20,000 celebrate ‘hot time’ at Keister’s
Thousands of visitors jammed the outdoor flea market at
Keister’s Auction.
The Pennsylvania Pork Council’s Pork King, Eugene
Wenger of Mount Joy, helps prepare one of the five hogs that
was sold out by 6 P.M.
Nine queens and a king team up to offer visitor's samples of some of Pennsylvania’s
finest foods.
By Glenn B. Knight
MIDDLEBURG - Keister’s
Pennsylvania Agriculture
Promotion is fast becoming the ag
happening of the year for farmers
and city-folk alike. Tuesday
marked the third year for the
Middleburg event and, despite
scorching 90-degree temperatures,
20,000 visitors turned out.
The heat helped the milk exhibits
to sell 250 gallons of ice cream and
57 gallons of milk punch the
surprise hit of the show. Walt
Keister, event promoter, also
announced that 560 pounds of beef,
five complete hogs and an un
counted number of “bunny
burgers” were all sold out by 6
p.m. An estimated 2,000 quarts of
strawberries were bought by the
crowd.
When not eating or discussing
farming at one of the 46
agricultural exhibits, much of the
crowd enjoyed the horse-pulling
competitions. Twenty one draft
teams were entered in the day’s
events, 11 in the heavyweight
(combined 3,200 pounds or more)
division. Jim Howard and Lester
Specht of Ebensburg took first
place in the lightweight division
with their team pulling 6,000
pounds for 20 feet 3 inches.
Many of the various ag
exhibitors spiced up the midway
by bringing along their princesses
and queens. The Pennsylvania
Pork Council topped off the list of
royalty with their Pork King,
Eugene Wenger of Mount Joy.
The whole day was a study in
contrasts. Hard working farm
people were relaxing for a day. Big
monster four-wheel drive trucks
shared parking spaces with Amish
wagons. Flea Market antiques
were set against a back -drop of
satelite television dishes.
Pennsylvania’s Deputy
Secretary of Agriculture, J. Luther
Snyder, spent much of the day
lending an ear to the people his
office supports, taking thoughts
and feelings with him back to
Harrisburg.
But the continuing theme of the
entire day was food. “We farmers
produce it, why shouldn’t we enjoy
it,” shouted one elderly gent in his
clean bib overalls. And eat they did
to maintain the three-year
tradition of running out of food.
Keister said, “We started out by
just inviting anyone who wanted to
come and enjoy themselves and in
only three years we have grown to
what it is today.” He continued on
to state for perhaps the hun
dredth time that the 46
agricultural exhibitors were not
charged for their space. “We want
the best representation of Penn
sylvania agriculture that we can
get ” *33)
Harold and Walt Keister take a break in the day's action
with Joan Liesau who was representing the Pennsylvania
Meat Marketing Program of the Department of Agriculture.
Heather Schofield, Millerstown, has some advice for
Pennsylvania’s Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, J. Luther
Snyder. Heather is the 1984 Pennsylvania Cattleman's
Queen.
Sam spent much of the day delighting little people who
could talk with him on his own level. -