BY LAUREL SCHAEFFER
Staff Correspondent
Few people have seen as much of
our world as Roy and Gloria
Christman. Owners and operators
of Ro-Ria Farms, Shartlesville,
with their son Ronald, the
Christmans have traveled to
different lands and experienced
different cultures through “People
to People” and farmers and World
Affairs tours.
They have been in twenty-seven
.countries and presently are
“...Without experiencing many of these things
the world tends to look the same...”
preparing for a trip to the twenty
eighth one this year. This one being
China.
Ail of their traveling has cen
tered around agriculture, because
as Gloria explained, “if it didn’t,
Roy wouldn’t go. There’s nothing
like going for three weeks without
seeing a cow,” she laughed.
The Christmans are milking
about 300 Holsteins and have the
capacity for 400, which was Roy’s
goal until milk became soon a
surplus.
Roy and Gloria started milking
as soon as they were married, in
1944 with a rented farm and 15
cows. Raised in a city, Gloria
adapted quickly and seldom
missed a milking until her children
were in their teens.
She never saw a baby chick until
Roy brought sobrooders home
one day. “I still o«- Vt handle those
little things,” she joked. However
Gloria’s parents both were from
farms and didn’t move into the city
until (he depression years. So she
said she always heard stories of
fanning and even worked at a
dairy, bottling milk until she began
milking the cows.
wmesfead
Leant
BY SALLY BAIR
Staff Correspondent
YORK SPRINGS - Rural crime
is steadily increasing and most
rural residents make it easy for
burglars to help themselves to
property by leaving doors
unlocked and keys in vehicles.
According to Albina B.
Woodruff, community develop
ment area agent with Penn State’s
Cooperative Extension Service,
rural residents have cot
discovered that crime is moving
away from the cities which are
securing themselves and reducing
crime to the country where there is
often easy access to property. She
was speaking at the Adams County
Extension Homemaker’s Day held
recently.
Citing statistics compiled by the
Pennsylvania State Police in their
Uniform Crime Report, Woodruff
outlines the four major crimes in
rural areas, including larceny
theft, burglary, motor vehicle theft
and vandalism. She pointed out
that murder is not one of the more
Die Christmans make traveling a bobby
Gloria has always done “the
books” but is gradually passing the
duties onto her daughter-in-law,
Faye. She used to garden but has
given up that. She and Roy both
felt her time was more valuable
and important as a bookkeeper.
“The time spent at a desk is
worth more than in a garden,”
Gloria commented and then added,
“Roy loves records.”
In their early farming years, the
Christmans lost their cows to
Brucellosis and had to resort to
selling equipment and doing
custom work to “survive.”
Today their operation has grown
into eight hundred head of cattle
and 1,000 acres of owned land.
They farm 2,500 acres, have eight
full-time employees.
The Christman’s have three
children, Ronald, Barry, and
Sandy Kopicz. Presently they have
been working on estate planning,
and say they wish they had started
years earlier.
“We waited too long,” Gloria
said.
During the past twenty years
their business has grown
tremendously, partly due to in
flation and partly to use the “extra
muscle” of their eager children.
Through their estate planning
they are slowly turning their
business over to Ronald and Faye.
Roy and Ronald share in the herd
management while Faye manages
the calves, upkeeps the dairy
bams, and begins to work with
Gloria on the books and records,
which Gloria estimates she spends
about two hours per day on. __
Gloria also is serving as
chairwoman of the Pennsylvania
tA/o(es
to “burglar-proof”
your home
major rural crimes, nor is rape.
Arson is one rural crime which is
just beginning to be reported and is
increasing.
Larceny theft is the taking of
private property without breaking
or entering as in shoplifting.
Burglary includes- breaking and
entering and motor vehicle theft
includes stealing cars, trucks and
pick-up trucks, but not tractors
which are considered property
since they are not licensed.
According to Woodruff, statistics
show that 80 percent of the homes
which have been burgled were
unlocked. Forty percent of stolen
vehicles have the key in the
ignition and 80 percent of them
were not locked.
Most car thefts are not
professional jobs and the removing
of keys and locking the doors as
well as storing valuables out of
sight can prevent much vehicle
theft.
Vandalism includes a large
number of incidents m school
Farmers’ Association State
Women’s Committee and Roy is a
director of Berks’ County Far
mers’ Association. Gloria belongs
to the Society of Farm Women and
has held the office of treasurer in
the past. She has been involved in
PTA and 4-H while her children
were growing.
“I find that I’ve been involved on
the levels my children were on,”
she explained.
Roy and Gloria’s first trip ever
was to California when Roy,
selected as the Kutztown Chapter’s
first Outstanding Young Farmer,
won the State award and went to
represent Pennsylvania in the
national contest This trip took
place in 1959 when they were still
fanning about 100 acres.
