L»nc*»t»r famrtnc. Saturday. Oct 2. 1976 66 consumers through parades By JOANN* SPAIIR MANHKIM. Pa ■ Fairs arc exciting events There arc the livestock com petitions. the midways, the ndca, the people, and the parades And. while most agribusiness people think of Fairs mainly in the light of showing animals or discussing new implements on display Fairs can also be looked at as a tunc to ac tively promote good relations between farmers and consumers. At least, that's bow one (arm organization views them. The Lancaster County Farmers Association decided that this year they were going to get out there and push farming to the aty people by building a float and taking part in the various county parades. “Our whole purpose was to reach the consumer and make them realize how important we are to their daily lives,” explains Mrs. Robert Brubaker, (Lois) Mamheim R 2 one of the women in the organization was was responsible for getting the float together. “After all, when you think about it, if it weren’t for us they couldn’t eat,” she adds. Their float was entitled “Farmers Nourish the World,” and so far it has won first place for most beautiful in the non commercial category at the Ephrata Fair, and taken a top placing at the New Holland Fair. “We really weren’t out for the money,” says Janie Garber, Marietta Rl, another one of the four women who took on the chore of assembling the float. “But, now our costs are paid for, and that is sort of good to know,” she continues. As with many good ideas, to carry them out requires a lot of work, and that is exactly what the women who volunteered to do the project found out. To start with, they had to come up with an idea. This was formulated at a board meeting where several different concepts were mulled over. Their par ticular idea originated from the Lehigh County Farmers Association wo had the idea to use a barn and grass at the Lehigh Fair. From this basic idea, however, the Lancaster group innovated and came up with their own flourishs. Basically, the Lancaster County float consists of a 5 x 8 foot red bam on a 7 x 16 foot flat bed wagon. Then, em bellishing the bam are all sorts of crops and animals found on the farm. For in stance, on either side of the bam doors are shocks of com, and in the front on the left hand comer is a display of farm produce sitting on a wheel barrow. Adorning the sides of the bam walls, themselves, are an tique rakes donated by one of the members. The group also has livestock on the float, which is probably the most at tention-getting part of the wholecreation. In the front right band corner is a pen of Organization reaches The Robert Brubakers work on Farmers Association float before the assembling the Lancaster County New Holland Fair. piglets and between them and the bam stands a calf. “If the remarks we hear along the parade route are any indication of our suc cess, I’d say we’re doing pretty good,” say Lois and Janie. “We kept hearing people say, ‘Oh, look at those cute little pigs,’ ” notes Lois. She also points out that even in the livestock tents at fairs, there are rarely young animals. So, for many city dwellers, the piglets on the float are a real treat to behold. When the float arrives before the fudges during the parade, one of the women on the float feeds the calf out of a bottle. The president of the organization and hiand Mrs. Earl Newcomer, ride on the float dressed in quaint, old fashioned clothing. Two children and another adult also ride on it. Some of the other decorations to adorn the float are pumpkins, indian com, apples, potatoes, and two pig troughs of flowers, which are placed beside the bam. “We tried to include every area of farming,” says Janie. Unfortunately, they only had a limited amount of space to work with, so some of the