84-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 21, 1991
On being
JU
Joyce Bnpp '
a farm wife
-And other
hazards
A sort of guardian angel keeps
watch over the open kitchen
dining-living area of our vintage
farmhouse.
The halo above her head is of
disheveled, straw-colored hair -
with visible rooft, a receding hair
line and bald spot not quite con
cealed even with careful arrange
ment of the remaining tousled
locks. Her garb is a lace-trimmed,
yellow dress, faded from the years
and with a ragged tear on the left
sleeve.
Permanent smudges mar her
smooth, flesh-like tones, though
her blue eyes with their dark
lashes remain shiny bright. Her
lips arc pursed in a permanent,
small opening, just the size to
accept the small baby-bottle
accessory that came with her in
the original, cello-wrapped pack
aging box.
This 12-inch plastic baby is a
precious memory from our first
born’s childhood. It’s one of the
perhaps three dolls remaining
from the early years of a more
outside-oriented “tomboy,” who
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much preferred bam and field
action to matemalistic play. In
fact, the Farmer retrieved this
baby doll some months ago from
where it had long ago been aban
doned.Jn the old bam.
A spare room in the house has
been turned topsy-turvy in the last
week by a childhood memory -
and a dream - of our youngest He
has “reorganized” the stuff
stashed there to accommodate a
platform for the inexpensive
electric train of his boyhood,
track, engine and cars packed
away many years ago. I’ve already
been interviewed by this railroad
operation as a potential scenery
painter, succumbing after years of
protests that we have no space for
such a layout.
As they (and we!) age, the toys
of childhood become the treasures
of adults.
If you don’t believe that, go
search out some old toys. A recent
look at a friend’s toy farm equip
ment collection highlighted the
value we adults are putting on our
memories. Further questioning of
f 'W-'-* ’tt, ; * ■ ■St. v* •
several fanner friends confirmed
what I suspected.
Farmers are still playing with
their favorite toys - they’re just
bigger sized. Almost every one
recalled their hands-down favorite
childhood toy was either of the
farm equipment or truck lineage.
And one farm wife confessed that,
though she had her share of dolls,
she was more likely to be out with
the farm toys.
The Farmer admitted that his
favorite childhood toy... wasn’t
his. His heart belonged to a prized,
die-cast metal truck and flatbed
trailer toy owned by a cousin.
When the cousin’s family moved,
and the toy was discarded in the
housecleaning process, guess who
managed to retrieve'it for count
less more hours of play?
And, while trying to reorganize
the stash misplaced by the
impending railroad yard, I found
in a drawer two of my own child
hood treasures. These two small
dolls, one a bride and one dressed
in the colorful ethnic garb of a
foreign nation, are today’s collec
tibles. The bride is somewhat the
worse for the wear of numerous
play weddings put on by small
hands, but her companion in the
drawer remains almost like new.
How I wish I had back the doll
house of my earlier years. My
brothers’ windup trains. And the
toy farm equipment which doubt
lessly helped one to recuperate
more quickly after emergency
hospitalization as a child.
Today’s youngsters seem to get
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So. Chester Co., PA
Dick Breckbill 215-932-3307
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so many gifts, so many things, that
one wonders sometimes if any of
them have much meaning because
of the sheer volume of play items
available. Will the fought-over
Cabbage Patch dolls of a few
years back, the space stations, vid-
eo games, the dinosaur figures, or
Teenage Mutant Turtles so cur
rently “hot” someday stir fond
memories when today’s genera
tion so eagerly awaiting Christmas
NEWARK, De. It’s not
coincidence that holly and pine
are traditional Christmastide
decorations. Early winter is the
best time to prune evergreens.
“Most evergreens thrive on
light pruning this time of year,”
said Jo Mercer, University of
Delaware Cooperative Extension
ornamental horticulture agent. “So
you have plenty of opportunity to
collect an assortment of greens,
berries, cones and flower buds for
holiday wreaths, swags and
centerpieces.”
Mercer suggests pines, arborvi
tae, junipers, false cypress hollies,
rhododendron, magnolias and
spruce as good sources for greens.
“But don’t use hemlock or
yew,” the agent adds. “Hemlock
needles shed too quickly, and yew
wills.”
Holly stems, pyracantha and
cotoneaster berries create festive
seasonal detail on a wreath or
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Contact Our Representatives in
Belleville, PA
Nature Decorate
The Holidays
Let
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717-966-1191
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Ron Mellinger 703-879-9958
are all grown up?
Someday, I’m going to give our
children their previous toys at
Christmas.
Someday. After they’re old
enough to really want them.
May your holiday season over
flow with much love and many
happy memories, and may you be
blessed with a very Merry
Christmas!
swag, as do cones from pines,
spruce and hemlocks. Add a dis
tinctive, natural effect with flower
buds of andromedia, rhododen
dron and magnolia.
“Practice careful pruning tech
niques when gathering ever
greens,” advises Mercer. “Don’t
shear off the tips of branches.
Instead make clean cuts at a main
branch or node. The plant should
look essentially the same when
you are done.”
Plan to make the decoration
soon after gathering the greens,
while the branches are still pliable.
If this isn’t possible, keep cuttings
fresh by moistening the foliage
slightly and storing in a plastic
bag. Put the bag in an unheated
garage or shed.
Some people use anti
transparent sprays such as Wilt-
Pruf on their creations before they
attach bows and other ornaments.
740 E. Lincoln Avo.
Myeralown, PA 17M7
(717) *6B-7555
Along Rio. 422