The Christmans were also
selected as the Reading Fair
Family one year and Roy was
named a Master Fanner in 1968.
The Christmans’ first trip abroad
was to Europe and Russia in 1965
and they have been going about
every two years ever since. They
have attended a World Food
Congress in Japan and have been
on all continents except South
America, Arctica, and Anarctica.
Other than traveling, Gloria
especially enjoys doing ceramics
which she describes as “her
therapy. Poking around in a flower
“...There’s nothing like seeing the places
you’ve been to presented in books~.”
bed and reading books on the
subject allows her to call herself a
“bookaholic.”
“There’s nothing like seeing the
places you’ve been to in books,”
Gloria remarked enthusiastically.
“Reading about* famous
restaurants and sights that you’ve
been to makes books and traveling
even more terrific.
“I can relate to National
Geographic much better now since
I’ve seen many of the things and
been in the -exact spots that are
described in the magazine,” she
said.
Through traveling with
agribusiness groups and visiting
farms in other lands, Gloria finds
her trips more of an experience
than they are educational, as far as
learning more techniques to use
are concerned.
“My feelings usually go to being
buildings which are often not
reported because die school simply
fixes the problem itself. Vandalism
has increased 43 percent since 1975
and was up another 15 percent in
1980.
“It’s alarming: it’s increasing,’’
Mrs. Woodruff noted, showing
statistics that vandalism is up in
Adams, York and Lancaster
counties.
She pointed out that decrease in
crime in shown most often in areas
where there is a high concentration
of local police.
But rural residents do not need to
sit and wait to become victims.
Mrs. Woodruff suggested many
steps to be taken to prevent crime,
including running a security check
on their homes, learning how to
lock up their homes and being
award of how to protect themr
selves.
Woodruff said that a most ef
fective deterrent can be marking
all valuables with your motor
(Turn to Page C4J
very sorry for the way some people the poor. “If you can get past the
must such as in Ethiopia, to governments and can relate
reminiscing of our own earlier person to person with everyday
days,” this traveler remarked. “It people you find they are nice,
is as if many of these countries are People of different countries don’t
25to50years behind us.” hate each other when they can be
“...There 9 * no better way of finding out
if your kids can handle the farm
than going away for three weeks... 99
“Roy and I come home and feel
we’re so much farther ahead.’ ’
When travelling in Pakistan,
Gloria said she could easily
imagine Biblical days. But, she
also remarked that some countries
are very much like our own.
Especially Australia and New
Zealand.
The Christmans have seen
modern countries and very
primitive (Hies where the people
were in masses and masses and
literally lived on rice and a few
vegetables.
Gloria was impressed with the
beauty of countries lying near-the
equator, envying them for their
beautiful flowers, countryside, and
weather. She said she was thrilled
to see the Spinx in Egypt, and the
Acropolis of Greece while winds
blew sand in her face.
“I know why they dress as they
do now.” she said.
Just being able to experience the
difference between other parts of
the world has made her life richer,
and at times glad to come home
she says.
“Without experiencing many of
these things the world tends to look
the same,” she continued.
Asked what country stood out
most in her memory of traveling,
Gloria explained that it would be
Pakistan. “We were there longer
than most trips we’ve been on and
lived in their houses and got to
know the people personally,” she
explained. “We got below the
surface.”
Gloria explained that in
Pakistan there is a rich class and
poor class and most money given
to help the poor usually stop with
the rich, never being of benefit to
borrowed from the state or local police to mark valuables at
the Adams County Extension Homemaker's Day.
on the same level. It’s the
governments that do,” she com
mented.
Gloria also was amazed as to
what people in many countries do
for entertainment
“They don’t even have a local
fire company,” she said with
amazement.
Language has never been much,
of a barrier when communicating*
with people in countries where
English Is not the native language.
“We should be ashamed that we
can only speak English, however,”
Gloria remarked. --
Most people and children of
other countries can speak English
as a second or third language. The
Christmans have also found that
their Pennsylvania Dutch can take
them many places in Europe too:
“even in Russia.”
“Exchanging money is the
largest problem we’ve found,”
Gloria remarked. “This is one
reason it’s nice to have a tour
guide. Without one, much titpe can
be wasted looking around for good
hotels, banks and whatever.
Guides know where to go.”
But as noted earlier Gloria and
Roy are always glad to come home
and haven’t seen a better place to
live.
“There’s no better way of
out if your lads can handle the
farm than going away for three
weeks, either,” she added.
“You're only fooling youself if you
don’t give them a chance to do the
work.”
. “It was when we came home that
was the roughest; when we found
out about the problems which
developed,” she said.
As a complement to all of their
traveling, the Christmans have
hosted visitors from other coun
tries as well. People from Russia,
India, Turkey, Pakistan, Japan,
Costa Rica, Peru, and Denmark
have visited the Christmans. A boy
from Denmark stayed with them
for a year.
I