BfrUmcasttr Farming, Saturday, January 7,1989 Sue Beshore Recounts Farm Shew Memories BY JOYCE BUPP York Co. Correspondent NEW CUMBERLAND (York) Sprinkled throughout the memories of dairy farmer Sue Beshore are moments from Penn sylvania Farm Shows past. Both Sue and her husband, Jed, grew up in dairy families who bred and exhibited registered Holsteins. Among the many cattle shows they attended each year was the annual January stint at the Farm Show complex. Sue’s parents, Ray and Nancy Seidel, exhibited their KerchenhiU herd for many years. And, her father showed Ayrshires before going into Holstein competition. Sue, her brother Doug, and sister Helen, all have their own special memories tucked away from years of 4-H and open class tanbark travels around the cavernous Large Arena. “I remember one year in parti cular, when I was about 11 or 12,” relates Sue. “My yearling heifer -1 think it was Princess Ann - got spooked in the big arena, and took off across the show arena.” animal at the moment Is probably her Manx kitten - appro priately named Kl' “I cried,” she chuckles in remembrance, a confession that brings a look of concern to the face of her four-year-old daughter, Angie. During many of those same Farm Shows past, Jed Beshore, youngest of the four children of Athena and Wayne Beshore, was gathering his own memorable experiences. During one of his very early years - probably age 4 or 5 - Beshore decided to do a bit of sightseeing on his own through the sprawling exhibit complex. “I figured I knew my way around,” he confesses, adding "And, I got lost.” The Beshore family had instructed their youngsters well on what to do if such an event over occurred. Thus, that year, Jed Beshore returned to the family’s show exhibit by way of the Penn sylvania State Police’s “lost chil dren” retrieval services. Thus it seems only fitting that this couple, married since 1979, continues the tradition as Farm Show registered Holstein exhibi tors. Angie is the fourth generation of Beshores on this dairy farm located at York County’s northern tip, on a plateau just west of the Capitol Airport. Jed’s grandfather began farming and tending a dairy herd here about 1917. Wayne and Athena continued the operation until 1985, when Jed and Sue tot* over the reins. Although “retired,” Wayne still regularly lends a hand with chores, credits Sue. “Grammy,” she adds, “is an excellent baby-sit ter for Angie during milking hours.” Farm Show week generally becomes something of a working family gathering for the Beshores and the Seidels. Jed’s nephew, C£. Hubbard 111, is in charge of the show string, and has been walking the heifers since before Thanksgiving. Sue’s brother Doug Seidel, a professional cattle fitter, will lend a hand to the prepara tions. Sue handles the “public rela tions” part of the Farm Show exhi bit, preparing pedigree signs and decorations for the Beshore Farms cattle display area. And, of course, the milking back home, along with keeping everyone fed, piles of show clothes laundry and related chores always make the week a hectic one for her. But this year, Sue is carry addi tional responsibilities. In April, she was named executive secret ary of the Pennsylvania Dairy men’s Association, which works with other dairy and related groups to coordinate activities benefiting the overall dairy in dustry. In cooperation with the Valley Grange of Lewisberry, the Dairy men’s Association co-sponsors the extremely popular milkshake booth,a#die Farm Show. Funds’ f raised by the Dairymen’s Associa tion through the sales of thousands of milkshakes and related dairy product novelties benefit dairy princess, promotion and youth activities. Sue emphasizes that the Penn sylvania Dairymen’s Association also owns the milk house equip ment and operates the milk house for major cattle events at the Farm Show complex, as well as at the Penn State Ag Arena. Penn State dairy systems spe cialist Steve Spencer oversees those milk house operations for the Association. Milk receipts from show events help maintain the equipment, contribute to the state’s dairy princess program, and provide a return to exhibitors for milk produced at the shows. Tuesday of Farm Show week will be especially busy for Sue. While helping with their cattle during the show, she will also be mentally reviewing last minute details of the Dairymen’s Associa tion’s annual meeting that evening. She notes that the speaker for the annual meeting and banquet, scheduled for the Sheraton Harris burg East, is Penn State extension economist H. Louis Moore. Even as a youngster. Sue Beshore enjoyed the variety of challenges offered by dairy farm life. When she was in fifth grade, the family moved to the farm in the Richland area of Berks County. “When I was in high school, I was never ashamed to say that 1 lived on a farm; my friends always felt at home there,’’ Sue relates. Initially planning a career as a dental assistant. Sue woiked part