34
—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, Nov. 6. 1976
Two worlds meet
Meadowview Farm
EDITOR’S NOTE; Agriculture is the foundation of any civilization. During this Bicen
tennial Year LANCASTER FARMING has been saluting the area’s farmers through feature
stories on farms which have been in the same family for 100 years or more. This is the 26th
such article in a continuing series.
FALMOUTH, Pa. - A MU near here, in
Londonderry TownsMp, Dauphin County
separates the ultra-modern from a
peaceful old relic of the past.
TeU-tale signs of what lies to the north of
the hiU are visible from miles around. The
old structure on its southern slope isn’t
visible until you’re practieaUy on top of it.
■Narrow roads twist their way through
the area, brushing against fields of com,
hay, and weeds. The Conewago Creek,
which meanders through peaceful
pastures, separates this portion of
Dauphin County from neighboring Lan
caster County.
A glimpse of the ultra-modem is
somewhat awesome. Suddenly seeing the
“old timer” is like being puUed back into
the 19th Century.
Long before I arrived at “Meadowview
Farm,” thereal subject of this story, I was
catching occasional glimpses of huge
clouds of steam lazily crawling out of two
gigantic cooling towers. This, one might
say, was the plumage of a quiet, yet im
mensely powerful atomic plant. Leaping
across the hills in various directions were
a number of Mgh-tension power-lines. The
steel towers loomed overhead, dominating
the landscape and dwarfing any tree or
building. A pair of insulators on one of
these towers is said to weigh 5000 pounds.
The road to “Meadowview Farm” took a
turn towards a hollow and the “plumage”
and electric lines disappeared from view.
Majestic trees, dressed in their spec
tacular Fall foilage, were on “center
Bicentennial farm
at
By DIETER KRIEG
stage.” And then there was the relic of the
past:
An old covered bridge.
Hidden among the hills and trees, it
linked the two' counties, while muddied
waters of recent rains stumbled across the
slick rocks below.
Each plank in the old span announced
the passage of my car, and-rhythmic
pounding reverberated through its hollow
superstructure.
Except for that one sound, no other noise
disturbed the serenity of that cool and
bright November morning. The atomic
plant was as quiet as the hills, and the
sound of flowing water was as soft as the
breeze combing its way through the trees.
Nearby some cattle grazed contentedly
on grass wMch was still green, A squirrel
darted up an oak tree.
This is the environment that surrounds
“Meadowview Farm,” a 230-acre tract of
land nestled in the hills about four miles
south of Middletown and a half mile east of
the Susquehanna River. It’s a quiet and
modest part of the country - much like
many of the people who originally settled
here.
Among these early settlers was Jacob
Nissley, the son of John Nissley, a Swiss
Mr. and Mrs. Clair Nissley are family for 200 years. Their land was
owners of a southern Dauphin once part of neighboring Lancaster
County farm which has been in their County.
immigrant who came to America in the severalhundredyearsago.lt was this lack
18th Century. Jacob was presumably the of religious freedom which sent thousands'
first of the Nissleys to have possession of*" of Europeans to America. According to
this farm. Today the property is owned by historians, Europe at that time was being
a seventh generation descendant, Clair plundered and tom apart by rival princes
Nissley, and his wife, the former Ruth and kings. The general population was jjt
Leaman. their mercy, especially if they expressed
The Nissleys, like generations before views’differing from thosejvho held power
them, are members of the Mennonite and wealth. One account claims that it
Church, which was booted out of Europe [Continued on Page 37]
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