—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, Jan. 29,1977 10 I aneatleiSSlftrtnino EDITORIAL COMMENTS I watched the milk truck approach from out of the dairy house window. Snowflakes as big as half dollars screened it from clear view. The truck rumbled on slowly. The windshield wipers were slapping back and forth to part the continuing aerial barrage of snow, which was like a thick, unending curtain. Approaching the short, yet fairly steep grade, the driver pressed on the accelerator and roared to the top. He made it look easy. Shifting his rig into reverse, he backed up towards the milk house, applied the brakes and hopped out of the cab. I walked out to greet him and complemented him on his driving. Junior, the driver, laughed and commented that this particular combination of tractor and trailer could turn on a dime and give back nine cents in change. I laughed with him. The -weather and road conditions were nothing at all to laugh about it, however. It was good to see a driver like Junior in good spirits, especially since he had to put up with icy roads and snow drifts for most of his day. This commentary is meant as a tribute to the men who complete the agricultural circle - the drivers who deliver and pick up the products farmers need or produce. Without them, farm productivity would become as frozen as what the countryside has been for the past month. On many farms, the owner is dependent on delivery trucks for feed and fuel. There's the feed truck to deliver feed to dairy and chicken operations. The truck which hauls hogs and beef cattle to market. The milk truck, the egg gathering truck, the fuel oil truck, just to name a few. How soon would your farm feel the effect of a truly crippling situation whereby trucks couldn’t move, or drivers just simply decided to stay home? We - all of us, farmers and non- t'/? / 'r ♦- r , *» «i > ♦/ * * J’S* Partially buried in the snow, this of snow, many roads have become sign near Lititz silently tells the story treacherous and the freezing tem of weather conditions in the area. peratures have curtailed activities. Fields have been turned into oceans Se/v>ng fhe Central or*d Soufheojfem Penniylvonio Ate oi BY DIETER KRIEG, EDITOR farmers alike - are fortunate that there are men who brave the icy roads, blinding storms and long lines of traffic jams. In a very real sense, they often risk life and limb at their job. Whether they own it or not, very expensive equipment and valuable cargo is in jeopardy every time they head down a glazed highway. Furthermore, these fellows who serve agriculture sacrifice hours of their time. I’m sure that every farmer has heard tell of incidents whereby the driver of a milk truck was stuck some place,and another, and another. It all adds up. Sooner or later he ends up calling his wife that he can’t make it back home in time for supper. On occasion he’s stranded for the night, and possibly even for more than that. Inevitably, it happens on a day like Christmas Eve, when both parents and children would very much like to be together. The weather twisted it to be otherwise. I’ve known of drivers who are so devoted to their job that seemingly nothing keeps them from making their pick-up or delivery. What’s more, they're often willing to do double-duty. One York County milk hauler, for example, drove two routes per day for years. He started early in the morning, made his rounds, drove to Baltimore, returned to Penn sylvania and picked up some more milk for a second load. Day after day he continued the routine without ever voicing a complaint. That’s dedication and a truly valuable service to the many dairymen who depended on him to iiaul their milk. So while the farmer is thawing out that frozen pipe, and his children are home from school, it’s appropriate to remember that others involved in agriculture are not nearly that lucky. They’re often stranded away from home on a lonely road in a blinding snow storm late at night or early in the morning. My hat is off to those who keep the wheels of agriculture moving. "<3gp*i ' 4 .ii-', A" <1 ■%l^' W M f/~*L * , V**' Jkx * \ f-„ " >- r 4? fi yj. > * T* v- <* '* 1 -*•*„ ts^^smif. ■**?&% ■““ f ~$. THE EXORCIST Lesson for January 30,1977 Background Scripture: Mark 1:21-39; Lukc4:3l-44. Devotional Reading: Psalms 103:1-5 Several years ago there was a frightening motion picture called “Rosemary’s Baby,” 'then later “The Exorcist,” and as I write this column there is “The Omen.” Each of these motion pictures deals with the question of the reality of the demonic. When “The Exorcist” burst upon the scene in all of its com* mercialized success, many people were surprised to find that the story was not pure fiction, but based upon an actual case. They were even more amazed to find that the Roman Catholic Church had a little-known rite of exor cism which, under stringent supervision, is used when, in the judgement of clerical authorities, it is necessary. An unclean spirit Whatever else we might say about “The Exorcist,” novel or movie, it was a forceful depiction of