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
<e annual banquet
and meeting of the Pennsylvania Dairymen’s Association.
As Its Executive Secretary, she Is responsible for putting
together PDA’s annual yearbook, handling membership
and coordinating the group’s meetings and business
details.
Jed and Sue Beshore discuss Information for updating
the pedij tlf"*' ted ith ' sir
One of the projects Sue Beshore enjoyed as a room
mother for Angie’s nursery school class was helping make
stenciled toy bags as Christmas gifts for each student.
time for a dentist while finishing
high school. While she enjoyed
the work, there were often con
flicts with the 4-H cattle show
schedules.
“Primarily, I left because I was
not able to get away for shows.”
Jed offers another viewpoint.
“Actually she left because she
was cleaning a patient’s teeth one
day, and got his mustache caught
in the revolving brushes.” He
laughingly recounts the incident
that she admits actually did occur.
In 1976, the Seidels moved
“almost back home” to the Kutz-
wmesiead
t/nips
town area. For a while. Sue com
muted the hour’s drive back to her
job as secretary at a Richland area
Purina feed mill. The position
enabled her to keep in touch with
farm friends, and offered flexibili
ty to participate in the cattle shows
she so enjoyed.
While at the mill. Sue became
acquainted with veterinarians who
operated the Willow Creek Ani
mal Hospital. Later, she accepted
a job offer with the clinic, cutting
her commuting dme to less than
half. The seven veterinarians asso
(Tum to Pago B 4)