SO—Lancaster Farmlng, Saturday, May 8, 1976 Home economist is By SALLY BAIR Feature Writer Agnes D. Amold-Norman has been serving the homemakers of Lancaster County since January. Many may not yet know her, but she is the new assistant home economist with the Penn State Extension Service. Aggie comes to her new position with a great deal of experience in extension related programs. She is a native of Lebanon County where she participated in their 4-H programs for ten years. She also worked there as a summer assistant in the Lebanon County extension program. The daughter of Mary Arnold, Lebanon RD2, Aggie grew up and worked on a dairy farm, and her family has always been supporters of the extension program. Aggie has 11 brothers and sisters. Aggie reluctantly agreed to talk about her work in this county, but she said she feels that after just four months she still has a lot to learn. Perhaps Aggie’s closest association with the extension service is through her husband, David Norman, associate county agent in York County. David and Aggie were married last August, so she had the opportunity to see first hand the work of an extension agent before she,ap plied for the job in Lancaster County. So, one might say, she knew what she was in for. Why did she apply? She said, “I like the flexibility, the in formal education of extension programs. Since I majored in home economics education, I wanted to work with youth. In this position I work with both youth and adults, so it is really the best of both. The flexibility is really appealing.” Aggie sees no conflict in having two extension workers in a family. She said, “It works out really well.” She explained further that since her husband often has evening meetings the fact that she too has to be away simply means she doesn’t have to sit home alone. One thing she finds herself doing a lot of is answering telephone calls. She said, “You can learn so much from telephone calls - you’re forced to learn things.” The hardest part of her job so far is “getting to know the people and the county. I am not a patient person and I have to be patient. It is very hard not knowing what people need and what people are thinking.” Aggie says she believes her 4-H background was an asset to her as she was digging into the job. She said, “It certainly gave me some insight into the kinds of things we’re dealing with. And I have had some experience.” An area that obviously is of great interest to her is 4-H. Although Lancaster County now has a full time 4-H agent Linda Franz, Aggie says she will “support Linda and provide subject matter information.” She has already attended some 4-H organizational meetings, she said, and “I’m trying to get to know home economics club leaders and members.” The people she has met, she says, have been real receptive and easy to get to know. How about finding her way around the county? “I take very good directions,” she says with a laugh. The size of the county was a little surprise for her. Aggie is helping with 4-H leader training, public speaking and giving instruction in filling out the “blue forms” which are used for state and national awards in a wide variety of 4-H programs. Having been a national winner in the foods and nutrition awards program, Aggie should be in a position to give a lot of concrete help to those who enter the awards programs. Aggie’s 4-H background includes foods, clothing and gardening as well as dairy projects. She said most of her activities involved demonstrations in dairy foods and poultry foods. She also participated in Lebanon County’s consumer judging team. One of the adult education programs she has already Becoming acquainted with the files and the information they contain has taken a lot of Aggie’s time in her new position. Celebrate June as “National Dairy Month” by entering the Dairy Food Cooking Contest, June 19, 1976, sponsored by the Schuylkill County Dairy Princess Committee. Dairy recipes mil be judged June 19, 1976, at Boscov’s in conjunction with the 1976 Dairy Princess Pageant. Rules are as follows: 1. Contest open to any Schuylkill County resident, no age requirement. Non county residents are welcome. 2. Only one entry per person per category is allowed. 3. Entry must serve at least 4 persons. 4. Recipes must contain at least one cup of dairy products. Recipes containing more will receive extra consideration by judges. Suggested foods are whole milk, buttermilk, yogurt, sour cream, cottage cheese, cheese, evaporated or sweetened condensed milk, and blitter. Dairy substitutes such as margarine are not acceptable. 