•2—Lancaster Farming, Saturday. Dec. 4, 1976
4;
Her holidays
at market
When a glance at the calendar proves the holiday
season is fast approaching, most homemakers start
replacing their everyday clothes with “going to town”
clothes and begin spending a larger than usual amount
of time shopping for bargains, gifts, and special
holiday foods.
For most husbands this time of transformation is
nothing to rejoice about.
Clyde Slaymaker, Jr., of Quarryville, however, is
fortunate. His wife Joyce spends more time behind the
counters than in front of them at this time of year.
During the peak holiday shopping, Joyce helps sell
the dressed poultry, eggs and fresh produce they
sypply to their customers at three markets. On Wed
nesday and Saturday of each week the Slaymakers sell
a full line of dressed fowl, rabbits, eggs, and produce at
Broomall and Sharon Hill Farmers’ Markets to
suburban Philadelphia homemakers. On Tuesdays and
Fridays they sell the fowl and eggs at Central Market
in Lancaster. The Philadelphia markets have been in
the family operation since 1932 with the Lancaster
stand a new addition early this year.
“We wanted to open a stand closer to home,” Joyce
explained. r - - f .
Clyde, Jr. r represents the third generation of his
family that goes to market to sell directly to their
patrons. At one time the elder Slaymakers dressed
their own birds, but now they purchase everything
wholesale ready for market. Joyce says they sold close
to 800 turkeys alone for the Thanksgiving holiday. Five
hundred were by order; the remainder were sold to
walk-up customers.
Although Clyde, Jr. was accustomed to the
marketing business, it was all new to his wife Joyce
who grew up north of White Oak in the Manheim area
on a dairy and layer farm. The 16 years she has been
involved in marketing, however, have proven to be
agreeable to her.
“I like going to market - getting out to meet people,”
she admits. “Our customers like going to this type of
market to buy. They like the personal touch such as
being called by their first name,” she explains.
“Our customers like to sort through the pile of
tomatoes or select their own eggs or chickens rather
than have them already pre-packaged in cellophane
and plastic trays,” she continues.
In order to meet their customers face to face, the
Slaymakers leave home at 2:30 a.m. and return by 4:30
p.m. horn the Broomall and Sharon Hill Markets.
When they go the Central Market they leave home at
are spent
By SUSAN KAUFFMAN
Feature Writer
Mrs. Siaymaker shows a piece of ceramics
which she fashioned herself.
5:30 a.m. Being close to home has its advantages • like'
getting three hours more sleep early in the morning!
Year round Joyce keeps the books and payroll for
their 10 employees. “Monday morning 1 spend most of
the time catching up on the weekend business. Fridays
I do the payroll,” she explains.
Mrs. Siaymaker also puts in time at the “shop”
where the commodities are delivered then broken
down into orders for the various markets.
The Slaymakers have three children. The boys -
Doug, 14, and Duane, 12 - Often go along to market
while Deana, 8, stays behind at a friend’s home. The
The Slaymaker children have a accompanying herself on an organ in
talent for music passed to them by their home while Mrs. Slaymaker
their mother. Here, Deana sings, listens.
These ceramics crafted
r Mrs. Slaymaker are
isplayed on an antique
lour chest belonging to
Slaymaker's grand
rents.
family lives five miles north of Quarryville on Route
222.
When not involved in the workings of their business,
Joyce enjoys sewing for herself and her daughter.
“I got interested in sewing after my daughter was
bom. My sister-in-law taught me enough to get star
ted,” she explains.
After the children were all in school, Mrs. Slaymaker
became interested in ceramics.
- “A friend asked me to go along with her to classes at
a craft shop in Lancaster. I really enjoy working with
ceramics,” she says. ' <■
When asked how she finds time to paint them she
replied, “I work on them in between times: between
loads of wash or other spare minutes between chores.
They are something I can work on a few minutes,
leave, then come back to easily.” ' . ,
“I give away a lot of my ceramics for gifts. I did 25 or
so for last year’s Christmas.”
■ Mrs. Slaymaker also sells her ceramics at the two
Philadelphia'markets. Their lease at Central Market is
strictly for dressed fowl and eggs, and prohibits her
+ xiisplgyipg her ceramics. , ~, _
The whole family actively supports the programs at
the Refton Brethren |n Christ Church where Clyde,,
serves as Sunday School Superintendent and Duane, ,
Deana, and Joyce sing in the various choirs.' Mrs.
Slaymaker’s musical interests evident in her singing
and playing both piano and organ are fostered in
children as well. Doug and Deana take organ lessons*
and Duane plays the guitar. Doug also plays the,
trombone in the Lampeter-Strasburg High Schobt
concert, marching and pep bands. ~ • ‘ J -
Among the organizations in which the Slaymakers
have membership, the Beaver Valley Lions Club is
special to them. Clyde has had one successful cornea
transplant made possible by the efforts of the Lions
who support work with eye banks. Mr. Siaymaker
speaks to groups about his operation and the need for
more donors, having the full knowledge of their
benefits at first hand. Mr. Siaymaker did not have a
sight problem until he was a teenager. In January,
1974, he had a successful cornea transplant at Wills
Eye Hospital, Philadelphia.
“It is a long convalescence,” Joyce explains. “The
last stitches did not come out until six months after the
operation. He wasn’t allowed to do anything strenuous
or liftsanything heavy until those stitches were out.”
Now he has better than average vision in that eye
when he wears glasses,” she adds. The family has been
waiting since March for a second cornea which mat
ches Clyde’s in size to become available.
“Donors do such a wonderful thing for others, and we
are so grateful,” says Joyce in praise of the program.
When her husband was recuperating, Joyce got out
of many of the activities she had been involved in.
“I think we often get into too many things for our own
good,” she says. “We try to imitate the best of not just
one Mend, but many.” She concluded this thought by
saying that children grow up so fast that parents
should spend more time with them.
Seomthing Joyce enjoys which her family directly
benefits from is cooking. Not surprisingly her family’s
favorite dish is fried chicken. .
“They could eat fried chicken several times a week,”
she remarks.
Mrs. Slaymaker shared some of her family’s favorite
recipes using chicken and turkey.
The family’s favorite fried chicken recipe:
Oven-Fried
Chicken
4 tablespoons margarine
4 tablespoons shortening
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons salt
teaspoon pepper
Chicken pieces enough for your family
Melt margarine and shortening in broiler pan m
I Continued on Ptge 46|