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■arail
lycoming County Dancers Square Off
in Repaired Barn To Benefit 4-H
BY BARBARA MILLER
Lycoming Co. Correspondent
WILLIAMSPORT - Seventeen
squares of dancers recently
promenaded in a bam whose roof
was ripped off by a tornado last
May.
For the tenth consecutive year
the Bald Eagle Creek 4-H Club held
its annual square dance at the
Burton Stamen farm, Mont
gomery. It was also a celebration
for the Stamen family, whose bam
was again complete with a new,
round, clear spanned roof. The
Stamens, Burton Sr. and wife,
Marjorie, and their sons Burton
Jr., Eric and wife, Lori, farm 200
acres and milk a herd of 80
registered Holsteins.
Shortly after the dance last May
a tornado touched down in the
Elimsport area, cutting a swath of
destruction miles in length. The
tornado not only sheared off the
Stamens’ barn roof, but ex
tensively damaged their home,
garage, and vehicles.
Square dancers swing their partners during the Bald Eagle Creek 4-H Club annual
dance at the Burton Stamen farm. The roof of the barn was destroyed by a tornado last
May, but it was repaired in time for this year’s dance.
Let’s Celebrate
Well, recently I experienced
another traumatic event... an
additional candle on the birthday
cake. It’s not that I feel old, it’s just
that in my younger years I thought
this age was old.
Regardless of the number of
years, birthdays have always been
special occasions in my family. We
hold such favorite traditions as
choosing our favorite type of cake,
having our ears pulled, getting
birthday presents, and throwing
big parties on our fifth and 16th
birthdays. Many people share this
kind of birthday tradition.
Recently, my father-in-law shared
a new tradition with me. He
showed me a photo of himself
under the table that held the bir
thday cake. I thought it was most
unusual, but it’s not for them... it’s
their own tradition.
Whoever is the birthday person has
to sit under the.table.
iy, May 31,1986
ing,
The Stamens weren’t surprised
when neighbors streamed in to
help, for they’d experienced such a
caring attitude 10 years before. At
that time their original bam had
burned and with the help of
nieghbors was rebuilt.
Some farmers baled hay from
their own fields to fill the Stamen
bam. According to Burt Jr., the
first dance was held then to thank
everyone who helped with the bam
building.
The last two years, Burt Jr.
notes, they’ve had well over 200
people attending the dance on their
100-by-60 bam floor. The bam has
accommodated as many as 19
squares at one time. This year the
Lycoming County Holstein
Association helped sponsor the
dance.
Although there are a number of
square dances in the area, actual
bam dances are rare. They afford
nonrural people a taste of the
farming life.
“It is a perfect night for a square
HOME
By Michelle S. Rodgers
Berks Extension
Home Economist
Birthdays mark the rite of
passage; they mark our progress.
Change and growth cannot, of
course, be encapsulated in a single
day, but these formal events give
symbolic representation to our
moving forward. Birthdays
become occasions that pull us
together to give praise or comfort
or sustinance to each other. This
event carves a space in our busy
lives to focus on the family unit and
on each individual within it. Bir
thdays provide an opportunity to
take time to say a special, ‘I love
you.’
Birthday traditions are a lovely
way to make a family member feel
important. There are many ad
venturous ways to celebrate. Here
are a few ideas.
School age children who have
birthdays in the summer often
miss sharing their celebrations
with friends. Try celebrating the
birthday on a half year. Make two
cakes at time and freeze half of
dance,” someone observed.
She was right. It was a balmy
you-feel-like-16 again spring night!
After the guests parked their
cars in a nearby field, some petted
the calves in nearby hutches on
their way to entering the pulled
back bam doors to pay admission.
Spotlights hung from the
cathedral-like ceiling and the band
played from a two-haywagon
stage.
Guests either danced or sat upon
bales of hay encircling the floor. Or
tucked away here and there, they
perched upon bags of feed or a
grain drill or just leaned against a
feed mixer. If thirsty, they found
the corner of the barn with two old
bathtubs full of soda covered with
ice.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Burt Jr. ob
served “You get to see a lot of
people you see once a year.”
Tornadoes aside, the Stamen
family plans to continue the
tradition of the bam dance for
years to come.
one to eat on the real birthday.
Have an only-me birthday
dinner. If things in your house are
like a zoo and you feel like you
have little opportunity to give each
child his own space and in
dividuality, try this birthday
tradition. Have the child choose his
favorite restaurant and take him to
dinner alone. This is just his
special time where you can talk
alone uninterrupted by anyone.
Create a birthday flag for each
person in the family. Fly the flag
from sunup to sundown on the day
of each person’s birthday.
Have an annual birthday in
terview. On each child’s birthday,
record on cassette tape an in
terview with him or her. Ask your
child to describe special memories
about the past year. Add to the
recording each year, then play
back the previous years.
Try giving some creative gifts.
How about tickets to the zoo, a
concert, or a movie. For a small
child, a large roll of tape to use as
he wishes. For parents, a prepaid
motel reservation so that they can
get away for a little while.
I must admit, birthdays really
are special occasions even though I
would like to put off the years that
go with them. As a matter of fact,
birthdays in our family have
become a monthly event, rather
than just a day. My dad started
celebrating his 'birhday for an
entire month proceeding or
following the official day. We tease
him about it, but it does give all of
us a chance to help him celebrate
in our own individual way. I guess
it’s a new tradition in the making.
/ 5
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