82-Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, February 9, 1991
Pennsylvania Farm Women President Reveals
LOU ANN GOOD
Lancaster Farming Staff
MOUNT JOY (Lancaster Co.)
Newly elected Pennsylvania
Farm Women President Arlene
Witman loves to throw parties
all kinds of parties.
“For a successful party, plan
ning is the main thing,” Arlene
stresses, “although some spur of
the moment parties turn out well.”
Arlene is distressed that many
families no longer entertain
because they feel it is too difficult.
She said, “You must cultivate
entertaining. It’s an effort if you
only do it once in a blue moon, but
if you'entertain on a regular basis,
it’s easy.”
According to this seasoned par
ty thrower, it isn’t necessary for
guests to know each other.
“In fact,” she said, “I prefer to
invite those who don’t know each
other. But I do have a good idea
which personalities will hit it off
together.”
Although she throws numerous
types of parties, Arlene most often
invites 24 people at a time. She sets
up three tables of eight in one of
the main rooms of her rambling
stone farmhouse.
Usually, placards with a small
number appear at each plate set
ting. For the main course, husband
and wife are seated together, but
when dessert is served, all those
who have even numbers listed on
their placards must move to
another table.
‘That way guests don’t sit with
the same persons all evening, ahd
they learn to know those they
wouldn’t otherwise,” she said.
Types of parties
When Arlene throws a soup and
salad supper she makes three soups
This pepperonl and cabbage salad Is one of Arlene’s
favorite dishes to serve guests.
such as vegetable, clam chowder,
and ham and bean. A whole table
ful of salads such as chicken, broc
coli, and spaghetti are served buf
fet style. Soup is served in mugs
for ease in carrying.
She advises, “At a buffet dinner,
never serve food that needs a knife.
“If you can’t cut it with a fork, it’s
too cumbersome to serve buffet
style.”
Brunch parties usually includes
baked oatmeal and an egg and
sausage casserole. Arlene believes
the traditional breakfast is one of
the hardest to serve since eggs
must be served at exactly the right
minute, but the egg and sausage
casserole and the baked oatmeal
makes breakfast a bree/c.
An after church brunch often
includes her version of Chicken
Stol&fus which is creamed chick
en over pie dough. “I take a basic
recipe and just keep adding what-'
ever I like,” she said.
Arlene loves giving tea parties
where she uses her very best china..
She said, “Often we forget to
How To Throw A
use the pretty things we have. I
love to use my mother’s and my
grandmother’s things. I’m sure
that they would rather see me use
them than have the dishes set in the
cupboard.”
Another reason Arlene enjoys
using fine china is that “it makes
others feel special.”
For 15 years Arlene has worked
part time at the Linen Hope Chest,
which sells fine china and glass
ware. Every year, Arlene buys
something special. She has pur
chased the Lenox Holly pattern
that she enjoys using for Christmas
entertainment.
She admits, “My pet peeve is
Styrofoam cups. It doesn’t take
that much time to wash dishes and
it yet using them is so much nicer.”
Arlene picks up many fine
things at public auctions. She is
especially proud of purchasing a
14-place setting of while china for
$2O.
Arlene believes January and
February are good months for par
ties to beat the winter blahs. She is
planning a winter picnic where she
will use picnic tablecloths and
serve picnic type foods.
“That’s when I serve potato
salad,” Arlene said. “I’m very con
scious of what I serve in hot weath
er because I had severe food poi
soning when I was in nurse’s
training.”
Sometimes she has guests just
for dessert. “It’s not the amount of
food you serve. It’s more impor
tant to get together and ha ve a good
time,” she said.
“As fpr myself, it’s a pleasure to
be invited to someone’s house just
to get a break from cooking. One of
my favorite meals is a stew for
winter dining;”
Arlene said that she doesn’t feel
that she needs to make the food
from scratch. Since she works one
day a week as a hostess at Country
Table Restaurant in Mount Joy,
she often buys items from the
bakery.
Every five years, the Wilmans
hold a drop-in party for neighbors.