6. Entries will be in the following categories. There will be one (610) winner in each and a grand prize winner ($10) selected from Lebanon County native conducted was on colonial foods. “It was really fun,” she said. “I just went to the library and got the information. I did very basic colonial things, but it made me aware. I would really like to get a series on differenCkinds of foods.” As a result of her program, she said, “I got involved with the Bicentennial Commission’s food committee.” She said the three people she worked with “knew so much.” She said she is also interested in working with 4-H’ers in Homestead Notes Doris Thomas and Aggie look up a recipe in a cookbook. areas like flag making, weaving and bicentennial crafts. Aggie expressed disappointment about another program she had helped plan but which had to be can celled due to lack of participation. This was a program designed for the mothers of pre-schoolers. But she was not daunted. She said, “I still would like to get a child development program off the ground - perhaps in the fall we can try again.” A metric workshop is being scheduled, and Aggie, who will be presenting it, said, ‘Tm brushing up on metric from my chemistry. The purpose of the workshop will be Cooking contest announced category winners. Categories are: I - Ap petizer-Snack; II - Main Dish-Casserole; m - Cakes and Pies; IV - Cheesecake. 6. Written recipes only must be submitted in ad vance by June 10, 1976, to Mrs. Kathy Buggy, Schuylkill County Extension Service, P. 0. Box 404, Schuylkill Haven, Penn sylvania 17972. Submit recipe, name, address, and telephone number. Please print or type. 7. Recipes are prepared at home and brought to the auditorium at Boscov’s Fairlane Village Mall, Pottsville, Pennsylvania on Dairy Day, June 19, 1976, between 2:00 and 3:00 p.m. Judging begins at 3:00 p.m. 8. Winners will be an nounced at the Dairy Princess Pageant at 8:00 p.m. All recipes become property of the committee. Some recipes will be distributed to the public. Inquiries about the Dairy Cooking Contest can be directed to Mrs. Kathy Buggy, 385-3431; Mrs. Darlene Hinkle, 875-0596; or Mrs. Arlene Felty, Contest Chairman, 277-6007. Aggie Arnoid-Norman makes some notes at desk in the Farm and Home Center. to help people realize it is coming and that they don’t r to be scared of it.” She said she will stress how it will ] industry and how it lends itself to certain things, distance. She said, “People need to think metric, no concerned with converting it. We already get calls on She has some definite ideas about the sort of progn she might like to develop in the future. “The most portant thing a home economist can help with is deci: making - money and time management. H< management is a very important area.” - About the role of extension in the community she s “We’re expanding our audience. Extension is more w known as a resource than it once was. People aren’t afi to call - it’s an open relationship. I think we are meet more people’s needs.” She dted the nutrition progr which is an area that she had never before been aware and which reaches a large group of people. She said she realizes that her position is “not all cook and sewing.” There are many timely concerns, she plains, and she sees one of her jobs as keeping up-to-d on developments. She said, “I take time'to read all junk mail.” Other ways of keeping current includes getting repo from specialists from the University and in-serv training. She said she feels it is part of her job to keep professionally with changes which come about. Aggie graduated from Penn State in June, 1975, whi she had been active-in the Campus £H Club j Recreation team and the Dairy Science Club. She was a a student member of the American Home Econom Association. In her small amount of free time Aggie says she enjt needlepoint and crewel. She said, “I like to hand cr things. I like to try anything.” This summer she and 1 husband will be gardening for the first time. Aggie milked cows and baled hay when she was home the farm so she is not afraid of hard work. This tr coupled with her outgoing personality and her enthusia: for the job should be an asset to the county’s hoi economics program. Look for Aggie, plan to get to kn< her and make her feel welcome. Country Comer Community nurse In a joking manner, we had always chided n mother about placing a sign on our front lav which would read “Community Hospital" an although such an advertisement never popped u our kitchen often served as the local emergent room. With the closest hospital 17 miles away, it mother was often called upon to treat everythin from measles to lacerations and it was not startlin to see our neighbor farmers waiting at our doo step for advice. And when someone was required t travel to the hospital it was Mom who often at compamed them on the trip into the wards. Her medical expertise did not end at the huma level either as she served as the local veterinaria too. Many of our runt pigs found a home near th warm kitchen stove and grew on a formula of swee milk, honey and loving care. It was - and still is - with a loving patience an professional knowledge that my mother served th community as “Nurse Piper” and the children sh once doctored for colds and mumps call today fo advice about their youngsters. The sign never appeared on the lawn but th phone calls and visits still persist and even with new medical center not too far away now, the Pipe farm will always be remembered as the “com k munity hospital." > r f t ! » ' !
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers