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VOL 24 No.
Harold Herr farms
without his legs
By DIETER KRDEG
KIRKWOOD Harold Herr, 62, lost
both of his legs in a com picker seven
years ago, but hasn’t missed a com har
vest since. “I don’t want to just sit around
here and twittle my thumbs,” says the
stong-bodied and strong-willed man.
“Some people might say that I should be
sitting in a comer somewhere, content to
read magazines, but I’m just not made up
that way.”
The southern Lancaster Countian loves
to farm too much to give it up. There are
six tractors on the farm and five of them
are equipped with hand controls for his
use. Besides doing most of the field work
on the two adjoining farms, which en
compass a total of 250 tillable acres, Herr
also works extensively in a garden which
is nearly a half acre in size.
Admitting that he wouldn’t have to work,
the southern Lancaster County farmer
leaves no doubt that he wants to. He’s in
partnership with his son, Karl, and ap
preciates the opportunity to remain active.
The Kirkwood area resident is strongin
body, mind, and spirit, despite the lostatu
his legs. They were pulled into a corn
picker on Nov. 24, 1972 and mutilated. It
took an hour before he was rescued, i
Although Herr is basically self-sufficient'
with his needs, he acknowledges ap
preciatively the help he receives from his
wife, family, friends, and neighbors.
Above all, he confesses his dependence on
the Almighty, “this has been a tremendous
help,” he affirmed. v
In this issue
Farm Calendar 10
Editorial 10
No legs, but happy 10
Lancaster County
4-H Dairy Shows 44-45
Homestead Notes 82
Pultonway Elevation Fancy, bred, owned and exhibited by J. Mowery Frey of
Willow Street, is the grand champion of the 1979 Lancaster District Holstein
Show.
Herr leaves no indication that he feels
sorry for himself, nor that he is bitter.
Neither does he wonder why it happened.
The accident crushed his legs, but not his
spirit. Rather than feel sorry for himself,
he is instead highly sympathetic to those
who have suffered severe accidents early
in life. He is thankful that he had 56 years
of life with both of his legs intact. “I’ve had
my best years,” he stated. “If a man
doesn’t do something in the first 56 years of
his life, then he better not overdo it during
the remaining years,” he said. “But for a
younger person...”
Herr emphasizes that people not take
chances, and he knows that it’s advice that
is heard many, many times. He always
considered himself to be a careful man.
But he left himself open for disaster one
fateful day, he says.
- The gatheringchains on one side of his 2-
row com picker stopped operating, he
recollected* He shut the machine off and
began to inspect the machine. Hefound no
sign of the cause. Then he engaged the
machine at low speed and looked around
some more. He had no intention of
touching the moving parts. He was simply
giving it a visual inspection.
Ida*s Notebook 86
Kendy’sKollumn 87
Home on the Range 88
Joyce Bupp _ 95
Grain research 96
York dress revue 103
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 28,1979
Mr. Herr’s own testimony of the
accident, his outlook, and faith
appears on page 10.
(Turn to Page 28)
Dairy princesses 116
Chester County
4-H Dairy Show 122
Dauphin DHIA 132
Cumberland DHIA 134
Harold Herr, a southern Lancaster County farmer, has no legs, but that
doesn’t stop him from farming.
Frey has grand champion ,
Stoltzfus wins purple banners
By DIETER KRIEG
QUARRYVILLE J. Mowery Frey,
owner of Fultonway Farms, Willow Street,
exhibited the grand champion at the
Lancaster District Holstein Show on
Thursday. It was the first time since 1973
that a Fultonway cow won the title.
Premier Breeder and Premier Exhibitor
titles went to Nathan Stoltzfus of Gap R 2.
Judge Pete Blodgett chose Frey’s 2-year
old, Fultonway Elevation Fancy, over a 3-
year old owned by Robert Kauffman of
Elizabethtown. He commented that he
didn’t usually pick 2-year olds as grand
champions, but that the Frey animal
simply showed too much excellence to be
overlooked. He described her as a clean,
well balanced, lean-necked cow which
excelled in frame and scale. The animal is
sired by Round Oak Rag Apple Elevation
and is out of PlushansM Fern Fultonway.
In winning the grand champion Holstein
title for 1979, Frey snapped the four-year
winning streak of Robert Kauffman. The
well-known Holstein breeder from
Elizabethtown had won the grand
• champion title every year since 1975, with
three of those championship rosettes
coming on the strength of his famous
Astronaut Cinderella. He sold the
animal in thfe Curtiss Classic Sale last Fall.
Lancaster District Holstein Show
Kauffman’s reserve grand champion for
1979 is out of Cinderella, and sired by Ir
vington Pride Admiral.
Although J. Mowery Frey had five
“drought years” between grand cham
pions, (Maurice Welk of Quarryville won
in 1974) he was never out of the running,
except possibly 1976. He captured one of
the top banners last year when he was
named Premier Breeder. In 1977 he was
named both Premier Breeder and Premier
Exhibitor. In 1975 he was Premier
Exhibitor, and for the two years before
that he captured both the Premier Breeder
and Premier Exhibitor Banners. •
Nathan Stoltzfus, winner of both purple
banners for 1979, has a winning tradition
as well. It is the second time he was named
Premier Breeder and Premier Exhibitor
at this show. He did so previously in 1976.
Last year he won the Premier Exhibitor
honor.
The junior champion at this year’s show
was exhibited by Chief Associates, a group
of Lancaster County Holstein breeders.
Their top entry Son-to-Son Chief Lispe, is a
junior yearling sired by Marlu Perseus
Chief.
Bob Kauffman of Elizabethtown
(Turn to Page 31)
$7.00 Per Year