Meet Sam Minor Pa. Holstein Association President
BY BARBARA RADER of milk sold daily increases during . . . i r „ i
Staff Correspondent the summer due to increased Attractive (llltKJ UC CItiTIOSpiICVC jCdtUrCU
WASHINGTON Nestled 30 traffic flow for ice cream products
miles south of Pittsburgh, in the and fresh farm produce, especially
heart of a community called sweet com, Sam explained.
Eighty-Four, lies the busy As far as the business is con
homestead of the newly elected cemed, Sam is directly involved
Pennsylvania Holstein Association with merchandising, but the
president. merchandising effort here is on
And busy it’s been since 1971 milk and other farm produce, he
when Sam and Bev Minor pur- said. In addition to milk, different
chased the farm after seeing it kinds of cheeses, chocolate milk,
advertised in the paper. Both buttermilk and butter can be ob-
Western Pennsylvania natives, tained from the attractive antique
Sam and Bev wanted to secure a country store,
small farm but yet be able to ex- Besides marketing milk, the
pand if so desired. They also Minors also grow their own sweet
wanted to be close to either of their corn and pumpkins, and make
families. homemade pastries, pies, rolls and
Another goal was to give their other baked goods daily. In ad
four daughters and son the op- dition, homemade soups, salads
portumty to grow and expand in and sandwiches for the lunch time
the farm business and work with crowd coming in from several
people in promoting milk and milk businesses around the area are
products. They didn’t overlook the making food service the fastest
thought of a good, sound herd growth end in the business, Sam
either. said. He added that Sam’s smoked
So when Bev saw the ad, she said
she quickly replied, “That’s the
place.”
With limited capital, the Minors
purchased the 81-acre farm
complete with an 1805 house and an
1844 bam. This location has proved
to be that special place for them to
build their market, The
Springhouse, where upwards of 500
people go through the store a day.
The continued objective of The
Springhouse, which normally sells
300 gallons of milk each day, is to
provide quality milk for its
customers. The number of gallons
Fresh rolls & pastries
baked rolls and pastries.
m nor proudly stands with his Ivanhoe Star daughter, Princess Merry D Gay Star,
who has produced 24;382 pounds of milk and 754 pounds of fat.
hams are a big demand item,
especially around the holidays.
Finding another marketing
outlet, the Minors have gone in
partnership with Bev’s cousins,
Susan and Gary Skaggs, and
opened a Springhouse store at
Station Square, in The Freight
House Shops in Pittsburgh. The
store features a country at
moshpere with an ice cream
parlor.
All food, which Gary delivers
daily to the Pittsburgh outlet, is
prepared at the main Springhouse.
The Pittsburgh store employs nine
Standing with 4 Star 9
jm an. ev Minor pause for a moment in their store, The Springhouse, which has an
attractive antique atmosphere and features milk and cheese products.
Springhouse is pride & joy
people during the winter and
between 12 to 15 in the summer.
Many of the employees are
relatives, but the Minors do hire
outside help also.
Besides the overall business
management, Sam oversees the
herd and general farm operation.
Bev does daily records, and she’s
in charge of The Springhouse.
Their children also take part in the
business and are knowledgeable
about the dairy, dealing directly
with the cows all the way down to
serving the customer the finished
product - MILK.
Marcia, the oldest daughter, is a
junior at Penn State where both
Sam and Bev graduated. An
agricultural business managment
major, Marcia is currently serving
as the Ms. College of Agriculture
representative, is president of the
Dairy Science Club and is a Lion
Ambassador. Second oldest
Kristen, better known as Tee, is
also a Penn Stater. She is a
freshmen majoring in hotel and
restaurant managment and is a
member of the Penn State gym
nastics team.
Next in line are twins Jill and
Jody. Both high school seniors,
they too will attend Penn State. Jill
plans to major in human
development, and Jody has chosen
dairy science with emphasis on
basic sciences. The youngest and
only son is Sam, a high school
daily
Minor herd
M
The Springhouse is the Minor's pride and joy,
freshman. Although college is far
into the future, he will most likely
attend Penn State also.
In 1975 when Sam and Bev
decided to start their business, it
took just two weeks before they
started milking their cows,
processing milk in their own plant
and selling it through their
Springhouse store. They currently
milk 60 head of cattle, mostly
registered Holsteins with a few
Jerseys tucked away here and
there. The grade portion of the
herd, Sam explained, was derived
from pressure to keep milk on the
shelves, especially in the early
years, as the demand had in
creased at this time.
Since starting the operation,
Sam has bred practically the
entire herd through Atlantic
Technicial Services. He believes
tt'
< pt it Sam Minor prepares one
of his cows for milking in his four-stall parlor.
he is fortunate to have a good,
longtime technician, Emerson
Morrison, to provide this service.
Emphasis in the breeding
program has been on high PDM
bulls with a balance for functional
type. “During the past couple of
years, we’ve tried to give greater
awareness to fat test and to PDT,”
Sam said. “Past sires that have
contributed the most to our herd
were Molly Chief and Marvex.
The “star” cow in the Minor
herd is an Ivanhoe Star daughter,
Princess Merry D Gay Star. In six
records she’s averaged 24,382 of
milk and 754 butterfat With a new
cow index value +3OO. Her two
daughters, full sisters by Marvex,
averaged 25,188 milk and 766 fat
and 28,000 milk with 731 fat,
respectively.
(Turn to Page A 25)
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