different facets of farming were omitted out ot necessity. The float is, nevertheless, highly representative of all types of farming. According to Jane and Lois, assembling the float the first time was really hectic. A specially sized barn was made for them in a matter of four days, and when it arrived it then had to be welded together and bolted down on the wagon. Before this, however, the grass, which was manufactured astroturf, bad to be stapled to the flat bed. Letters for the association’s name had to be cut out and nailed down along the side of the float onto the grass, and white crepe paper which bangs down under the grass had to be cut and fringed. The little operations took a good day’s work in themselves, then after that came the assembling of the float which was another eight-hour day. The Lancaster County Farmers Association Float was entitled “Farmers Nourish the Nation." After the float was assembled, the next part of the project to come was decoration with the various commodities, and after the parade,came the tearing down and storage of the loose pieces of the float. Because the group will be taking the float to several Fairs, the loose parts have to be stored for transport. Then, when (Continued on Pafe 68] LOOK FOR ADAMS CD. ocnaic BitlffYißc PA 717 677 81 35 nNCUNfS IMPLEMENT ROI Geftyibutt PA 717 359 4848 sms co N H FUCKER i SONS INC MauUwny Mi 215-613 7252 STANLEY A HOPPING Bernville Ph 215-488 1500 MILLER EQUIPMENT Bechtdsville Ph 215 145 2911 SHARTUSVILLE FARM EQUIPMENT Shartlesville PA 215-481-1326 H Darad Wenfer. Prop ZIMMERMAN’S FARM SERVICE Bethel Ph 717 933-4114 BRADFORD CO CARLL PIERCE RD2 Columbia Cross Roads PA 717-297-3573 WYNNE’S GARAGE Canton PA 717-673-8456 BUCKS CO. C.J.WONSIDLER BROTHERS Trumbauersvilleßoad Quakertown, PA 18951 215-536-1935 PAUL HISTAND CO., INC. 397 North Main Street Doyles town, PA 215-348-9041 CECIL CO. AG INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT CO. Rising Sun, Md 301-658-5568 CHESTER CO CHAS. i. McCOMSEY & SONS Hickory Hill, PA 215-932-2615 STOLTZFUS FARM SERVICE Cochranville, PA 215-593-5280 M. S. YEARSLEY & SONS Westchester 215-696-2990 COLUMBIA CO. ORANGEVILLE FARM EQUIPMENT Orangeville, PA Phone 717-683-5311 WILLIAM F.WELLIVER Jerseytown. Pa 717-437-2430 ERNEST SHOWER FARM EQUIPMENT 19 West South St. Carlisle, PA 717-249 2239 DAUPHIN CO. SWEIGAROBROS. RD3, Halifax. PA Ph. 717-896-3414 FRANKLIN CO. CHAMBERSBURG FARM SERVICE. INC. 975 S Mam St. Ctnmbersburg. PA 717-264-3533 MEYERS IMPLEMENTS, INC. Greencastle, PA 717-597-2176 AT HARFORD CO ROBINSON BROTHERS Cttdtf Md Ph 717 456 5215 LEBANON CO A C HEJSfT FARM EQUIP 7 INC RDI JonejUnm Mi 7171654526 UMBEIGERS MILL RO4 Lebanon (Fontana) Ph 717-167 5161 uaaaa-gL ROYH SUCH. INC Ephrata RD2 717-159-2441 ABC. GROFF, INC New Holland 717-354 4191 A.LHERRBBRO Quarryville 717 786 3521 LANDIS BROS. INC Lancaster 717 393-3906 LONGENECKER FARM SUPPLY Rheems 717-367 3590 N G. HERSHEY I SON Manheim 717-665-2271 LYCOMING CO. RICE FARM SUPPLY, INC. Jersey Shore Pa 717-398-1391 MONTGOMERY CO WENTZ FARM SUPPLIES Route 29 Palm>PA 215-679-7164 NORTHAMPTON CO. GEORGE V.SEIPLE 4 SON Easton. PA 215-258-7146 NORTHUMBERLAND CO. MECKLEY’S LIMESTONE PRODUCTS, INC. Herndon, Pa 717-758-3915 SCHUYLKILL CO. L. LECKROTH FARM EQUIP., INI New Rmggoid Ph. 717-943-2367 STANLEY’S FARM SERVICE RD. Khngerstown Ph. 717-648-2088 SNYDER CO. ROYER’S FARM SERVICE RDI, Winfield New Berlin - Middleburg Hwy Phone 717-837-3201 TIOGA CO. CANYON IMPLEMENT, INC. Mansfield. Pa 717-724-2731 WYOMING CO. ACE-JURISTA, INC, Tunkhannock, PA Ph. 717-836-2610 YORK CO AIRVILLE FARM SERVICE Airville, PA 717-862-3358 ANDERSON BROTHERS New Park, PA 717-382-4272 GEORGE N. GROSS, INC. RD2, Dover. PA 717-292-1673
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