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vol. 39 No. 32
Dairy Family Tree Stems From the Hessians
Four generations of the Laughlin family gather in the evening for photos. The
Laughlins can trace their roots back to the Revolutionary War of 1775. Jim and son
Joe dairy farm In Ferguson Valley near Lewistown, Mifflin County. Left to right is,
seated, Mary Laughlin holding granddaughter Katie, Jim Laughlin with grandson
Charlie, Glenn Laughlin seated in the center, Joe Laughlin, Elizabeth Laughlin, Beth
and son David.
Poultry Houses Need Proper Bracing To Endure Heavy Ice, Snow Loads
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Farming Staff
MANHEIM (Lancaster Co.)
Excessive snow and ice loads last
winter created heavy damage to
the roofs of poultry houses
throughout the region. But it
wasn’t necessarily the snow or ice
that made them weaken or
collapse.
In a word, it was “bracing.”
More precisely, improperly
designed and installed bracing in
the roof trusses caused millions of
dollars worth of damage to houses,
according to ag engineering
experts.
In one engineer’s estimate, for
FFA Officers Elected
At Activities Week
STATE COLLEGE (Centre
Co.) This year marked the 651 h
anniversary of FFA as more than
1,250 FFA members, advisers, and
guests attended the Pennsylvania
FFA Activities Week here this
week.
At the convention, 11 new state
officers were elected. They arc
Jenny Zerby, West Snyder High
School, state president; Marci
Hamish, Manheim, state vice pres
ident; Theresa Inhoff, Owen J.
Roberts High School, eastern reg
ion vice president; Kelli Zeigler,
Big Spring High School, south
central region vice president;
Laurie Wildman, Cowanesque
Valley High School, north central
region vice president; Jim McCon
naughey, Derry High School,
western region vice president;
60e Per Copy
about 95 percent of the houses that
were constructed with prefabri
cated wood trusses and that exper
ienced winter load damage, the
primary problem was lack of prop
er bracing and placement of
bracing.
Galen “Bud” Collins, project
manager for structural engineering
at Rettew Associates, Inc., Lancas
ter, investigated the sites of 12
damaged hog facilities (with par
tial or full collapses) and one poul
try house. He compared notes with
another structural engineer.
What did they find?
“Every one of (the facilities)
Chad Slusser, Pequea Valley High
School, treasurer; Heidi Dalham
mer, Northern York High School,
secretary; Traci Lobaugh, Bigler
ville High School, reporter; Tony
Miller, Pequea Valley High
School, sentinel; and Benjamin
Dodd, Twin Valley High School,
chaplain.
Tuesday evening included the
annual Keystone Degree celebra
tion, state officer parent recogni
tion, and a special presentation by
hypnotist Dr. Jim Wand. Wednes
day included the featured speaker,
Tyler Grandil, National FFA west
ern region vice president State
officers were elected Thursday
morning.
Other highlights included skill
competition, public speaking, land
judging, and related activities.
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 18, 1994
had, nlunber one, a lack of adequ
ate bracing, and. number two, faul
ty installation of bracing,” said
Collins.
He said, “In most buildings I
would venture to say, almost all
At the state FFA convention this week, 11 new state officers were elected. They are,
front row, from left, Jim McConnaughey, berry High School, western region vice pres
ident; Chad Slusser, Pequea Valley High School, treasurer; Tony Miller, Pequea Valley
High School, sentinel; and Benjamin Dodd, Twlh Valley High School, chaplain. Back
row, from left, Heidi Dalhammer, Northern York High School, secretary; Traci
Lobaugh, Biglervllle High School, reporter; Kelli Zeigler, Big Spring High School,
south central region vice president; Marci Hdjtfilsh, Man helm, state vice president;
Jenny Zerby, West Snyder High School, state president; Theresa Inhoff, Owen J.
Roberts High School, eastern region vice president; and Laurie Wildman, Cowan
esque Valley High School, north central region vice president.
GAIL STROCK
Mifflin Co. Correspondent
FERGUSON VALLEY (Mif
flin Co.) it’s been a long time
since the Revolutionary War of
1775, the Boston Tea Party, Paul
Revcrc’s famous ride, and the not
so famous hired Hessians, Ger
man soldiers hired by the British
to fight the American colonists.
According to the encyclopedia,
the Hessians were victims of a
country which Sold their men into
military service. Many Hessians,
who cared little about the Revolu
tionary War, joined the American
Noss Is Vice Chairman
of National Dairy Board
VERNON ACHENBACH JR.
Lancaster Farming Staff
PORT ROYAL (Juniata
Co.) David Noss is a dairy far
mer in partnership with his brother
Larry in a 60-milking cow/
cropping operation on more than
220 acres in Juniata County.
The farm is located near Honey
Grove, along Rt 75, which is a
two-lane state road that cuts a path
buildings that collapsed this past
winter there was some inherent
problem that caused the collapse,
more than just snow.”
Collins called the past winter,
with record-breaking precipitation
Four Sections
cause and stayed in the United
Slates after the war.
That war is also a far cry from
today’s tractor-furrowed fields
and mechanized milking ma
chines. The Laughlin families of
Ferguson Valley, Mifflin County,
know a branch of their family tree
stems from the Hessians, but for
tunately farming lifestyles nowa
days arc so far removed from the
bayonet and musket clad fighters.
The three Laughlin families live a
quiet life devoted to family dairy
farming and community service.
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close along the northern slope ot
the 7S-mile long Tuscarora
Mountain.
The Tuscarora Mountain is a
long, narrow ribbon of a mountain
that butts against the Mason-Dixon
Line, and arches northeast in a
Itaif-mfibn toward the Susquehan
na River.
It is one of several parallel
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and cold temperatures, the worst
the state has had in “about a
hundred years. We had a combina
tion of snow and ice that produced
some of the heaviest loads that
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