fmriw. utmto,, 2,um_ To save native wild,
HARRISBURG - The,
Jennings Blazing Star
Nature Reserve in Butler
County, home of the Blazing
Star prairie and the
secretive Massassaqua, has
been acquired by the
Department of En
vironmental Resources from
the Western Pennsylvania
Conservancy.
Valley Grange to host
home energy workshop
LEWKBERRY - A home
energy workshop will be held
at Valley Grange, in
Lewis berry, York County,
February 13, at 7 p.m. the
meeting is open to the public.
The featured speakers for
the event will be Joseph
McCurdy, Penn State
Agricultural Engineer, and
Walter Johnson, Penn State
Forest Specialist.
The program will be
directed toward the average
homeowner, with an em
phasis on energy-saving
devices that pay for them
selves quickly.
McCurdy’s presentation is
entitled “Insulation and How
to Save Energy Within the
Home.”
His presentation includes
a discussion on the five steps
necessary to winterize a
home.
“The most important,”
McCurdy says, “is con
trolling your indoor tem
perature. There are
Alumni
NORRISTOWN - The
Montgomery County 4-H
Cabinet Advisory Board is
planning a special dinner
dance for 4-H Alumni,
leaders anu parents. The
event will be held on
Saturday evening, March
29th at Birchwood near
Graterford
The 4-H Cabmet is seeking
all Montgomery County 4-H
alumni, former members as
well as leaders who are now
m the Montgomery County
area. Current leaders and
parents of 4-H’ers in the
county are also encouraged
to attend
The evening will feature
roast beef buffet, social hour
and welcome, plus door
prizes “The Journeymen”,
a well-known band in the
area, will provide music for
dancing. Recognition of
leaders and alumni will also
be a special portion of the
program.
DER buys
DER Secretary Clifford L.
Jones said the price of the
293-acre property was
$220,000, of which 50 percent
will be reimbursed by the
Heritage Conservation and
Recreation Service, U.S.
Department of the Interior.
“The nature reserve is
well known for its con
servation and environmental
programmable temperature
control devices available on
the market for as little as
$35, that anyone can install
m then - home.”
Another major cost to the
homeowner is heat loss,
McCurdy states. “Con
trolling air leakage through
cracks and windows with
weatherstripping is an easy
way to save fuel dollars.”
“The third step,” ac
cording to McCurdy, “is to
install storm windows.”
Storm windows are a good
way to decrease heat loss
through windows.”
Many people lose coun
tless fuel dollars because of
a faulty heating' system.
McCurdy hopes to point out
that with a few simple
checks, a homeowner can
insure that his heating
system is performing ef
ficiently.
“Finally, by adding in
sulation, first in the ceiling,
and then in the walls, heat
plan dinner-dance
According to Nancy
Kadwill, county agent, the
evening is planned to
provide recognition and
enjoyment for leaders and
parents, without whom the 4-
H program would not func
tion It’s also an effort to
renew friendships and locate
4-H alumni
Chairperson for the dm-
293 acres for nature reserve
education program and just
a few miles away is Moraine
State Park which attracts
thousands of visitors an
nually for swimming,
boating and to use the day
use facilities that Park has
to offer,” Jones said.
“Also nearby is the Old
Stone House, once a wayside
loss can be kept to an ab
solute minimum,” McCurdy
said.
This portion of the
program will take about a
half hour, and there will be a
question and answer period
immediately following the
presentation.
Johnson’s presentation,
the second portion of the
program, is entitled,
“Woodstoves for Use as an
Alternative Energy Source.”
The program is being
sponsored by the Valley
Grange, of Lewisberry, m
cooperation with the Penn
State Co-operative Ex
tension Service.
For more information, or
directions to the Valley
Grange Hall, contact
Timothy Markovits at the
York County Extension
Office, at 717-757-9657.
Refreshments will be
served by tne Valley Grange
during and after the
workshop.
ner-dance is Chris Jones,
Schwenksville, who also
serves as Chairman of the
Cabinet Expansion And
Review Committee.
Advance reservations are
required. Tickets, which are
$lO.OO per person, can be
obtained from 4-H Cabinet
members or by contacting
the 4-H office at 277-0574.
READ
LANCASTER
FARMING
FOR COMPLETE
AND
UP-TO-DATE
MARKET
REPORTS
er
tavern, a historic property
owned and operated by the
Pennsylvania Historical and
Museum Commission.”
Located 12 miles north of
Butler, off U.S. Rt 8, the
nature reserve was
established to preserve a
three-acre area of native
prairie sustaining the
Blazing Star, a wildflower
first observed by the late 0.
E. Jennings, a well known
botanist.
After the property was
acquired by the Con
servancy in tiie 1960’5, ap
proximately 20 acres of
forested land surrounding
the plant site were cleared to
create conditions most
favorable to the growth of
the Blazing Star.
Paul Wiegman, director of
the Conservancy’s Natural
Area Program said the
plant, a member of the
sunflower family, is not
particularly rare.
It can be found elsewhere
in the Commonwealth but
not in the same abundance
as at the reserve, which
attracts thousands of
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Located Vz Mile South of Fredericksburg Off Rt. 343 in Shirksville
Business Hours. 7 A.M. to 5 P.M. Daily, Sat. till Noon. Evenings by Appt.
visitors each August to view
the thick cluster of rose
purple flowers.
“What is unique is the
manner of managing the
area so the plant can survive
and spread,” Wiegman said.
“This involves alternate
burning off and mowing each
year.
“The Blazing Star is
adapted to fire which
stimulates growth and better
blooms. Therefore two
sections of the area are
burned off in the Spring, and
the other -two areas are
mowed the following Fall.”
“We have found that the
burned off areas produce a
greater abundance of
flowers.” -
For the last six years,
students from Slippery Rock
State College, who maintain
a year round environmental
education program at the
reserve, have been handling
the burning.
Two students set the fire
with blowtorches while the
others stand by with fire
extinguishers to prevent it
from spreading.
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While thousands of people
visit the reserve each year,
to see the flowers or take
advantage of the college’s
program, few have seen the
Massassaqua, a. small
rattlesnake.
This peaceful, non
aggressive reptile, which
averages about 24 inches in
length, is extremely
secretive. In fact, the spring
.burning is not even
detrimental to the snake.
It is an endangered species
in Pennsylvania and while it
has been reported in 18 to 20
places in western Penn
sylvania, there are only
seven sites where the reptile
can definitely be found.
The reptile’s habitat in
many of the other places
have long since been ruined
by development and con
struction of new roads.
Unlike the timber rattler
which prefers mountainous
and rocky terrain, the
Massassaqua prefers the
lower elevations and a
typical habitat would be an
alder swamp surrounded by
wet meadow lands.
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