For those, she usually has a relish
tree, which is a Styrofoam cone
turned upside down and covered
with parsley to resemble a Christ
mas tree. Carrot curls, pickles,
olives and cheese chunks are stuck
on the tree with toothpicks. Nuts
and mints, cake, and Christmas
novelty ice cream are served with
coffee and spiced cider. Scattered
throughout the house are bowls of
popcorn, candy, and oranges for
guests to enjoy.
Occasionally, the Witmans
serve meals in their basement. The
ground cave is carved out of stone
and has a brick floor. These din
ners are reminiscent of early
Christians fellowshipping in
caves. “One year we served the
Successful Party
This room is large enough to seat three tables of eight.
Arlene freezes a lot of her own games. A favorite with all ages is
vegetables. She said, "It’s nice to an old game called “Chase the
have some frozen onions, peppers, Rat-”
and tomatoes on hand to use with Dinner with Little Red Riding
Swiss steak or in casseroles. I Hood, the big bad wolf, and grand
wouldn’t be without my own fro- mother dolls are another favorite
zen com.” for children. These dolls are hand-
Arlenc knows for parents to made and when turned upsid6
Easter dinner there and had a
whole new appreciation for the
dangers early Christians faced,”
Arlene said.
The Witmans’ beautiful stone
house between Mount Joy and Eli
zabethtown dates back to pre-
Revolutionary days and was built
by a fur trader with the Union
army. Th? family has had,
the farm for more than 100 years.
Of the many fine antiques that
have been handed down through
the generations, Arlene said,
“Each piece has a story connected
with it.”
This past year, a picture of the
homestead appeared on a Christ
mas card by Pennsylvania House,
which sold about 2 million copies.
When the Witmans hold parties
for 24 people, Arlene arranges six
different game sites. Guests play at
each game for about IS minutes,
then pull papers to find new part
ners at another game.
“That way guests can talk and
play at the same time and they get
to know a lot of different people. If
they don’t like the game, they
aren’t stuck there all night,” she
said.
Arlene uses originality when it
comes to centerpieces. “Don’t be
afraid to try something different.
Use plants or stuffed animals or
something as basic as a lazy Susan
I have a marble one that I’ve
been using for 25 years,” she said.
For centerpieces, she uses
something as simple as some Irish
potatoes for March. On Thanks
giving, she uses the turkey.
In preparation for entertaining,
GUIDELINES FOR SUCCESSFUL PARTIES
• Keep food simple.
• Don’t think everything must be spic and span.
• Use what you have. You don’t need to use expensive china and
crystal to entertain, but if you have use it—it makes guests feel spe
cial.
• Serve hot foods hot and cold foods cold.
• Don’t feel obligated to make food from scratch. Baked goods such
as a pumpkin roll purchased from a bakery is easy to serve and deli
cious to taste.
• Relate your food or centerpiece to the season.
• Make the occasion special for Children.
• Relax. Enjoy your guests.
• Practice makes perfect The more parties you have, die easier it
gets.
Pennsylvania Farm Women President Arlene Wltman
enjoys incorporating stuffed animals into her party theme.
This bear Is representative of Arlene because It holds a
gravel and wears a Farm Women pin.
enjoy her parties, it is important
that their children are enjoying
them also.
Children enjoy what slie dubbed
the Boston Tea Party where she
serves hot tea and s’mores at the
fireplace. Then the children like to
play board, marbles, and dice
lm
down, the grandmother doll turns
into the big. bad wolf. Arlene
packs the children a little lunch in a
basket for them to carry to a nearby
bench or coffee table where the
dolls are placed.
Arlene would like to see the
younger generation carry on hospi
tality. As a past4-H leader, Arlene
led a party time club.
“It was a neat club and -I’m
proud that four of my members got
to attend 4-H CJongress for foods,”
she said.
Some of the 4-H’ers most
unique dishes were using a tomato
that was turned upside down and
sliced almost the whole way
through. The tomato spread out
like an accordion and egg salad
was placed between the slices.
Party loaf was another favorite.
A loaf of unsliced bread was sliced
horizonally several times and but
toed. It was layered with chicken
(Turn to Pag* B 3)