Helping
(Continued from Page E 6)
D.C. (Delegates lived in tents on
the mall in front of the U.S.
Department of Agriculture
building.) Through these ex
periences he got to know his county
agents as well as specialists from
the state university.
“That’s what sparked my in
terest in an extension career,”
Gwinn said. “I liked these people;
they were my role models. I
greatly admired them because of
Uieir friendliness, enthusiasm,
dedication and their deep desire to
help others. And in the years since,
I’ve never lost my love for ex
tension or extension people. ’ ’
He still keeps in touch with his 4-
H agent. Now in her eighties, she
has followed his career from the
start.
After high school Gwinn earned
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Hamilton Bank believes The Family Farm Is The Backbone of Agriculture On behalf of all dair>men we are pleased to salute the success of the Robert H Gochenaur Jr familv at -il9 Penn
(>rant Road. Lancaster Pictured (L to R) are C Wa>ne Creasj, Assistant Vice President and Manager ot the Hamilton Bank Manor Street Branch in Lancaster, Bom the Lancaster Countv Dairv
Princess for 1985-84, Naomi, Vonda, Robert, Scott and Bob Gochenaur and Damn E Bo\d Vice President and Director of the Agn Finance Department for Hamilton Bank The Gochenaurs
have a 54 cow herd and farm 250 acres Their D H I A rolling herd average for the past twelve months was 20 265 Ins of production and "MS lbs of butterfat with a 5 5% test
( ongratulations on a job well done
A salute
Every month is
In June a lot of people pay tribute to dairy
farmers. It’s National Dairy Month.
At Hamilton Bank, we feel you deserve credit a
lot more often than that. Managing a successful
dairy operation requires working capital all year
round. So we’re here to help you meet your
capital requirements whenever you need us.
The total annual volume of dairy production for
our six-county area is over $407,000,000. This
represents 31 % of the yearly production for
Pennsylvania. Now that’s a record you can point
to with pride, and we’re proud to be able to help
people help themselves
a teacher’s certificate and taught
for two years in a one-room school.
Then World War n came along and
he joined the Army, serving in the
infantry in Europe as part of Gen.
George S. Patton’s famous Third
Army. Back home again, he en
tered West Virginia University
where he earned bachelor’s and
master’s degrees in agricultural
education. “While I was in
college,” he said, “I spent all my
summers directing county and
state 4-H camps for the univer
sity.”
And then he came to Delaware.
In 1948, agriculture in the state was
more general than it is now, though
broilers were already an im
portant commodity. The vegetable
industry was much larger, with far
fewer acres of com and soybeans.
Most of the vegetables were grown
on contract for local canneries.
Compared to now, there weren’t
many roadside markets; and there
wasn’t much beach development,
certainly nothing like today’s
resort industry.
“Dairying was strong in all three
counties, and milk was marketed
in cans,” Gwinn recalled. “This
was before any development had
taken place and most of northern
New Castle County was dairy or
general farms. There wasn’t much
of a nursery industry yet; in fact,
greenhouses were almost unheard
of at least at Kent and Sussex
counties. On the other hand, fruit
production (peaches, apples and
strawberries primarily) was quite
important, with most of the or
chards located downstate.
“Fanning back then was less
mechanized,” he said, “though I
to dairymen*
dairy month with ns.
anyway, anytime. At Hamilton Bank, every
month is dairy month.
Contact your local office for complete details on
Hamilton Bank Agri-Finance Programs.
don’t remember seeing any horses
or mules being used except on
some small farms in Sussex
County. Standard equipment on
most farms was a tractor, plows,
disks, harrows, a one-row com
picker and a binder for wheat and
barley. Silos were mostly wooden
and filled by hand.” All this
gradually changed as improved
equipment and technology became
available and farms got bigger and
more specialized. As farmers
depended less on hand labor, they
were able to become more efficient
and productive.
Three years after his arrival,
Gwinn became state 4-H leader. He
also assumed responsibility for
directing the extension service’s
agricultural short courses. These
ranged from a 10-week general
course taught at the university to
one- to three-day events held either
in Newark or out in the counties.
’"Hi
Hamilton Bank
A Core States Bank
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 2,1984—E7
There was also an annual three
day conference on campus for
young Delaware farmers.
“We covered everything except
the kitchen sink,” he recalled. The
10-week course focused on
production fruit, vegetables and
grain crops, livestock and
dairying. Instructors came from
the universities of Delaware,
Maryland and Rutgers, as well as
the agricultural industry. Students
came from Delaware, Maryland,
Pennsylvania and New Jersey and
lived on campus.
During this period Gwinn was
also in charge of the agricultural
college’s Farm and Home
program a three-day event
which took place on the Newark
campus.
In the mid-1950s he took a leave
of absence to attend the National
Agricultural Extension Center for
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