the struggle between the power of God and the power of evil in the life on one tormented individual. The writer, Peter Beatty, argued strongly for the reality of the demonic. The close of the story left many in doubt as to the resolution of that struggle. “The Omen,” obviously an attempt to capitalize on contemporary society’s continuing pre-occupation with the demonic, goes even further. It suggests that the power of evil is pervasive, virtually indestructible. It is, perhaps, the gloomy con clusion of a society that has grown cynical and frightened by a technology that spawns a Dachau, a Hiroshima, and the threat of an ecological disaster of cosmic proportions. They obeyed him The writers of the Gospels believed in the reality of the demonic, as did most people in Jesus’ day. Thus when a demented man bursts into the synagogue at Caper naum and confronts Jesus, he is described as “a man with an unclean spirit,” meaning that he was possessed by something evil and destructive. Today such a man would be judged mentally ill and sent to a hospital or clinic for therapy. The man’s challenge to Jesus is not a mere coin cidence. This is a significant challenge to the power of the Nazarene. He has healed many sick people, but what can he do with someone who is possessed by an evil spirit (or even a psychosis)? It was a monumental challenge to Jesus for mental illness is much more resistive to therapy than that which we call physiological illness. Even today the rate of cure is anything but impressive. Jesus does not meet this challenge with an elaborate ritual, but says simply and authoritatively; “Be silent and come out of him!” And that’s what happened: the powerful power of the demonic could not prevail against the power of God in Jesus. “What is this?” the Farm Calendar Today, Jan. 29 Special Christmas Tree Growers conference, Holiday Inn, Route 206, Bordentown, N.J., 9:30 am. to 3:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 31 Red Lion Area Young Farmers hold meeting on pesticide certification, at the high school, 8 p.m. 14th Northeastern Turkey Producers Conference, Colonial Hilton Inn, Northampton, Mass. Conference continues through tomorrow. Tuesday, Feb. 1 All-day category training course for commercial pesticide applicators interested in category 3A ornamental - pest control, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Food Science Auditorium, Cook College, New Brunswick, N.J. Hunterdon County, N.J. Soil Conservation supervisors meeting, 1 p.m. at the County Extension Center. Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland Horticulture Society meets, Sheraton Inn, Gettysburg. Meetings continue through Thursday. Dauphin County barn meeting on mastitis control, 1-3 p.m. Roy Wilbert farm, Enders. Ephrata Adult Farmers hold meeting on dairy breeding problems, at the high school, 7:45 p.m. Dr. Walt TrumbaUer is guest speaker. Southeast Pennsylvania Corn and Soybean Clinic and Trade Show, 9:30 a.m., Westover Country club, Jeffersonville. More on Wednesday Jug Dairy Processors Conference begins, 10 a.m., Borland Lab., Penn State. 32nd annual Pennsylvania Nurserymen and Allied Industry Conference begins today and con tinues through Thursday, Feb. 3 at University Park campus of Penn State. people want to know, “.. With authority he commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him!” Yes, I believe in the demonic and its amazingly destructive power. But more than that I believe also in the even greater, invincible power of God in Christ! RURAL ROUTE By Tom Armstrong Wednesday, Feb. 2 Southeast Pennsylvania Corn and Soybean Clinic continues at Westover Country Club, Jef fersonville, 9:30 a.m. Jug Dairy Processors Conference continues at Penn State’s Borland Laboratory, 10 a.m. Monthly board meeting of the Lancaster County Conservation District, 7:30 p.m. at the Farm and Home Center. Executive committee of the Hunterdon County Board of Agriculture meets at 8 p.m. at the Hunterdon County, N.J. Extension Center. Dauphin County Dairy Bari Meeting, 1-3 p.m. at the 1 Robert Schaffer farm, Eizabethville Rl. Thursday, Feb. 3 Adult welding class at Garden Spot High School, 7-9 p.m. Tri-County Corn day at Hershey, Founder’s Hall, 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. 4-H beef and lamb banquet, 6:30 p.m. at the Lan- caster Farm and Home Center. Elizabethtown Young Farmers meet, 7:30 p.m. at the high school; hay forages is topic. Friday, Feb. 4 Holstein Winter Forum, at the Holiday hm, State College. Program begins today at 3 p.m. and continues through noon, tomorrow. York and Adams County hold alfalfa and smaP grains meeting. Milk Marketing Seminar, 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Country Cupboard Restaurant, 1 mile north of Lewisburg. Saturday, Feb. 5 Holstein meeting continues (see Friday). Ephrata Area Young Far mers hold annual banquet, Durlach-Mount Airy Fire Hall, 6:4S p.m. Now is the time was not available at press time. The column will be in again next week.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers