82-lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 5, 1992 Retirement Opens New Doors For Pat suek JOYCE BUPP York Co. Correspondent AIRVILLE (York County) A new door swung open recently for Airville farm woman Pat Suede when she was elected the new president of Penn’s Agri- Women. “I often think that you go through a doorway in your life and then start something new,” be lieves Pat The Agri-Women pre sidency is her newest challenge in a life brimming with family, career, and agriculture community service activities. Bom and raised in the Wash ington, D.C., area, Pat earned her registered nursing degree at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Baltimore and remained on the staff for five years. She met her husband, Elmer, a stone mason and bricklayer, when they were both in a wedding for friends. When he was taken to St Joseph’s after an automobile acci dent, their friendship grew; a year later, they were married. “I was married two years and had four kids,” chuckles Pat, dis playing her ready sense of humor. Two were “homegrown” and two were her stepbrothers, who along with her widowed father came to live with the Suecks at the home they built in the Baltimore suburb of Kingsville. After several years of watching the surrounding community swell with people and building develop ment, the Suecks decided to pur sue a long-held dream of Elmer’s to farm. “My German mother-in-law passed on to Elmer her deep love of the land and of animals; he wanted to farm,” relates Pat. “What did we have to lose?” So as the oldest of the Suecks’ five children was approaching high school age, they began ex ploring southern Pennsylvania for an appropriate piece of property. “Land prices in Maryland were too high and we wanted to get be yond where we felt development would continue moving out. We wanted an isolated area with not too many neighbors,” she remem bers. The search began, the Suecks scouring the southern York Coun ty countryside weekend after weekend. While stopped at an in tersection and trying to figure out where they were one day, they were befriended by a local real es tate agent who spotted their Mary land automobile license plate. Months and dozens of property of inspections later, they drove around the comer of a winding rural road west of Airville and knew they had found “home.” But it wasn’t home at the time, just a century-old, “add-on” house, with Tom’s Run, a feeder stream to Muddy Creek, gurgling just yards from the side porch. And the door that opened into this new step of life needed to be tom down and replaced. It took two years of hard week end and vacation labor to tear down, gut out, add onto, and finish the house. With no water, no plumbing, no electricity, the living wtes was camp-style much of the time, even to bathing in the creek. Fami ly and friends were welcomed, en couraged, to come lend a hand. “But we never had second thoughts,” Pa» smiles of the coun try home that exudes warmth, friendliness, and a pig collection that echoes the swine herd the Su ecks maintain. After moving in 1971, Pat un knowingly swung open another door. She contacted the York Ex tension Office for information on beef cattle and soon had “plunged into” 4-H. All five of the Sueck children became horse owners and beef project animals soon grazed the pasture. “I trucked horses and cattle; even learned to ride a horse,” says Pat, admitting she was “scared to death” of them at first. Through accompanying her children to meetings, she became a leader for the horse club and the Airville Community Club and worked with 4-H County Council. While she initially became in volved with programs in which her children were participating, Pat's own organizational skills soon thrust her into leadership roles. As president of the Lower Chanceford Parent-Teacher As sociation, Pat attended training for PTA volunteers. She also took part in 4-H Leadership School in Washington, D.C. With the children grown enough to be independent, Pat re lumed to her nursing career in 1975, in the position of afternoon evening shift supervisor at Colon ial Manor Nursing Home. But she remained active in community agricultural activities, especially with the York County Farmers’ Association. “I rfcmembcr touring a dairy farm when I was just a kid, and was so impressed with the farm,” Pat says of her enthusiastic sup port of the Farmers’ Association’s activities. “The farm tours are what I really started helping with, because I remembered how im portant that had been to me as a kid.” Active in the county’s women’s committee programs, Pat especial ly appreciated the fellowship and friends she made through that in volvement. An opportunity to serve on the Pennsylvania Far mers’ Association’s (PFA) state women’s committee came at the same time Pat decided to retire from nursing in the mid-1980s. Now an eight-year veteran of PFA’s women’s committee, Pat works with programs in Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, and York counties, serving as a sort of go between for sharing information from grassroots to state and na tional levels. She also serves on the American Farm Bureau’s na