C2—Lancaster Farming, Saturda;
Betty Jean graces a picture of the lush, fertile Oley Valley in Berks County Count
the setting of her family’s 198-acre dairy farm. Betty now reigns as Berks below:
Betty Jean makes farming a 'royal' opportunity
BY LAUREL SCHAEFFER
Staff Correspondent
Betty Jean Hoch, Berk County’s
newest dairy princess has grown
up in a rural setting which most
people could only have ex
perienced in story books.
Located along the Manatawny
Creek in the lush and fertile Oley
Valley, the Hoch’s farm on which
this dairy princess was raised sits
next to one of the few remaining
covered bridges still being used,
Greismer’s Mill Bridge. From
Betty Jean’s house, a low, quiet
rumbling of the wooden bridge
spanning the creek can be heardas
cars enter as horse and buggy did
in years past.
Dairying has been in the Hoch
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A dairy princess and her dairy cows go
together i>ke a horse and carriage, or so the
song ‘sort of goes. But song or not, this young
September 19,1981
family for many years. Both of
Betty Jean’s parents, Mr. and Mrs.
Elwood Hoch, were bom and
raised on farms, and one of Betty’s
four older brothers, Mark, is
presently fanning “the Old Hoch”
farm which has been in the family
since 1728.
Unlike her recent predecessor
however, Betty Jean was not in the
public “eye” as a dairy showman
or involved with dairy clubs on the
county and state levels. Betty has
.always been involved with the
family dairy herd however,
helping as much as possible for as
long as she can remember. Betty
Jean’s interests in 4-H were more
inclined to sewing. She also went to
Vocational-Technical school to
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princess brings her own harmony to her
promotional activities.
study clothing and sewing, and is
presently attending McCann’s
School of Business in Reading for
fashion merchandising and sales
management.
Betty Jean enjoys sewing her
own clothes when tune permits.
This year she has made some
skirts and vests and a blazer. Some
day she hopes to have her own
business but also hopes to be able
to settle back en a farm.
Betty continues to help at home
whenever possible. She and her
mother usually do the milking
during the summer. Betty Jean
also helps make hay, clean the
barn, feeds and tends to the fence.
"I have always loved to be
outside,” she relates. “1 used to
1981-82 dairy princess and finds the job quiet exciting. Read her story
help my father make fence around
the creek. 1 especially liked to
wade across the creek with the
wire for him,” she said happily.
Betty Jean also stressed how she
and her family get the other chores
done by being organized. The
Hoch’s are presently imlkmg fifty
head of registered, grade
Holstems, and farm 198 acres of
crop land. They recently started
with DHIA and Betty Jean has
been very interested with the
program.
"My father explained to me how
to read the information and what
the different things meant," she
said. "Our family is very happy
and glad we started using it,”
Betty Jean added.
Betty Jean’s brother, Richard
works on the farm full tune with
his father. Her brother, Barry
works on a turkey farm and
another brother, Randall, has a
sandwich shop. Mark, as already
mentioned, has his own farm and
milks about 50 cows.
Betty Jean also works part tune
at a sandwich shop but trys to keep
room between her schooling,
working, and dairy princess ac
tivities to help at home.
“if I don’t, 1 really miss it,” she
said.
Betty Jean also enjoys sports
such as skiing, skating,'
snowmobiling and swimming.
This 18-year-old dairy princess
Humesfead
tfaies
also was involved in track while in
high school, competing in the shot
put and Javelin.
Another of Betty Jean’s hobbies
surprisingly enough is muskrate
trapping. Last year she used
twelve traps but didn’t catch very
many rats she related.
“1 don’t know how good it will oe
this year either,” she said
thoughtfully. "The creek is very
low right now.”
The Hoch’s also do their own
butchering, usually around
Christmas tune when everyone
can be around to help.
"We make our own sausage,
scrapple and smoked meats”.
Betty Jean explained, "It really
spoils you to store bought foods,”
she added.
Betty Jean's mother also has a
large garden and freezes and cans
much of the produce. "I’ll help
with shelling sometimes,” the
dairy princess remarked with a
wry smile.
Asked how she came to be in
terested in being Berks County’s
Dairy Princess, Betty Jean ex
plained that she became interested
when a friend, Janice Savidge, last
year’s alternate dairy princess,
told her about it.
"No one from the Oley Valley
ever was chosen before,” Betty
Jean'said. “1 thought I’d try it. 1
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