A36 - Laneaster F,rming ’ **torAuy, November Century Farm award winner
Seven generations of Nisslys farm near Mount Joy
MOUNT JOY For seven
generations now, an 86-acre
farm near here has been
passed down through the
Nissly family.
This week the farm was
recognized as one of Lan
caster County’s Century
Farms. What won’t be
recognized is that Gerald N.
Erb will be the recipient of
the honor.
Erb is the youngest son of
Paul and Katherine Nissly
Erb. Out of a family of six
children, only Gerald and his
oldest brother Wilbur have
accepted the challenge of
farming for occupations.
Wilbur is farming in East
Donegal Township while
Gerald purchased the family
farm in 1971
commercial dairy farm to improve their herd of Hoisteins with each generation,
Two win
Floriculture
KANSAS CITY - Two
students from the Lancaster
County-Mount Joy Vo-Tech
School have achieved out-
standing recognition in FFA
National Floriculture
contests held at the FFA
Kansas Convention.
A First place Gold was
awarded to Cathy Best from
Columbia and a Silver
awarded to Deborah Grube
of Manheim. Their in
dividual awards combined
with Holly Eselby from
ATTENTION FARMERS
* Airville Farm Service ★
Is Back In Business Under
New Name and Management:
AIRVILLE EQUIPMENT, INC.
P.O. Box 37
(York County)
Airville, PA 17302
717-862-3358
★ Same Good Service and Personnel ★
SALES & SERVICE A
The Nissly family took
ownership of the farm back
in 1822. Gerald points to a
calf-skin document hanging
in the office of the 1857 brick
house where in scroll-type
print is written the original
William Penn Indenture for
their farm. This document
bears the date 1772
Other antiques decorating
the high-ceihnged rooms in
the farmhouse advertise
Erb’s interest m agricultural
history, especially that of the
Nisslyfanuly
He recalled that his great
great grandfather Joseph
had originally owned five
farms m the area until 1897.
“That’s when the estate
was broken up. Each of his
Limerick, PA won Penn
sylvania the third place
team award out of thirty-six
teams.
The Floriculture
Contest is a* competitive
activity in which FFA
members test their judging
and identification skills in
Floriculture products.
In addition, contestants
take a written examination
testing general knowledge of
such subjects as plant
anatomy, growing media
five children received one of
the farms,’ Erb explained.
All that’s left now of the
original estate, he pointed
out, is his 86-acre farm
Pulling out farm records
kept by his grandfather and
a diary kept by Erb’s Great
Aunt Annie Trout, Erb
shared some of the family’s
past history.
From Aunt Annie’s diary,
the Erbs discovered that at
one tune in the family’s past,
the dining room in their Civil
War-era farmhouse had
been used as a mortuary.
The farm records have
served as an invaluable link
to the way of life on the farm
around the turn of the
century.
“My grandfather started
FFA
awards
and diagnosis of
disorders.
Contestants are
evaluated on their ability to
make floral arrangements,
pot chrysanthemum cuttings
and take an order by
telephone. The contest
utilized plant material
donated and loaned by
merchants in the Kansas
City area and was held at the
Swope Park Municipal
Complex in Kansas City,
Missouri.
ALUS-CHALMERS
farming back in 1905 He was
able to start with one
tobacco check amounting to
a little over $3OOO. With this
he paid for all his equipment
in cash a total of slightly
more than $1600! The highest
amount on his purchase list
was the pair of mules he
bought for $450
“ A quarter century later,
my grandfather bought the
farm Up until that tune, he
had been renting it from my
great grandfather.
imily, recipients of the Century Farm Award, pose proudly in
front of the original calf-skin indenture for their 86-acre farm. The farm has been
in the Nissly family for about 150 years.
ORGANIC EDUCATIONAL
MEETING
MONDAY. NOVEMBER 24, 1980
plant
also
PLACE - BLUE BALL FIRE HALL, ON RT. 322, 1 BLOCK
EAST OF RED LIGHT, BLUE BALL, PA., 12 MILES
EAST OF LANCASTER
The half has never been told about God’s wonderful soil of creation and
His plan for its preservation, and disease elimination to avoid future
starvation
One speaker will be Ray Nielson from Michigan who manufactures an
outstanding liquid soil conditioner, an improved one called National Ag Soil
Treatment It loosens soil fast and breaks hardpan so that the ram can go
down, avoid run off and be stored for future use It sure showed this year
John Mosher of N Y State University has an excellent report on BX soil
bacteria to send for the meeting if he can't be here himself There are
other excellent farm reports on BX, better crops with much less fertilizer,
better plant emergence, better quality and feed value
There will be farmers giving testimonies and a panel of teachers will
answer your questions We have many happy customers and we want to
help you too It is a program with service, not just grab your check and run
There will be good opportunity to talk with other organic farmers and
learn during the intermission period There is a restaurant at the fire hall
Come and learn the easy natural way to prevent pestilence disease and
nematodes etc
Learn how to grow nearly enough protein for your livestock by just in
creasing the protein in your corn and hay
Learn how to conserve moisture in soil so that crops don’t mind an
average drought
Learn why livestock do better for organic farmers
Learn how to have vegetables ripen earlier with more flavor and keeping
qualities and stand a harder frost and a lot more
ORGANIC VEGETABLES WANTED
Buyers will be at the meeting horn the cities who want quantities of
certified organic vegetables at 10% to 15% premium price and huge
quantity of partly organic Restaurants and stores are learning organic is
better Talk with the buyers from 3 30 to 7 00 Tell other farmers who like
to grow vegetables
Tell others about the meeting We do soil testing
Dealers wanted for Soil Treatment and BX They are getting popular
“My grandfather always
claimed this farm was only
big enough for four cows
and that’s all he ever had.
After my dad started far
ming it, there were 18 cows
here. Now, we have 100 cows
on test. It’s a matter of
economics on size. ”
Helping Gerald in the
commercial dairy operation
are his wife Judith Ann
Emenheiser Erb and their
two children, Amy Jo, 10,
and Mark, 12. Amy Jo raises
1:30-3:30 P.M. and 7:00-9:00 P.M.
ORGANIC CENTER
217 S Railroad Ave , New Holland, PA 17557
717-354 7064
the calves and Mark helps
with the bam and field work
in the family farm tradition.
The Century Farm
designation will be a
heritage that Erb’s children
will be able to pass on to
their families some day if
the future allows family
farms to continue as an
American way of life
Said Erfa, “I’m commited
to preserving the family
farm it’s a matter of great,
importance to me.”—SM