DlO—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 3,1983
Hundreds working together for Middletown Grange Fair
BY HAROLD SHELLY
WRIGHTSTOWN - Ap
proximately 40,000 persons visited
the Middletown Grange Fair’s 35th
annual celebration. The three-day
and night event is Bucks County’s
only agricultural “county fair.”
In an interview, Executive
Committee member, Mrs. Edith H.
Campbell said that this year was
the hottest, driest fair in recent
memory. She said that a volunteer
force of about 200 assists the 160-
member Grange in presenting the
fair. Volunteer firemen and fire
police, a local ambulance squad,
volunteer kitchen helpers, ticket
sellers, 4-H leaders and farmers all
worked together to help make it a
success.
“It’s like a great big jig-saw
puzzle,” she said, “all the pieces fit
together, and that’s what makes
Middletown Grange Fair.”
She credited the interest of the
people in displaying their home
grown produce, preserves, crafts
or crocheted work, and the farmer
and 4-H member in showing their
animals, “is what keeps the fair
going.”
Mrs. Campbell said that plan
ning for the 1984 fair will begin
Bucks County Dairy Princess Linda Geissinger explains
Holstein exhibit at Middletown Grange Fair.
__ HAROLD SHELLY Bucks County 4-H clubs were well
WRIGHTSTOWN Seventeen represented at the 35th annual
4-H champion and reserve in Holstein competition at
Middletown Fair are shown with Ryan and Stephen Wor
thington.
with the “wrap-up” meeting which
will be held this month.
As in most fairs with an
agricultural theme, activity in the
animal tent attracted the largest
crowds. The Bucks County
Holstein show, the annual sheep
show and the 4-H dairy show and
the annual horse show were the
highlights of fair events.
Over 100 entries in the Holstein
show were brought into the ring,
and Harry and Aliene Thompson
took top honors with the senior
champion female and reserve
senior champion female and also
both animals repeated with Grand
Champion Female and Reserve
Grand Champion Female. Grand
Champion Female and Senior
Champion Female was Fountain
Farm Elevation Queena, b. 12-16-
77, her sire was Round Oak Rag
Apple Elevation, Dam: Fountain
Farm SP Queen, bred and owned
by Harry E. and Aliene Thompson.
Judging was by Harvey Stoltz
fus, of Pennwood Farm,
Morgantown.
Forty individuals entered 179
animals in the sheep show which
was judged by Ken Brubaker of
Lancaster.
4-H’ers in fair spotlight
. 4
Thirty-five animals entered by
20 young 4-H members made up
the annual 4-H Dairy Show.
According to Grange figures,
3500 chicken barbeque dinners
were served in the three days of
the fair. No records were available
as to the gallons of soda, mounds of
pop corn, stacks of beef bar-b-q
sandwiches, yards of cotton candy,
funnel cake by the linear foot or
french fries that were consumed
by the hungry hordes of fair
visitors.
A side light of the Holsteins how
that is strictly localized, is the
“Kiddie Class” in which non-4-
H’ers under ten years enter and
show a dairy animal. For these
non-farm youngsters, this is an
exciting introduction to life on a
dairy farm.
Started by John C. Thompson,
Sr., 20 years ago, each entry is
instructed on proper moves in the
show ring, and then judged exactly
like a trained 4-H member. A
trophy and ribbons are donated in
Thompson’s memory each year by
Harry and Aliene Thompson.
As daylight fades on the last
night, the tempo of the fair starts
to slow down and begins dragging
toward the 10 p.m. closing. Last
minute announcements are made
on the P.A. system, mostly about
cars parked with their lights on.
Final rides are taken on the
amusements, the truck loads of
livestock are pulling away from
the animal tents, commercial
displays are being dismembered
and the last couple of muscular
young men are displaying their
prowess with the two-man saw
before a clutch of admiring young
ladies.
There is a flurry of excitement
around the dairy promotion
exhibit, where for three days
Bucks County Dairy Princess
Linda Geissinger, has been han
ding out samples of cheese and
“cheesebutter” and explaining the
dairy industry to passers-by.
The excitement is due to the
Bucks County Holstein Club’s
raffle of a registered Holstein calf.
Proceeds from the sale of tickets
will benefit the Holstein Club,
which hopes to raise enough money
to construct a permanent dairy
building at the middletown Grange
Fair.
The calf was donated by the
William Gunser family of Active
Middletown Grange Fair. Ac
cording to Debra Gregory, 4-H
coordinator from the Bucks Ex
tension Office, there were over 550
individual projects entered in
competition. They ranged from
leather craft to a home-made
Working robot presented by Matt
Ripley, 14, of the Hilltown club.
According to Ripley, con
struction of the robot took three
weeks. He used a five-gallon
kerosene can for the body, and a
shortening can for the head. He
designed the wiring himself, and
got the basic idea from his eighth
grade science class.
The 4-H sheep show included 179
animals entered by a total of 40
persons. Ken Brubiker of Lan
caster was judge. Two sets of
prizes were awarded. All entries in
each class were judged
simultaneously with prizes in the
open class being awarded pnor to
prizes for 4-H members.
Ten-year-old Jesse Ruth, of
Pmeville, came away with 4-H
Grand Champion Ewe and
Reserve Grand Champion Eve in
the Suffolk breed, and also with
Supreme Champion of the show for
all breeds.
The Bucks County 4-H Dairy
Roundup was also held as part of
the Fair. There were 35 entries
from the Unami, Spnngtown,
J
I
■ J -' u
(Turn to Page 012)
< g> >erve champions of the Middletown
Grange Fair are held by their owners. Harry E. and Aliene
Thompson. The grand champion Is held by Aliene and the
reserve by Harry.
Mabel Tobias, of Nazareth, judges rabbits of youthful
entrants at Middletown Grange Fair.
Acres Farm, and won by Kathy volunteer firemen extinguish the
Cornell of Warminster. charcoal fire where the 3500
The clean-up continues as the chicken dinners were prepared,
line of cars leaving the parking Lights are going out haphazardly
area grows longer. A cloud of around the lot, and another Grange
steam envelops the barbeque pit as Fair is over..
Brown Swiss champion and reserve in 4-H competition at
Middletown Fair are exhibited by Tara Engleman and Tricia
Engleman.