Bl4—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 1,1983
A six-foot porkburger cooks over charcoal coals at Lancaster's Penn Square to help
kick off a special month-long promotion of the pork industry.
Giant Porkburger Highlights
Pork Promotion Kick Off
BY LAURA ENGLAND
LANCASTER Something was
cooking in Lancaster’s Penn
Square last Friday and things were
getting hot.
It was noontime, and a large
crowd had gathered outside the
Commonwealth National Bank.
People were bustling back and
forth, curiosity written across
their faces, as a cloud of smoke
drifted through the Square,
carrying with it an appealling and
appetizing aroma.
Indeed, something was cooking
and that something was a six-foot,
100 pound, three-inch thick
porkburger.
The porkburger was part of the
festivities to kick off a special,
month-long promotion of the pork
industry. Sponsored by the
National Pork Producers Council,
the Pa. Pork Producers and the
Pa. Department of Agriculture,
October has been declared Pa.
Pork Month.
The promotion’s kick off began
at noon, Sept. 23, with Pa.
Secretary of Agriculture Penrose
Hallowell reading a proclamation
Pa. Pork Cookout King contestant Larry Hartman, Ger
mansville, waits to hear how National Pork Industry Queen
Julie Unverfehrt likes his "Peachie Pork Chops.” Hartman
was one of the seven contestants vying for the title.
signed by Governor Thornburgh.
In reading the proclamation,
Hallowell said that the pork in
dustry "gets the support of my
boss, Dick Thornburgh.’’
Following Hallowell's speech,
National Pork Industry Queen
Julie Unverfehrt, Okawville, 111.,
welcomed the visitors to the
Square and invited them to sample
the porkburger, along with the
entries in the 1983 Pa. Pork
Cookout King contest.
Julie, a junior business ad
ministration major at Eastern
Illinois Umversitiy, promotes the
pork industry nationwide by at
tending agriculture-related events.
She also visits schools and talks to
consumers.
While the crowd was listening to
the welcomes from Pork Council
members and other dignitaries,
pork producers and Cookout King
contestants were busy preparing
their dishes and passing out recipe
and nutritional information. Also
floating around and finding their
way to jacket lapels and sweaters
were round stickers with the
slogan, "Lean on Pork."
As the festivities continued, the
aroma from the porkburger drew
curious onlookers, ready to sample
the giant path. Others were
visiting the displays of the seven
Cookout King contestants, hoping
to catch a glimpse and sample of
prize-winning pork recipes.
In addition to the state and
national Pork Producers Council
and the state Department of
Agriculture, Commonwealth
National Bank is lending monetary
support for Pork Month. Ac
cording to W. Ronald Feister, vice
president and manager of the Agri-
Loan Department at Com
monwealth, the bank is the fourth
largest agriculture lending bank in
the northeastern United States.
Keister pointed out the im
portance of the pork industry to the
state, saying, “The market value
of pork products produced by hog
farmers in Cumberland, Dauphin,
Lancaster, Perry and York
counties were worth nearly $3O
million.” This was an increase of
15.5 percent over 1981.
'ork producers pitch in to help serve samples of the porkburger.
J
Done at last! What started as 100 pounds of ground pork,
three inches thick, is now a giant, flavorful porkburger ready
for sampling by the eager, noontime crowd at Lancaster’s
Penn Square.
, samples the porkburger, and his
verdict is, “very good, very good.”
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