814-Lancastor Fanning, Saturday, Saptambar 3, 1994
Jennifer Randall Reigns Over Somerset County Fair
GAY BROWNLEE
Somerset Co. Correspondent
MEYERSDALE (Somerset
Co.) Jennifer Randall had told
the audience in the packed show
arena about her background. She
had explained why she wanted to
be the 1994 fair queen. Like her
three competitors, she had risen to
the challenge of answering one
all-important, surprise question.
And then, she and everybody
else waited nervously for the
judges* decision. In fact, it was so
long in coming the master of cere
monies ran out of his brand of
jokes, and called upon the 1993*
fair queen. Vicki Stahl, to bail him
out with her gift of public speak
ing.
Faced with choosing one win
ner from the four talented contest
ants, they saw and heard, naming
Randall as the 1994 Somerset
County Fair Queen was no easy
task for the judges. They named
Julie Will first runner-up.
Jean Black and Stephanie Singo
were the other contestants. Be
cause each of the four young
women was excellent at public
speaking, the decision was tough.
Randall, who is heading for
Millersville University next week
was elated to win $l,OOO in scho
larships as the new queen. They
came with compliments from the
Hay Creek
Festival Opens
MORGANTOWN (Chester
Co.) —The Hay Creek Fall Festi
val which opens Friday, Septem
ber 9 and runs through Sunday,
September 11, will celebrate its
18th year of interpreting life on
Historic Joanna Furnace.
The event, held on the 26 acre
Joanna Furnace site near Morgan
town, showcases the 18th and 19
century iron making life style
through music, early American
crafts demonstrations and sales,
early steam and gas technology,
historic interpretation and plenty
of good food.
More than 200 juried craftsmen
will demonstrate early American
skills such as basket making, shoe
making, coopering, furniture mak
ing and spinning and weaving.
They will also sell their wares.
Three times on Saturday and
Sunday, visitors can see how
sheep arc sheared and the result
ing wool is fashioned into a fin
ished product
Other ctafts include a resident
blacksmith in the restored blacks
mith shop, this year working with
pewter, bronze and iron, glass
The Silver Pails Goat Club at the Montgomery County 4-H
Fair Include from left, Heather Foster, Grechin Sample, Beth
Slater, Caltlln Melvin, Abby Shrom, and Megan Sly.
Somerset Trust Company and
First Philson Bank, each giving
$5OO.
She’s got a thirst for water, but
not for drinking it Randall says
her educational pursuits may take
her to a doctorate one day in ma
rine biology. And while it seems a
long way off, Randall can’t wait to
begin die journey.
’There have always been two
things I wanted to get into,” she
said, “theatre arts and marine bio
logy.” Being the niece of a Maine
lobsterman has merely courted her
fascination for the ocean and ma
rine life, especially since he takes
her around the bays of his liveli-
school, Randall, who is
17 and the daughter of Charles and
Kathryn Randall, Somerset, has a
list of accomplishments a mile
long in 4-H livestock projects. She
will represent her county in Jan
uary when the state fair queen
pageant is held at Hershey.
Will, 17 and the daughter of
John and Connie Will, Berlin, re
ceived a $250 scholarship from
the Animal Medical Center oper
ated by Dr. Bastian, Dr. Scott Bas
tian, Dr. Vincent Svonavec and
Dr. Michael Nosko.
Black, 17 and Singo, 18, like
the winners, received gold brace
lets and gold lockets among their
gifts.
blowing, broom making, Windsor
chair makers, painted chests and
flreboards, and numerous others.
The history of Joanna Furnace
is told through a twelve-minute
video shown continuously
throughout the day. Visitors are
able to take a self-guided walking
tour of the historic complex and
leant first hand how Joanna made
iron from 1792 to 1897.
For children there are a number
of hands-on activities, story tell
ing and farm animals.
The food ranges from an all
you-can-eat sausage and pancake
breakfast Saturday and Sunday to
home baked bread to open fire
cooked apple butter to shoofly
pies to chicken pot pie to open fire
cooked soups to contemporary
foods.
In the steam and gas technology
section visitors can see hundreds
of early gasoline engines operat
ing all kinds of machinery from
water pumps to corn shelters.
Steam engines will be operating
heavy machinery including the
Hay Creek sawmill and a shingle
mill. The Hay Creek sawmill is a
Their parents are Doug and
Peggy Black, Boswell, and Robert
and Brenda Singo, Somerset
The Somerset County Fair
Board presented cash awards to
the winners.
Bringing their expertise to the
Somerset contest were judges Sis
Hayward, Fayette County Fair,
Colleen Travis, Indiana County
Fair and Steve Stanish, from the
Uniontown Poultry and Farm
Show.
