—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 5. 1977
10
EDITORIAL COMMENTS
Let’s set a good example
Abram and John Barley of Lan
caster County are faced with a
nightmarish situation: They may
have to see their fertile farmland
seized through the power of eminent
domain so that bulldozers can
scratch the life out of it and refill it
with the County’s trash.
It’s a case the Barley Brothers and
their many allies intend to fight
standing up, even though the odds
against winning may be slim. The
fight is a very important one. Not only
for the Barleys, but for thousands of
other farms in the Garden Spot and
elsewhere The question is; If this
farm can be taken so indiscnmmantly
and callously, how many others will
face the same kind of fate in years to
come?
With all the talk about conservation
of natural resources going on, it's
ironic and hypocritical that an A-l
farm such as the Barleys' is even
being considered for a landfill. What
can possibly be a more precious
resource than the soil which feeds
us 7
MISSING
THE POINT
Lesson for March 6,1977
Background Scripture:
Mark 10:35-45; Luke 10.
Devotional Reading:
Luke 10:30-37
The request that James
and John made of Jesus is
almost unbelievable - at
least until we remember that
audacity has never been in
short supply, even in the
church. Nevertheless,
James and John still tend to
shock us!
“Teacher, we want you to
do for us whatever we ask of
you” (Mark 10:35)
That by itself would be
sufficient to cause our jaws
to drop- how presumptuous
to even make such a request,
regardless of what they
would ask! But their
audacity seems to know no
limits, for when Jesus
responds with, “What do you
want me to do for you 7 ” they
answer
“Grant us to sit one at your
right hand and one at your
left, in your glory” (Mark
10:37)
Imagine' Just a little
favor, Ixjrd make us Vice
Presidents in the Kingdom -
first and Second Vue
Presidents, that is'
Sfffv nq Onf of oro Southeastern Pennsy/von.o Areos
By Dieter Krieg, Editor
You do not know
what you ask
There is but one thing that
we must hand these two
men. they were certainly
candid about their desires.
In fact, it is probably this
innocence mixed with their
brashness that softens Jesus
reply: “You do not know
what you are asking. Are you
able to drink the cup that I
dnnk, or be baptised with the
baptism with which I am
baptised 9 ” (10:38). And the
breezy assurance with which
they answer indicates that
they really do not know what
they are asking: “We are
able.”
Jesus’ patient forbearance
is almost as impressive as
their arrogance is shocking,
for instead of a stinging
rebuke, it is a patient ex
planation which he gives to
help them understand the
issues they have raised. If
Jesus had responded with
some irritation or annoyance
no one could have blamed
him.
To us, of course, it is quite
apparent that they did not
understand what they were
asking. For one thing, they
apparently did not un
derstand what Jesus meant
by the Kingdom of God.
They are stdl holding the
traditional and popular
concept of a temporal
kingdom with secular power,
military might, and a royal
court. Somehow they had
missed the point, the
kingdom of God was really
the kingdom within, a
kingdom of man’s spirit, of
God’s rule in the heart
Not so among you
Secondly, they obviously
misunderstood what
discipleship meant They
seemed to thin! it meant
Credit must be given here to a
majority of people who. evidently
understand the potential con
sequences of the landfill idea if it is
carried out. Support for the Barleys
has come from just about everyone
except the Lancaster Area Refuse
Authority (LARA) and its attorneys.
The Barleys have been swamped with
favorable phone calls and mail. On
Wednesday of next week there’ll be a
large gathering at their farm to
demonstrate the solidarity among
Lancaster Countians who believe
that LARA should reconsider its
plans.
The Barley Brothers own about
300 acres, of which 58 might be taken
in the near future for a landfill. In
years to come they may be faced with
similar situations. And if not them,
then possibly their neighbors. The
farm’s m a, n source of income is milk,
of which -„,000 pounds are produced
daily.
There is reason to believe that some
[Continued on Page 44)
being in on the “ground
floor” for status and power
in the kingdom. They
thought in terms of rank,
whereas Jesus emphasized
not rank but service:
“...whoever would be great
among you must be your
servant” (10:43).
Thirdly, they did not
comprehend the kind of
power that would compel
with force, whereas Jesus
spoke of the power of love
and self demai: “For the Son
of man also came not to be
served but to serve, and to
give his life as a ransom for
many” (10:45).
From our vantage point,
we wonder how James and
John could have so badly
missed the point, for to us it
seems so obvious.
