com
munity. It was a small town surrounded by
abundant farm land and protected by the
people who depended on it. This in
teraction between the farmers and the
community is a stable relationship even
today. It is largely responsible for the
organization of the Chiques Creek
Watershed Project, for damages to both
farm land and borough properties led to
the initial movement of this existing en
vironment project.
What is a watershed association such as
the one beginning in Manheim’ The
Chicques Creek Project Explained
YOU REAP WHAT
YOU SOW,
EVEN DURING A
FERTILIZER SHORTAGE.
You count on a lot of things
to give you a good return. From
expensive farm equipment to
the right amount of sunshine.
But this year more than any
other, your fertilizer investment
is going to make the difference.
Right now were all struggling
against the fertilizer shortage. So
the quality you use becomes even
more important than the quantity.
And Royster is doing something
to help you get the best.
There’s still no way we can
promise you’ll get all the fertilizer
you want. But this year, we’re
manufacturing more Bonanza
Crop Specials. It’s our finest
fertilizer. And it’s your insurance
that you’ll get the greatest return
on every dollar invested.
Bonanza Crop Specials
are supercharged with specific
definition of such an organization is very
simple, however, the implications of such
an association are rather complex. First of
all. a watershed comprises all the land
that is drained into a specific stream or
river. In Manheim, we arc speaking of the
Chiques Creek and the Rife Run tributary.
The watershed association is entirely a
local project, not a government project,
with as little political procedure as
possible. It is an active organization made
up of the people who live where the
problems exist. They are concerned in
dividuals who realize we must not exploit
our environment, but protect it from the
deterioration that has existed for over two
hundred years. We can no longer do what
our ancestors have done when faced with
the depletion of their resources: abandon
our farms and homes and pioneer new
lands. Too many people are gambling with
the environment we presently occupy, and
not enough people are striving to preserve
it. An environment is a vulnerable process,
if it is healthy and pleasant, just introduce
a corrupting species and its natural
balance will easily be destroyed by the
human, animal and industrial wastes that
contaminate its waters and soil, by the
erosion and run-off when it blocks streams
with the deposition of sediment, and by the
indiscriminate commercial and
residential development that defaces all
aesthetic values. There will also exist the
inability for the environment to support
500 Running Pump Road, Lancaster PA 17601
Phone 717-299-2541
Call Royster for the name of your nearest dealer
.micronutrients. Because some
crops use higher amounts of
one or more micronutrients than
others. And sometimes an area
is deficient in certain micro
nutrients. That’s why we make
Specials for every major crop
in every market we serve. And
that’s 13 crops in 20 states.
Our Bonanza Crop Specials
are such a valuable investment
we even wrote a booklet about
them. To get yours, write
Marketing Services, P.O. Drawer
1940, Norfolk, Virginia 23501.
Or better still, visit your
friend in the fertilizer business.
Your Royster dealer. He’ll help
you make a good fertilizer
investment. Because he knows
when you put good things into
your land, you expect good
things back.
m
/ Company /
wildlife and to store adequate water
supply. The association functions to
overcome the deterioration and protect
our own interests and those of our
descendants.
The watershed project is working to
conserve our natural resources, to
practice good environmental stewardship
It functions throughout the natural
boundaries of the watershed, which could
drain only a few hundred acres or many
square miles. The area involved in our
study is Manhcim and northern Lancastcr-
County. This is approximately
250,000 acres located above the present
White Oak Dam, north of Manheim
When the project was first undertaken,
our basic challenge was erosion, flooding,
and the protection of the flood plain, on
which Manheim directly lies. The
Manheim Borough Council first submitted
an application appealing for assistance
under the Watershed Protection and Flood
Prevention Act to Pennsylvania’s State
Soil and Water Conservation Commission.
The program’s objectives were to prevent
flood damage and to improve economic
lease. The type of watershed treatment
would be dam sites, and technical
assistance was believed to be needed.
There are many agencies and available
help which can deal with the complex
organization of a watershed association.
However, today the protection of our
vital resources is so urgent, for every day
the increasing population makes more
demands on our environment, that the
problems often exceed the scope of the
agencies. The agency’s power is often
hindered by political restrictions and the
Lancaster Farming. Saturday, March 8,1975
problems do not stop, for they have no
political boundaries. Neither does an
association to any great extent and it is for
this reason that a citizens’ action is more
effective, and the agencies arc only used
for technological knowledge and for
counciling.
Manhcirn Borough first held a public
meeting before the submission of the
application. This is a most important step
in any organization, for its success is in
direct proportion to the amount and degree
of public involvement, At present the
project is co-ordinating a conservation
education program, involving en
vironmental students. Students write news
articles, some are constructing models of
the watershed, others are collecting data
such as water quality analysis, flow
measurements, water table records, etc. A
lot of this work is done by chemistry
students. Students in the environmental
class of Mr. Flick and Mr. Wenger at
Manheun Central High School, were in
volved in a field trip to collect data for a
county-wide survey on the Chiques Creek,
material that will certainly be used for the
association’s educational goals.
The approach of the educational
program is completely constructive, it is
for improvement, a broad educational
crusade. Hurricane Agnes was the
decision-making event for this project. It
clearly demonstrated the flood situation
during the summer of 1972. The total
damage cost was approximately 1.5
million dollars. These damaging floods
must not continue. We must place proper
checks on our environment or suffer the
consequences.
Youth
Calendar
Saturday, March 8
York County 4-H Fun Night
at the 4-H center in Bair -
7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, March 12
12 - 15th 4-H Expo at the Park
City Shopping Mall.
Friday, March 14
Manheim FFA Banquet at
the Manheim High School
cafeteria beginning at
6:45 p.m.
Upcoming Events
Tuesday, March 25
Thomasville 4-H meeting at
the 4-H Center in Bair.
Wednesday, March 26
Lampeter-Strasburg Future
Homemaker’s Easter
Egg Hunt for the
faculty’s children at 4:00
p.m.
AT HOME
If you re an average
homemaker your feet cam vou
about 10 miles a da\ and take
1 500 tons of jolts An active child
takes 30 000 steps a dav a
distance equal to twelve miles
Most healthv people are comfor
table in a house when the tem
perature is 68 degrees About
seventv percent of all
homemakers suffer eve defects
COMPLETE
mi PAINTING
WE USE BRUNING QUALITY
PAINT AND IT
DOES STAY ONi"
AERIAL LADDER
EpUIPMENT:
* Modern and Efficient Method
* Reasonable Prices
* Spray On and Brush In
Method
+ Sandblasting if Necessary
FOR FREE ESTIMATES
WRITE
DANIEL S. ESN
(C RALPH MILLER)
SPRAY ON AND
BRUSH IN PAINTER
BOX 350 A
RONKS PA 17572
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