CSS—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 31,1980
Delta fruit growers
(Continued from Page C 37)
fruits and vegetable crops.
Over a couple of ridges,
and high on the plateau
jutting to the Susquehanna
River, lies another family
fruit operation, the
Susquehanna Orchards of
the Cooper and Marley Boyd
family.
Visitors on this stop will be
treated to demonstrations of
hand-thinning peaches, the
operation of a “hydro lad
der” (a powered bucket that
lifts orchard workers to the
tops of trees for pruning or
lucking), and displays of
orchard sprayers.
The Pennsylvania Apple
Marketing Board’s
promotional film will be
shown in the “cold-storage
theatre,” and drawings will
be held for baskets of
peaches and apples to be
claimed during the harvest
season.
Orchard visitors are not
new to these second
generation fruit producers.
Beginning in mid-June with
the sour cherry crop, the
Cooper’s sell both retail and
pick-your-own fruits.
Peaches comprise about 25
acres of the tree-studded
hillsides, and there is a small
planting of pears, but the
star and sustaining crop is
apples.
Among the most popular
varieties are standards like
Stayman, York Imperial and'
Red and Yellow Delicious.
Susquehanna’s pick-your
own project began almost by
accident about twenty years
ago. When the apple harvest
was complete one Fall, some
apples remained scattered
throughout the trees and lots
more lay on the ground.
Boyds proclaimed a
“Ground Apple Day,” of
fering to sell these leftovers
and drops “real cheap” to
anyone who wanted to come
and harvest them.
The first customer rolled
in the lane in the chill and
dark of 5 a.m., followed by a
parade of others. Bowing to
this demand from loyal
buyers, the pick-your-own
sideline took off. “Ground
Apple Day” is still an annual
tradition, usually held in late
October, and apples remain
the number one crop for do
it-yourself enthusiasts
4-H Council to hold dance
YORK The York County
4-H Council’s May meeting
was held at th° 4-H Center,
near Bair.
It was announced that the
chicken barbecue will be
held on Saturday, June 21 at
the center. The adult meal is
$3.25, child’s $2 25, and carry
outs consisting of a half
chicken only is $1.50.
Recently the group
cleaned around the walk
ways at Pleasant Acres
Home.
This weekend, York
MEMO
HAY,
STRAW &
EAR CORN
SALE
EVERY MONDAY
At 11 AM
NEW HOLLAND SALES
STABLES INC
Boyd’s family orchard
began in 1922 as a business
investment of five original
incorporatoft. Cooper’s
father, Paul C. Boyd,
eventually bought out all the
other partners. While Cooper
was still a youngster, his
father died and for several
years Mrs. Boyd and her
children ran the family fruit
business. In 1959, when he
was discharged from the
service, Cooper took over the
operation.
“Our children have
worked in the orchards since
they were old enough to pick
up a basket” relates Marley
Boyd.
“Even while in school and
college, they’ve spent
weekends and evenings
helping to sell fruit and
packing fruit. We’re en
couraging them to test their
wings at something else,
before making any decision
to return home to the fruit
industry,” she said.
David is graduating
from the University of
Delaware this year with an
engineering degree. Kathy,
a nursing student at Harford
Community College, was the
1979 Pennsylvania Apple
Queen, mixing studies with
travels across the state on
behalf of its major fruit crop.
A freshman at the Univer
sity of Delaware, second
daughter Anne is majoring
in computer science; and the
youngest, Joan, is a
sophomore at Kennard Dale
High School.
“We cater to selling good
fruit,” is the philosophy of
the family of orchardists.
More and more, though, they
find themselves burdened
with the problem plaguing
all fruit growers: the
bureaucracy.
“We feel we are over
regulated and that puts the
cost of fruit up,” Marley
worries. “And we have an
awful lot of forms to fill out ”
Packing and storage
facilities are an important
part of the retailing and
there is storage for eight
thousand bushels of apples.
Marketing ideas used in
clude a brochure that goes
out regularly to a mailing
list of 1500, just a small
portion of the customers who
faithfully come for fresh
fruits in a season.
County will be hosting junior
exchange members from
Indiana County. The
program was a slide
presentation by Tony
Dobrosky on the BMY beef
promotion.
The next meeting will be
on Wednesday, June 4 at the
center at 7-30 p.m. The
program will be a mixed
dance Reported by
Christine Shive.
MYER’S METERED GAS SERVICE, INC.
SERVING FARMERS...
pfe “WE MAKE IT OUR BUSINESS” A
\ On being
U'T'l VI a farm wife
nJ j
"Andother
hazards
V J Joyce Bupp
Farm wives, I’ve always
contended, stay healthier
and live longer due to the
exercise and fresh air they
enjoy as part of the chores
they contend with everyday
as farm business partners.
Added to that is my per
sonal philosophy that
parents should frequently
join, not just watch, their
children at play. That
physical participation
evolved from the once quiet
and restful toddler games of
blockbuilding and picture
books, or leisurely strolls in
the sunshine, into mini
practice sessions for the pre
teen decathlon.
It might be the softball to
chase, socked out of the
backyard and into the
rosebushes. Or maybe they
AIR COMPRESSORS
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want to shoot a couple of
baskets before calf feeding,
bicycle to the heifer barn, or
whip the fnsbee around for a
while. More recently they’ve
discovered tennis, squab
bling over who has to play on
Mom’s side, while the
meatloaf finishes up for
supper back in the oven.
Short of falling off the
skateboard periodically,
these aging bones have
managed to scramble along
after the offspring rapidly
outgrowing me in sue and
capabilities. And then the
jump rope came out.
Jumping rope was a piece
of cake when I was back m
elementary school. So when
the kids announced that we
were going to play “school”
with the jump rope, I agreed.
are just two of the things we rent. In fact, we rent all kinds
of equipment, from heaters to concrete floor grinders and
saws. So, whenever you need equipment of any kind
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“School”, it seems, is a
game where you begin with
jumping once for first grade,
twice for second, etc., until
you’ve gone through all the
grades using various rope
techniques.
I eased through the
elementa. y numbers,
jumped through junior high
and hopped on into high
school levels.
“Now we have to finish
with hot peppers,” the
leaders informed me.
Hot peppers?
That, I was enlightened,
meant jumping very, very
fast. Sure, I remember that.
When one of our younger
players couldn’t get it down
pat, I offered to demon
strate.
Onetwothreefourfivesix
jumps. A half dozen hot
peppers was suddenly too
much and-my hip never
graduated from the game.
Hobbling into the house, I
figured on doing penance for
a couple of days. Hot pep
pers has been scratched
from my curriculum.
It was the least 1 could do
in observance of May -
National Senior Citizens
Month.
See Us First.
oqo 4*7ft
720 N Prince St Lancaster PA 17603 UuO'l f U
1 f •
I O ‘ <rr'-- u !1 - ! *
pk
ND
PICK-UP
TRUCKS
A LESSON
WELL
LEARNED..
LANCASTER
FARMING'S
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ADS
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Phone:
717-394-3047
or
717-626-1164
1 I