—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 27, 1,977
42
Phil Risser points out
the Chateauguay Valley
as Cherri Gochnauer and
Robert Swarr reminisce
about their exchange
trip.
Linda Franz, 4-H agent,
left, gets and informal
report on the exchange
trip to Canada from
Missy Grube, Jay
Stauffer, and Lashon
Bussell.
Michael Bukowski (left) and Jim Stauffer share their newly
acquired knowledge of the Chatequguay Valley in the province
of Quebec.
By SALLY BAER
Feature Writer
LANCASTER, Pa. - “You get to meet
many different people on a trip like this,
le people in Canada really acted
emselves and accepted us as we were,
icy acted like they had known you all
eir lives.” With these words, Missy
•übe, 14, Elm, summed up the feelings of
e Lancaster County 4-H’ers who par
ipated on a one-week exchange program
th young people from the Chateauguay
illey region in the province of Quebec,
mada.
Thirty-five teenagers and five 4-H
leaders were involved in this educational
trip, and of those contacted for their
comments the young people seemed truly
pleased at the openness with which they
were received in the homes of their
Canadian hosts.
Lashon Bussell, Manheun Rl, agreed
with Missy’s evaluation, “It was like they
were your own family. They didn't try to
make a good impression. I liked
everything about the exchange.”
“TTie most important thing about the
exchange,” Phil Risser, Leola Rl, said,
“Is that we learned to know the people
there. They are about the same as anyone
else - they’re not any better or any worse,
but just ordinary people.”
“Really outgoing” is the way Cherri
Gochnauer, Lancaster, described her
Canadian hosts. “Everyone was so out
standing and sincere. It was just great to
live in their culture for a week.”
For most of the participants in the trip,
the short journey across the border had the
effect of making them feel like they were
in a foreign country. According to Clyde
Aument, a leader m the Solanco Com
munity Club, “We felt we were in a foreign
country because they money was dif
ferent, and there were definite cultural
differences between the people of Quebec
and us.”
Furthermore, there was a difference in
. languages, despite the fact that the
Lancaster countains visited in an English
speaking section of the province. All signs
were in both English and French, and
several of the 4-H’ers told of incidents in
stores where they were first addressed in
French. Aument said proudly, “I learned
five French words while I was there.”
Karen Hostetter, Manheim Rl, said, “I
learned a little bit of French.”
Mrs. Carol Henkel, Strasburg, pointed
out that while all communications were
spoken in English, she found some very
ordinary store items which were printed in
both English and French: corn flakes
boxes, for instance carried both
languages.
For Jay Nissley, Manheim R 5, however,
the language problem was more im
mediate - he was the only member of the
group to live with a French speaking
family. He said, “They spoke all French,
except when they spoke to me.” But, it was
pointed out, all families are bilingual,
speaking at ease in either language, with
children learning English in the schools.
The Lancaster countians took their
share of kidding about the way they
pronounced words. According to 16-year
old Sandy Hamilton, Lampeter, “They
teased us about the way we talked. They
used very proper English expressions, and
Canadian trip
broadened werld
for 4-H members
often ended a sentence by saying, ‘ay’. ”
The ancestry of these Canadians was
Scotch-Irish, which may have accounted
for some of the inflection in their speaking.
Farming in this province just 20 miles
over the New York border was quite dif
ferent from farming in Lancaster County.
Jim Stauffer, Lancaster R 2, explained,
“My host family had their farm surveyed
and there was just 10 inches difference
from one comer of their land to the other.
It was really flat.”
Because of this flatness, all good
productive agricultural land must be
drained by tiles. Aliment explained that
the plastic tiles are laid about 12 feet apart
and the water is drained into the river.
“Otherwise, the water would lay in the
fields like a pool,” he said.
Aument said the farms were spaced
differently from here. “The farms seemed
to be relatively close together, and seemed
to be in more of a set pattern. They
average about 150 acres.” The 4-H’ers
described the farms as “ribbon farms,”
with the land extending in a long row
behind the buildings. Lashonsaid, “Before
there was modern transportation, it was
important for each farmer to have access
to the river for transporting his goods.”
the Chateauguay Valley is mainly
dairy region, with some vegetable '
ming, mostly contracted for by Gi
Giant Foods. The 4-H’ers reported
their Canadian hosts were having tl
first sweet com when they were there fi
August 6 through August 13. The gro\
season is shorter, forcing them to grow
day com. Aument said, “Their com lor
good and is used mostly as silage. Son
years they get high moisture com.” Mr
Henkel, a 4-H leader, observed, “They ca
grow alfalfa, but they usually get only
couple of cuttings and if they get a thu
cutting, they think that is really great.” 0
Jay Nissley’s host farm be said his host
grew com, bay, sorghum, and an oats an
com mixture. He said, “The crops wei
about the same, only shorter season
Aument observed, “The machinery w*
much like ours with the same brands.’’!
The price of land is not nearly so high a
here. Jim Stauffer estimated that land cos
between $2OO and $5OO an acre with price
going higher for drained land. There was
lot of rocky land in evidence, left behind b
a glaicer, and Phil Kisser explained the
[Continued on Pafe 46}
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