Jerry Lyons was master of cere
monies.
Maty Will and Wendy Will,
Berlin, coordinated and directed
the event which, in typical Somer
set County fashion, dumped rain
on the opening night of the 94th
agricultural event
However, wisdom prevailed
early. Rather than consign visitors
and honorees to a potential
drenching, they chose to relocate
the contest from the open grand
stand to the show bam while drop
lets were only hinting at impend
ing doom.
Fair Days
County
GAY BROWNLEE
Somerset Co. Correspondent
MEYERSDALE (Somerset
Co.) Somerset County dairy
maids Michele Shaffer and
Gretchen Fox lost no time promot
ing wholesome dairy products
when the Somerset County Fair
opened on August 21.
Armed with the tools of their
trade, so to speak rubber mag
nets, rubber cows, red-heart stick
ers that told the world'“l love
milk,” and more, they used the
persuasive powers of refreshing
milk punch on all passers-by.
And what good does it do if you
like the punch and don’t know
how to make it? It does no good.
So stacks of milk punch recipe
cards disappeared at about die
same rate as the cups of dairy
drink shaffer and Fox were pass
ing out
They were assisting Somerset
County dairy princess, Natalie
Welch and first alternate, Kelly
Bittner. Barbara Brant of the
Somerset County Dairy Promo
tion Committee was the back
ground force, mixing the milk,
fruit-flavored sherbet and carbon-
full-size operating sawmill used to
cut beams and planks from large
logs. The lumber cut here is used
in the restoration and building
programs at Joanna Furnace.
The Festival is open Friday
10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and
Saturday/Sunday from 7:00 a.m.
to 6:00 p.m. Main Festival events
run from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Adult admission is $3 on Friday
(Preview day) and $S Saturday
and Sunday. Children 12 and
under are free at all times. Parking
is free on paved lot at New Mor
gan two miles south of Festival
grounds on PA Route 10. Free
shuttle buses run continuously
from parking lot to Festival
grounds.
The Hay Creek Fall Festival is
sponsored by the Hay Creek Val
ley Historical Association, a non
profit organization.
Proceeds go toward the
research, maintenance and resto
ration programs of Historic Joan
na Furnace through the Hay Creek
Valley Historical Association.
Jennifer Randall, center, Is crowned the 1994 Somerset
County Fair Queen by Vicki Stahl. 1993 Fair Queen. At left is
Julie Will, first runner-up.
And Somerset
Dairy Maids
aled drink. She was great for mop
ping up the inevitable messes, too.
And a cow was spotted hanging
out in the royal company but, ali
as. she walked on two legs. Some
body saw her take off her head and
thereafter, they called her Jessica
Lynch. Then she stuck it back on
her head, that is.
“Look mom. there’s a cow,"
was repeated by kids on the mid
way like a broken record spinning
on a turntable. It proved the mas
cot’s value in gamering attention
for dairy products.
Shaffer and Fox were first in
troduced at the county dairy prin
cess contest last June in Somerset
This is the second year the promo
tion committee has named dairy
maids. Erica Walker served as the
first in 1993.
Although both dairy maids have
Berlin addresses, they attend the
Shanksville-Stoneycreek High
School They have assisted withi
promotions at the Greorgian Place
Outlet Mall in Somerset, and serv
ed sundaes at area businesses, in
order to score points for Welch.
“It’s interesting,” said Shaffer,
“you get to meet a lot of people.”
She says the experience will help
Gretchen Fox and the cow mascot (Jessica Lynch) stand
beside each other while promoting dairy products to, from
left, Jennifer Sanner and Heather Boyce.
her to decide later whether to com
pete for the dairy princess title.
The lOth-grade daughter of Lee
and Jean Shaffer, she loves sports
such as volleyball and basketball.
She’s in 4-H, member of SADD
and the student senate at her
school. The majorette is also in
chorus and belongs to Rainbow
Girls.
Fox, 14, says she has no doubt
that when eligible* she willenter
the dairy princess contest if for no
other reason than, “My grandma
will make me.” Oops, that’s Bar
bara Brant.
Dairy has always played largely
in Fox’s life. She was a little maid
when that program first began.
On the family farm, operated by
her parents Brad and Melissa Fox,
the ninth grader says she is her
dad’s primary assistant for the
evening milking. Right now the
Holstein herd numbers 44 head,
she said.
Fox actively participates in 4-H
with clothing and animal projects.
She has two younger sisters and a
brother.
Although she has dairy cows.
Fox says she’s only showing
lambs at this year’s fair.