B2—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 19,1981
Some people waited in line for nearly one and one-half hours
to see the delightful tree bearing the fruits of Pennsylvania’s
agriculture.
y *pv
Christmas tree was a special
surprise as no one knew
what to expect as they circled
the tree.
Farm products decorote Governor's Christmas tree
BY JOYCE BUPP
Staff Correspondent
Baler twine. Corn husks.
Milkweed pods, thistle heads, corn
cobs.
Items you might find on any
Pennsylvania family farm.
But in the Governor’s mansion?
Indeed, all those items - and
more - have found a home on one of
the most delightful, imaginative,
Christmas trees to ever grace the
home of the state’s first family.
Actually, it was first lady Gmny
Thornburgh’s idea.
•‘I got the idea in bed one night
last summer,” explained Mrs.
Thornburgh. “It just seemed like it
would be fun to have a Christmas
tree decorated with Pennsylvania
farm products. So 1 called Tnsh
Hallowed and asked if she’d help. ’ ’
So to Tnsh Hallowed, wife of
/ .)
Posing by the fully-decor. ee are Susan Hallov
Ginny Thornburgh, originator of the idea; Penrose Hallowell;
and Irish Hallowell, decorator of the tree.
out through the branches
was from a ball of lamb's
this . "corncoction” of ear . wo °l completed with a glued
corn slices, accented with on ace ant * a rhinestone
strawflower and tiny cones. studded bow.
state Secretary of Agriculture
Penrose Hallowell, fell the task
last week of the actual decorating
of the 13-foot shapely Douglas fir
from York County’s Strathmeyer
Forests.
With the aid of a few extra sets of
tree-trunnung hands from the Ag
Department, Trish Hallowell spent
an entire day • unpacking and
hanging the hundreds of or
naments. There • were. 11 large
plastic bags filled with boxes of
farm product ornaments, plus
several dozen others that had been
delivered directly to the Front
Street mansion.
The assortment of hand-crafted
ornaments had come in response to
a call sent out in early Fall to
several of the state’s major
agriculture organizations. Youth,
up to age 18, were invited to design
p-
cornhusk hide and cob body
was the contribution of Dana
Oanfelt, Saltillo, Huntingdon
County.
This little sheep peeping
ornaments of Pennsylvania farm
products for use' on the 1981 first
family’s Christmas tree. ’ *
Response was enthusiastic as
ornaments poured in from every
county in the state. Organizations
represented included the 4-H,
Future Farmers of America,
Future Homemakers of America,
Pennsylvania Farmers
Association, Grange, and Fanners
Union.
Last Sunday afternoon, over 600
ag guests, including rural youth
who created the ornaments, their
parents, and advisors, attended a
reception celebrating the official
lighting of the tree in the stately
home of Governor and Mrs.
Thornburgh. *
Although the Governor was
unable to take part due to illness,
the ag guests were received by
Mrs. Thornburgh, Secretary of
Agriculture Penrose Hallowelland
Mrs. Halloweil.
After being greeted in the
reception line, wide-eyed
youngsters being honored en
circled the decorated tree, sear
ching out their own creations, and
enjoyed an elegant snack buffet of
fruits, cheese, crackers, vegetable
mbblers with dips, candies and
punch, served at the candlelit state
dining room table.
From the Somerset County
made star of straw, baler twine
and pine cone center that topped
the tree, to a large dipper gourd
ornamented with pine cones
hanging from one of the bot
tommost branches, the collection
was a tribute to the creativity of
farm youth and to Pennsylvania’s
farm segment.
Encircling the tree was a 25-foot
string of dainty hemlock cones, the
"fruit” of Pennsylvania’s state
tree. Chester County youth had
collaborated to string the cones as
part of their contribution to the
natural ornament tree.
*
‘Oh mommy, this one’s
beautiful,” one four-year-old
observer, in obvious enjoyment of
the tree and its original or
naments, was overheard to say.
That description could have ap
plied to every single creation.
Corn was a favorite raw
material ornament.
Angels of corn husk and a husk
covered cob styled into a pig with a
The tree at the Thornburgh home this year stands as a
statue dedicated to Pennsylvania's agriculture.
stem-end snout and husk ears hung
from the tree.
'Twigs inserted mto another
piece of cob formed the legs of a
horse, and inch-thick cross sec
tions of an ear of corn were wired
together in a tree ( shape, or
namented with colorful
strawflowers.
Miniature wreaths of a variety of
materials filled the fragrant
boughs of the Douglas fir. Herbs,
grape stems, woven wheat and
braided baler twine, even what
appeared to be pressed and shaped
milkweed fluff, or maybe angora
rabbit hair, formed the small
circle ornaments, colorful with
ribbons, tiny bows and dried
flowers.
MUkweed pods also saw heavy
use, with some forming angel
wings, others filled with various
decorated inserts, and five glued
together in a starburst pomsettia
shape.
Teasel, the prickly procupme
hke heads of a plant of the thistle
family, were transformed into
heads of tiny mice, dressed in
colorful calico gowns.
Decorated with various seeds,
eggs hung from the branches, or
had been crushed into bits to or
nament snowmen and angels.
Then there were Some even more
unusual ideas.
A .shawdowbox of real
honeycomb, with strawflowers
centered on it, added a suggestion
of holiday sweets.
Luzerne County’s 4-H Clovers
Club sent a hand carved white-tail
deer, designed by Erin Asolfi. Not
only had Erin used native wood for
carving the diminutive buck, but
added tiny eyes of Pennsylvania
coal as well.
vComssipad
tUoifS
The three children ol dairy
farmers Mr. and Mrs. Gideon
Yoder, Mifflin County, were
among the families of ornament
makers. Diane, age 8, loves the
farm cats, and styled a cat in a
basket from corahusk. Twins
Caryn and Daryn also shaped
cornhusk, with Caryn making an
angel, and Daryn creating a horse
with - what else - a tail of real cow
hair.
While guests mingled through
the state area ot the beautitul
mansion, soft notes ot chamber
music added a festive holiday
touch.
Quietly playing in the
background throughout the
reception were musicians David
Hildebrand and Ginger Houpt, of
Annapolis,. Maryland. Both are
private music teachers as well as
students at Dickinson College, and
entertain professionally with
special emphasis on appearances
at historic sites and museums.
Caught in a moment ot spon
taneous entertainment with the
duo was Heather Lawson, 8, ot
Curryville, in Blair County. As the
musicians played the familiar
notes of the "Twelve Days of
Christmas,” Heather delighted
those m the immediate area ot the
music with hand motions to the
song that she had learned in her
elementary school. She was also an
ornament contributor, with
eggshell "creations among those on
the tree.’
When the last ot the several
hundred had gone through the
receiving line, Mrs. Thornburgh
and the Hallowells had made their
way to the tree, amidst a chorus ot
(Turn to Page B 4)