a farm
Joyce Bupp j|^b|
-And other
hazards -
In 25 years as a “professional
farm wife” (a term favored by a
good friend), certain absolutes
have been ingrained on my brain.
One of them is that nails lying
around on paved driving areas are
taboo, and generally create flat
tires at most inopportune times. (Is
there an opportune time for a flat
tire, anyway?)
Thus, I have dutifully picked up
over the years a hardware-store
worth of nails in various shapes
and sizes. So when I spied the
brownish head of a nail lying on
the blacktop last week, I automati
cally bent to retrieve it from
among the dusty residue of
ancient roof shingles recently,
replaced.
This was not just any old roof
ing nail. Once shiny, it was now
brown and pitted with many
decades of age. But most astonish
ing about the nail was that it was
shaped into a perfectly stylized
letter “J.”
My initial. On an old pitted nail
from the shed roof. Why? What
had caused a once straight nail to
be formed like this? Delighted
with finding what immediately
felt like a sort of personal good
luck charm, I cradled the curling
nail into my gloved hand to show
The Farmer. He surely would have
some insight into its unique shape.
On the way from bam to house,
stops at the ground cellar, green
house, bird feeders and woodpile
side-tracked my thoughts. Some
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minutes later, I realized that my
“J” nail of farm antiquity was
missing.
Backtracking yielded no nail,
just a couple more cats tagging at
my feet The nail was gone.
Disappointment at the loss of
this novel piece of family farm
history set me thinking about
other small, commonplace items
which have become personal “tre
asures.” Some are worth little
dollar-wise, but prized as bits of
the heritage of our families.
Two old wooden buckets have
served fa* years as magazine hol
ders in the living room. The Far
mer remembers them as lime
buckets kept near the outdoor
“facilities” before plumbing
graced this old house.
A handful of fat, wooden pegs
waits in a box in the attic for
installation - some day - as coat
hooks. Originally for bam use.
their wood is cracked and aged to
a soft silvery shade. How many
halters and harnesses, old hay
forks or crosscut saws might they
hayp once held in their original
use?
Old, worn horseshoes have
turned up so frequently over the
years that they got little attention -
except for my wondering if horses
rap barefooted around here when
they kicked their shoes off. I plan
to hang one over the door -
another good luck charm. Tradi-
k SOYBEAN OIL
* BAKING
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k hONEY
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HERSHEY When the plan
ners of the annual Hershey Choco
late Festival in Hershey were put
ting together their February 19
tion dictates a horseshoe be hung
points up and curved side down,
so the luck doesn’t run out.
Years ago, when the rage for
digging bottles and glass-item col
lecting was peaking, the Farmer
brought me an assortment of dust
encrusted bottles and jars. He
gathered them from long
forgotten corners of the bams,
where they had likely at one time
held nails, or spikes, cow or horse
treatments - maybe even a bit of
bootleg “cold medicine” if the full
truth be known.
All have been cleaned up and
safely put away. A few of the
more prized ones share display
space with my cow collectibles.
They’ve become part of our fami
ly’s heritage now, too.
Through the weekend, I
scanned blacktop and pathways,
porch and basement floors, all the
places where it seemed a small
nail might have fallen and been
overlooked. No “J” nail.
I had all but given up hope of
finding it again, and felt as sense
of loss, I couldn’t even explain,
over something as small and silly
as a bent nail.
Monday morning, I knelt on the
stone floor of the greenhouse to
check the progress of hyacinths
I’m forcing for Easter. There,
lying at the tip of my left foot, was
the nail.
The Farmer figures the nail hit a
knot in the wood as that shingle
was being fastened, and curved
away from the wood with succes
sive hammer blows.
My good luck charm. Probably
useless in its intended purpose all
these many years.
I hope dial’s not an omen.
A Mooosical Event
event at Hershey’s Chocolate
World, they turned to the PA
Dairy Promotion Program for
assistance.
PDPP Promotions Specialist
Lolly Long worked with staff at
Chocolate World to develop activ
ities for “Cows. Cows, Cows: A
Moosical Event,” which was part
of the February 17-20 traditional
chocolate extravaganza for guests
at the Hotel Hershey and Hershey
Motor Lodge and Convention
Center.
“Hershey Chocolate is a major
purchaser of Pennsylvania
produced milk,” said PDPP Prog
ram Manager Donna Vemer, “and
Macßone Named
Associate Extension
Agent
UNIVERSITY PARK, (Centre)
Judy V. Macßone has been
named an associate extension
agent for Penn State Cooperative
Extension in Delaware County.
She joined extension as a program
aide in 1985.
Her responsibilities as an asso
ciate extension agent are with the
4-H youth program. She teaches
4-H’ers the fundamentals of plant
science and skills such as wood
working. She also oversees the
Summer Specials program, a day
camp where participants complete
a 4-H project over a four-day per
iod. She enjoys the variety of
responsibilities in her work and
likes visiting schools to present
4H programs.
Her favorite part of the job is
working with handicapped child
ren. *T thoroughly enjoy it,” she
says. “Even when I feel tired,
working with those children
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 11,1989-B5
we’re pleased to help them with
their promotional events however
and whenever we can.”
Games such as “Moosical
Chairs” and “Pin the Tail on the
Cow” were combined with activi
ties to promote Hershey’s new
chocolate milk mix product. In
addition to helping with ideas for
activities and refreshments, such
as chocolate cow ice cream sun
daes and “How-Now” cow
shaped chocolates, the PDPP also
lined up Dairy Princesses to give
out information on milk, and
loaned its film on Pennsylvania
milk production, entitled “Lands
of Milk and Honey.”
makes me feel great"
She hopes to continue a hydro
ponics project started by the Phi
ladelphia extension office and
would like to see the 4-H youth
program include more physical
fitness activities.
Macßone, a graduate of West
Chester High School, received her
bachelor’s degree in health and
physical education from West
Chester State College. Prior to
joining extension, she taught
health and physical education to
kindcigarten through eighth-grade
children at the Torah Academy in
Wynnewood, Pa. She also coach
ed and taught health and physical
education to girls in grades 10
through 12 at Lower Merion High
School in Ardmore, Pa.
Macßone resides in Delaware
County with her husband.
Richard, and their four children,
Mindy, Michelle, Marcy and
Melissa.