—Lancasiei farming, Saturday, October i 4,1978
114
Brooke Palmer , accomplished 4-H queen
By JOYCE BUPP
Staff Correspondent
SHREWSBURY - She was
chosen last October as York
County’s first 4-H Queen, a
title earned through
scholarship, participation
and leadership skills gained
through her club experience.
Now, as she turns her crown
over to her successor,
another chapter of ac
complishment in Brooke
Palmer’s impressive 4-H
_ career will be ended.
At the age of eight, Brooke
attended her first 4-H
meeting, encouraged by her
mother who had been im
pressed with what the 4-H
program had to offer in
terested youths.
Food and clothing were the
projects chosen for that first
year. Although she con
tinued with those two basic
interests, the blonde 16-year
old, daughter of Glenn and
Pat Palmer, Shrewsbury,
has broadened her
knowledge and skills
through participation in a'
variety of clubs.
. Foods preservation has
headed the list as a favorite
interest and earned Brooke a
trip as a finalist in that field
to the November 4-H
Congress in Chicago. The
Kerr Company, makers of
home canning equipment,
will sponsor her as she
competes for one of the eight
$lOOO national scholarships
to be awarded m the foods
preservation area.
But before she’s off to
Chicago, Brooke will give a
dried foods demonstration at
the National Junior Hor
ticulture Association, an
organization Of 4-H gar
dening project members
who will be meeting later
thismoiith.
When she first looked into
the idea of drying food,
Brooke discovered that there
was no project book written
on the subject. Undaunted,
she set out to write her own
program .and created a
demonstration for use in
teaching others the
techniques.
“Drying foods takes less
time to prepare than canning
and is cheaper than storing
foods in a freezer,” she has
discovered. After building a
rack from wood and wire,
Brooke experimented with
drying apples, onions, mint
tea leaves and parsley.
Friendly and easy to talk
with, Brooke credits 4-H with
helping her leam to work
with people.
Her family reaps the benefits of a home canning project which Brooke has
studied. Together with her mother, Pat, the 4-H queen prepares fresh apples for
home preservation.
“The best part has been
meeting 4-H’ers and adults
from all over the country,”
she smiles, adding that her
hobby of writing' to pen-pals
has grown considerably
through letters she ex
changes with distant 4-H
acquaintances.
As current president of the
county’s junior horticulture
.group and vice-president of
pounty council, Brooke is
using leadership skills that
have been sharpened by
holding every office in her
local Shrewsbury Com
munity club and several
others within the county
council also.
Along the way, she’s
captured a wall-full of
awards, including
recognition as a Keystone
winner in home en
vironment, food preser
vation, recreation and
achievement, and selection
as York County’s Out
standing 4-H girl.
Using her 4-H background
of several years, Brooke has
moved into the position of
teen leader. 'This past
summer she worked with a
home canning club of three
girls, and is already plan
ning what the group will do
next year in their second
unit.
But some of her warmest
memories of 4-H result from
serving as a teen leader for
the county’s handicapped
club.
“Working with those
really terrific kids has been
quite an experience,”
Brooke says “They’re
planning to start it up agam
and I wouldn’t miss
helping.”
A few years ago, in a quest
for a project completely
different from the home
oriented skills she’s been
perfecting, Brooke found
herself, bow and arrow in
hand, on the county’s ar
chery club team. Like every
other project she tackled,
Brooke did it well, capturing
the high individual points
award in 1976.
“I just decided it was
something I wanted to do,”
she recalls. “Besides being a
lot of fun, it taught us safety
skills;” The archery club
became immediately
popular and York’s team has
won several state cham
pionships since their
beginning.
As the 4-H queen, Brooke
has made appearances
promoting 4-H involvement.
Along with king Tim Beck,
she appeared on Channel B’s
“Noonday At Eight”
program, and helped to
narrate a fashion show
during the 4-H Expo at the
York Mall. The county’s
royal pair also presided pver
the annual summer day
camp at the 4-H Center and
helped to plan it as teen
agents. One speaking
engagement took the queen
if 4
Scorpion’s the shape of things to go as the Big Red One
hits the trails. The Sting showed its colors at the 1979
Snow Goer test sessions. This strong performer will be
showing its colors all winter long, with its sleek'Tines,
powerful Cuyuna- Engine, its n&w generation of suspen
sions in the Para-Slide ll* , its lightweight and all-around
performance. The Para-Slide II- is a race proven suspen
sion with an increase of 22% of Travel to smooth out the
moguls and soften the bumps. You can choose between
the Cuyuna- 400 or 440 engine sizes. The new clip-type
track wilt give you stability and quick response.
You owe it to your pocketbook to check out the Big Red
Sting at your dealer now . . . it’s not only a great machine
but the price will really surprise you.
* Results based on Snow Goer test of six 1979 pre-production 440
fan-cooled snowmobiles.
See Our Display at
The Snowmobile Show
Sat. Oct. 21
2 to 10 P.M.
_ Sun. Oct. 22
1 to 7 P.M.
at J. Harold Merkey’s
Garage
Rt. 72
South of Manheim
* v "
to the Thomasville Club
Achievement Night
program. ~
Brooke’s leadership
abilities will be tapped in
preparation for the
statewide 4-H Leadership
Congress, set for Penn State
ppen
Unexpectedly
It’s wise to make sure you’re cov
ered for any and all eventualities,
before they occur! Protect yourself
from loss. See us.
Phone 215-267-3894
BERNARD C. MORRISSEY
Farm & Agri-Business Specialist
fAGWAVI 130 S. 4th St.
Denver, PA. 17517 j
~ "V
* K
\ • The Fastest 440 Fan-Cooled*
• The Lightest 440 Fan-Cooled*
#scoftnon
WHITE OAK
LAWN EQUIPMENT
329 W. HIGH ST.
MANHEIM, PA 17545
HJOURS: Daily 8 to 5:30
Mon. Wed., Fri.-7 to 9 P.M.
Sat.-9 to 4
\ *“
next June. Daring this year’s
Congress, she was selected
by a group of about 100 youth
delegates to serve as- an
advisor for the 1979
program, geared to helping
(Turn to Rage 115)
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