Can it be that we still miss
the point?
iZs*
TO OBSERVE
WINTER GRAIN
CLOSELY
Many Winter wheat and
barley growers are con
cerned about their grain
crop; since it got off to a slow
start last Fall, and due to the
seventy of the Winter, some
may feel the crop is not
worth saving This depends
upon several factors such as
the amount of snow cover
during lanuary. and the
amount of growth last Fall
I’d suggest that growers
Shelhamer deserves credit
Pennsylvania’s new secretary of
agriculture, Kent Shelhamer,
deserves a lot of credit for the efforts
he’s making in establishing definite
contacts with the people whom his
department serves. The Columbia
County farmer and legislator became
head of the department by ap
pointment from Governor Shapp on
Jan 15. On Valentine’s Day, ap
propriately enough, the Pennsylvania
Senate gave unanimous approval
Ever since, Kent Shelhamer has left
it be known that his door is open, and
that he wants to do all he can for
Pennsylvania’s farmers
The new secretary has gone about
his “campaign” in a unique way,
especially when one considers that a
man in his position could make things
a lot easier for himself. Shelhmaer
could have chosen to put his name
before the public by way of a
“propaganda blast,” an onslaught of
so-called news releases and the like.
Shelhamer, an amiable and down-to
earth kind of individual, chose to go
directly to the farmers he’s supposed
to serve. He has accepted one
A scheme by financial giants to buy
up huge tracts of highly productive
farmland in the Midwest is ap
parently temporarily stalled. Con
cerned legislators and agricultural
organizations banded together to
slow down the plan. But the battle is
anything but over, as it generally
never is when one is dealing with big
money. An Illinois bank, ranked
eighth largest in the nation, and a
brokerage firm which ranks as
biggest of them all, are big money. So
is farming if you control enough of it.
While actions are already underway
Some words of praise are in order
to those who work hard to minimize
the grief of others who suffer through
tragedies The “Good Samaritan”
trait is fortunately one which surfaces
over and over again among rural
folks, especially in this part of the
country. There’s keen competition
when all is in order, and then there is
vigorous help ; lots of it - when
tragedy strikes
Two recent barn fires, one in York
County and one in Lancaster County,
stand as evidence that the "I don’t
NOW IS
THE TIME
Max Smith
County Agr. Agent
Telephone 394-6851
check the field frequently
when warmer weather
arrives to observe the
thickness of the stand. If the
plants are there when Spring
growth begins, then a top
dressing of nitrogen fer
tilizer might go a long way in
getting a normal crop. Don’t
disc it down until it has a
chance to grow
TO CONSIDER BEEF
REFERENDUM
All beef and dairy
producers should be taking a
look at the forthcoming
Greedy bankers
Good neighbors
national referendum as a
self - help check - off
program to help the entire
beef industry. TTiis program
includes a three-tenths of one
percent of sale value
deduction for all animals
sold for meat purposes to
provide funds for research
and promotion in the beef
industry. Both dairy and
beef cattle owners are in
volved. The starting point is
to sign up at the local ASC
office before being eligible to
vote later this Spring. This
may be a controversial
program, but producers
should be evaluating the
proposals and then fulfill
their duty of voting as they
see fit. Don’t let someone
else do your thinking and
voting for you.
TO BE CAREFUL
WITH PESTICIDES
• ••
This is “Old Hat” because
v e have mentioned the
I Continued on Page 211
speaking engagement after another,
chatted with complete strangers and
extended a warm wlecome to all who
care to communicate with him. All
along he has also been keeping close
contact with his responsibilities at
the office in Harrisburg. The pages of
this newspaper attest to the fact that
Shelhamer is active.
It must be a grueling schedule and
we observers may be right in won
dering how long the enthusiasm,
sincerity and dedication can last. We
can all hope that it will last a long
time In the months and years ahead,
we may not always agree with what
the Pennsylvania Department of
Agriculture is doing or has planned
But we can take satisfaction in the
fact that with Shelhamer the state’s
72,000 farmers have a man who’s
trying hard not to isolate himself from
anything.
“I am proud to be serving as your
secretary of agriculture,” Shelhamer
told a group of farmers in Lancaster
this week.
Pennsylvania farmers can be proud
to have him.
to hold back schemes which would
put farmland in the control of
financial giants, instead of individual
farmers, this is one of those
situations where a little more effort
wouldn’t hurt. It would undoubtedly
be a good idea to write to senators
and congressmen to let them know
how you feel
A plan to buy up tens of thousands
of acres of good corn and soybean
land isn’t likely to benefit the or
dinary farmer, who thrives on the
ideas of self-employment and pride of
property ownership.
want to get involved syndrome”
hasn't even the slightest foothold
among farmers And that’s been
proven with most every other tragedy
which has hit a farmer.
The quick responses and dedicated
help which people give to their neigh
bors so freely is something which is
often overlooked by the media. It's
something which should probably be
publicized to a greater extent so that
others in town can maybe learn
something from it.
Farm
Calendar
Today, March 5
York County Swine
Producers banquet,
Menges Mills
Restaurant, 7 p.m.
Monday, March 7
Kutztown FFA Chapter
holds 35th annual
banquet, 7 p.m. at the
Kutztown Grange Hall.
Conrad Weiser YF Chapter
begins courses on
electricity.
Manheim area Young
Farmers hold meeting on
“Financing Equipment,
Buildings and Cattle.”
7:30 p.m. at the high
school.
Manheim YF Machinery
Reconditionmg
Workshop begins today.
I Continued on Page 20 i