tional Rural Health Committee, a group of 10 members from across the country studying issues such as lack of adequate health care in isolated rural areas. While active in PFA programs, Pat also joined Penns’s and American Agri-Women, encour aged by neighbor fruit and grain producer Gail McPherson. “The information sharing and The Sueck family’s pig production enterprise overflows into their cozy country home, where Pat houses her own “herd.” Here she admires a few favorites from her collection. the fellowship were both very im portant to me; they have so much to offer,” Pat says of the network ing and legislative efforts of PAW and AAW. But her already busy family and nursing schedule left little time to become active in Agri-Women. “After I retired, I knew it was ‘my time’,” Pat relates. She began attending AAW’s annual Wash ington Fly-In, where participants really “learn how'the government works” by visiting agriculture-re lated agencies and hearing updates from key personnel. Spurred by her numerous inter ests and activities, Pat became part of the two-year Rural Leadership Program conducted by Penn State. The program focuses on both leadership training and in-depth studies on the workings of govern ment at all levels. “It was a very intense program, mentally and physically, and very worthwhile. If I hadn’t undergone that training through Rural Lead ership, I probably would not have decided to run for office,” she ex plains. Pat had been active in legisla tive issues with PFA, following proposed legislation as it worked its way through the process at both the state and national levels. “It upsets me to see legislation passed that affects so many people without it having been thoroughly researched and studied,” Pat says of her political interest. “1 feel it is time for the country to have peo ple representing people; when our incumb&nt in the 94th Legislative District announced he would not run, I decided to try it Late in January, Pat made that decision, after many phone calls and encouragement from friends and supporters. Elmer, whom Pat calls a super, kind-hearted person, urged her from the start to “go for it” York County Republican Head quartets gave her advice on what ' she needed to do as a candidate for the May primary. She filled out and filed the proper papers, then named as her campaign chairman fellow Agri-Woman member Gail McPherson. The campaign began with nine candidates, narrowing to seven by the primary. Pat found it fascinat ing to visit with and speak to groups representing a gamut of is- sues. She studied issues at length and focused her campaign on tax reform, reform of Act 195 dealing with teacher-strikes, and small business concerns. “I learned that you must be your own person, do your best and be satisfied with the outcome,” Pat reflects on her door-opening into the political arena. “It took a lot of energy.” Though she did not make it through the primary, Pat remains enthusiastic about public service and her candidacy run. “I would do it again and I may,” she suggests. While debating if and when she might re-enter the campaign trail, Pat continues her work with num erous agriculture and community organizations. She serves on the board of the York Conservation District, the York County Farm land Trust, and the Pennsylvania Foundation for Better Living which spearheads Ag In The Classroom teacher education. Long active in the York Co operative Extension program, Pat currently teaches the 16-week “New Way of Life” program, fo cusing on exercise, nutrition, and changing behavioral patterns. Pat also is a court-appointed special advocate (CASA) for abused children, a program of the county’s judicial system. Her role is to bond with the child she repre sents, and get to know the parents Her used copy machine has proven Invaluable to Penn's Agrl*Women president Pat Sueck in preparing materials for meetings and members. and family situation, then repre sent the child’s best interest in ad vising the court. She was accepted into the CASA program after reading about it, then going through a screening process and several months of training. In her role for the next two years as the state’s Agri-Women president, Pat intends to encour age new membership and increaw communications with more fre quent newsletters. She also hopqg to continue and strengthen die support that Agri-Women has giv en to the Ag In The Classroom program since its infancy. Their Ag Day celebration is oife of Penn’s Agri-Women’s, most visible activities, when a buffet df Pennsylvania-grown and process ed foods is served in the Harris burg Capitol for legislators and staff. "I’ve always believed PAW is such an excellent source of know ledge and information about agri cultural issues,” Pat explains of organizations’ key focus. “And the fellowship is wonderful. “Most of the women involved are also active in so many other things: it makes for a good net work of sharing. For more information on pro grams and membership of Penn’s Agri-Women, contact Pat Sueck, Penn’s Agri-Women, Rl, Box 43, Airville, PA 17302, or phone (717) 862-3486.
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