*2— Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 10, 1976 Mrs. Johnson pours coffee in the kitchen of her spacious farmhouse. Solanco farm woman active in community affairs friends are really what life is all about. New'places come horseback, buggy or walking, and as the family traveled and go, but fnends are the most wonderful things. to the train station people begged them not to leave. As county president, Mrs. Johnsonhad a lot of op- The family settled onto their new farm and the children portumty to make fnends among the I,CTO members m the attended Plum Hill School, where Mrs. Johnson recalls a county’s 31 societies. She also saw much of the good works heartbreaking first day. She said the four children in her whidi come from the SMiehes. She cited specifically the family had always eaten together from one large basket, work at Harrisburg State Hospital, Hamburg State but children teased them unmercifully and little Hospital and locally at Conestoga View which two groups Dorothy went home saying she didn’t feel well. She told visit every month to play games and visit wife the her father die would not return until she had a lunch residents. She said. If there werent Farm Women .kettle, but he, or course, made her turn around im- Sociefaes, there would be a lot of dark comers. mediately. However, very quickly, lunch kettles were The societies have changed a little over the years, she found for each *»hM said, “Now there are more than just fann women who are Her husband had been a native of West Virginia, but his members; the groups are more versatile. And they seem family moved into a home close toiher childhood home. to J2 11 ! £, 0U ?® e - r ' ... ... . .. , When they first married they lived in ParkervQle, near . the basic quality of their community work remains Kennett square and lived in an apartment in a farm the same. It may be wider in scope because travel is house. easier,” die added. After four years they decided to return to Lancaster On the state level Mrs. Johnson has been chairman of County and farm. They bought the farm where Mrs. fee tentative committee for three yearn. One change has Johnson now Uves moved on March 17 39 years been that resolutions have been discontinued because of a a g o «j], a s t o rm.” feeling that they really were not effective. They had bought fee farm, lock, stock and dairy cattle, She said, “I was instrumental m getting names and the very first evening they had to set to work milking address of legislators and their districts to each county the 27 dairy cows by hand. Mrs. Johnson said neither she president. Individual letter writing is fee most effective nor her husband had ever milked for as a young girl it had way to communicate wife the legislators. But women been her job to pump water for her father’s 40 head of. must write letters themselves, not use forai letters. One Guernseys, some steers and hogs, aim is to get women more active in letter writing.’’ She recalls the first few days on fee farm as being “just • J ° hnso " was hono ™ i “ Woman of to* awful. The milkman came at 5:00. so we had to get up at in 1970 when she was president of Society 15, one example three o’clock. Our hands swelled up, because we weren’t of fee esteem m which she is held. yggd wor k.” Mrs. Johnson is a native of North Carolina, but her However, she related happily, “Our hands became family moved to Pennsylvania when she was five years accustomed to it. I really like fee farm -it was old. She said her brother had read in geography books monotonous living in fee apartment.’’ about Pennsylvania - feat fee land was beautiful and The Johnsons built fee herd to 50 milking cows, and level. She said he was anxious to move here “so fee family three years ago installed a pipeline milker. She said, “We wouldn’t have to work so hard anymore.’’ were really a team.” Her father knew a realtor in this state so he came and Mrs. Johnson’s husband became ill last spring and in bought a 174 acre farm near Wakefield. She recalled fee fee summer her grandson, Douglas Hershey, a senior at leaving North Carolina was tearful because her mother had served as midwife to fee community, traveling by “Farm women are the most energetic, hard working, community-minded women I know!” Mrs. Dorothy Johnson speaks these words with great enthusiasm and with characteristic frankness adds, “Of course, I’m prejudiced.” Dorothy Johnson, St. Catherine Drive, Quarryville, retired from her two year stint as county Farm Women president in November. But her great interest in the devotion to Farm Women will always be a part of her life. She recalled that she became a member of Society 15 in 1955 when someone dropped out and she was invited to join. She said, “At that time I didn’t go anyplace much, except to church. I figured my job was at home. I helped out in the fields, husking com, helping with the tobacco and the tomatoes, and I milked the cows every day, twice a day.” But she did join and says, “I discovered educational programs and sociability with the Farm Women. I really liked the things I learned. It was a process of learning, of becoming acquainted with things. And the Farm Women did really good works in the community. Our Farm Women had always helped with the Quarryville com munity fair after it got started.” A county president can be quite busy with committee meetings, visiting societies within the county and at tending state and county conventions. But through all her years in this active role, Mrs. Johnson says proudly, “I hardly ever missed a milking. Most of the time I could do the morning milking before I left, and we got a man to fill in.” Her late husband, Carl, encouraged her in her efforts. She said, “I didn’t think I had time for it. But I really did enjoy it and I learned a lot.” She said she had never taken the time to travel to other counties, so that aspect was one she thoroughly enjoyed. But the highlight of her two year’s president, she said, was making friends. She said, “I met some of the loveliest people. There are so many frendships which you make and keep, and it really means something to me. After all. Farm Homes preserve 18th century history By MELISSA PIPER For the past two weeks, I have been driving across the countryside here in Lancaster County, to take pictures of older farm homes, some of which have survived almost 300 years. It has been quite interesting to note the architecture and handwork which went into building some of these detailed houses. I was amazed at the beautiful fireplaces which graced many rooms and how well they had been preserved either by careful consideration of by years of hiding behind walls of plaster. The antiques which also line many of the homes were interesting to view for a number of them had been hand-crafted here in the county or in nearby villages. The detailed workmanship of these toys, By SALLY BAIR Feature Writer , Her warmth and friendliness are evident to any "visitor to Mrs. Johnson's home. Homestead Notes Country Comer dishes and furniture was very surprising, especially since many of the craftsmen had few tools with which to work. Many of the older homes which dot our area reflect the builder’s heritage and it is evident that pride surfaced during the construction. German styled doors and hinges are still in use in several county homes with Christian doors, cathedral cupboards and church style window designs all reflecting the spiritual values held in high esteem by the early settlers. While many of the homes have been passed down through generations of the same family, others have been sold time after time with new tenants each adding a bit of their own creative touches to the interior decor. Historians in the area have noted that each home At the conclusion of her presidency, Mrs. Johnson was given this copper milk bucket filled with dried flowers. [Continued on Pate 44] although many times built by the same contractor, had its own peculiar design and was distinct in its novel design certainly not like the mass produced houses we view today. The families who have taken much care and interest in restoring these homes must be com mended, for they have preserved a bit of americana and history which is unique to this area. For in few other states is such a heritage kept alive, as in the stately farm homes of southeastern Pa. Tucked against the hillsides and along flowing streams, the homes seem as if time has stood still for if the electrical wires and poles were stripped f away and the farm machinery and vehicles hidden, the farms would probably look much like they did centuries ago.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers